Kimurayama Mamoru

Kimurayama Mamoru
木村山守
Personal information
Born Mamoru Kimura
(1981-07-13) 13 July 1981
Wakayama, Japan
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 170 kg (370 lb; 27 st)
Career
Stable Kasugano
Current rank see below
Record 343-328-7
Debut March 2004
Highest rank Maegashira 7 (November 2010)
Retired January 2014
Championships 2 (Jūryō)
* Up to date as of Feb 2015.

Kimurayama Mamoru (born 13 July 1981 as Mamoru Kimura) is a former professional sumo wrestler from Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was maegashira 7. He is now a coach at Kasugano stable. He was the only wrestler in the elite ranks in his time from Wakayama Prefecture.

Career

Born in Gobo, he was an amateur champion at Toyo University, but did not have enough collegiate titles to receive makushita tsukedashi status and join professional sumo in the third highest makushita division, instead beginning at the bottom of the rankings in March 2004. He joined Kasugano stable, run by another Wakayama Prefecture native, the former sekiwake Tochinowaka. His shikona or fighting name was adapted from his own surname, which is also a time-honoured name in Kasugano stable, being the name of a gyoji or referee, Kimura Soshiro, who ran the stable in the early 20th century.

Kimurayama in May 2009

Kimurayama reached sekitori status in January 2008 upon promotion to the second highest jūryō division and won his first yūshō or tournament championship in the following tournament with a 12–3 record. He made his debut in the top makuuchi division two tournaments later at maegashira 12, but fell short with a 7–8 record. He won his second jūryō championship in March 2010, after a three way playoff with Kōryū and Tamaasuka. He did not manage a kachi-koshi or winning record in the top division until his eighth try in July 2010. This performance, and another 8-7 in September, resulted in promotion to what was to be his highest career rank of maegashira 7 for the November 2010 tournament.

He actually moved up from magashira 17 to maegashira 15 despite only scoring 7–8 in the May 2011 Technical Examination tournament, due to the large number of retirements caused by a match-fixing scandal. Despite recording his fifth successive make-koshi in September 2011, he remained in makuuchi for the November tournament. After yet another losing score there he was finally demoted back to juryo in January 2012 and spent only one more tournament in the top division, in September 2012. Of his total of 16 tournaments fought in the top division, only two resulted in winning records (both 8-7), and his record there was 101 wins against 139 losses.

Retirement from sumo

Kimurayama chose to retire and take on an elder name rather than being demoted to makushita after the January 2014 tournament. He has secured the Iwatomo toshiyori-kabu, one of 105 shares in the Japan Sumo Association, and now works as a coach at Kasugano stable. He is now known as Iwatomo Oyakata.

Fighting style

Kimurayama favoured pushing and thrusting techniques as opposed to fighting on the mawashi. His most common winning kimarite (or technique) was a simple oshi-dashi, or push out. He frequently employed the sidestepping henka move at the tachi-ai or initial charge, and consequently won many bouts by hiki-otoshi, the pull down, and tsuki-otoshi, the thrust over.

Career record

Kimurayama Mamoru[1]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo
March
Haru basho, Osaka
May
Natsu basho, Tokyo
July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya
September
Aki basho, Tokyo
November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
2004 x (Maezumo) East Jonokuchi #12
61
 
East Jonidan #62
61
 
East Sandanme #93
61
 
East Sandanme #35
61
 
2005 East Makushita #51
61
 
West Makushita #22
25
 
East Makushita #37
34
 
West Makushita #45
61
 
West Makushita #18
34
 
West Makushita #23
43
 
2006 West Makushita #16
43
 
East Makushita #11
43
 
West Makushita #7
52
 
East Makushita #3
43
 
East Makushita #1
25
 
West Makushita #9
007
 
2007 West Makushita #49
52
 
East Makushita #29
61
 
East Makushita #12
52
 
West Makushita #5
43
 
East Makushita #4
43
 
West Makushita #1
61
 
2008 West Jūryō #11
69
 
East Jūryō #14
123
Champion

 
West Jūryō #2
114
 
West Maegashira #12
78
 
West Maegashira #14
78
 
East Maegashira #15
69
 
2009 West Jūryō #1
96
 
West Maegashira #15
78
 
East Maegashira #16
510
 
West Jūryō #5
87
 
East Jūryō #2
96
 
West Maegashira #14
411
 
2010 West Jūryō #3
78
 
West Jūryō #4
114PP
Champion

 
West Maegashira #12
78
 
West Maegashira #13
87
 
East Maegashira #9
87
 
West Maegashira #7
510
 
2011 West Maegashira #14
69
 
East Maegashira #17
Tournament Cancelled
000
East Maegashira #17
78
 
West Maegashira #15
78
 
West Maegashira #16
78
 
East Maegashira #17
411
 
2012 West Jūryō #5
510
 
West Jūryō #11
87
 
West Jūryō #9
105
 
East Jūryō #3
96
 
West Maegashira #14
69
 
East Jūryō #2
69
 
2013 West Jūryō #4
411
 
East Jūryō #11
78
 
West Jūryō #11
312
 
West Makushita #6
43
 
East Makushita #3
52
 
West Jūryō #11
78
 
2014 West Jūryō #11
Retired
411
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: =Kinboshi(s); P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi Jūryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira

See also

References

  1. "Kimurayama Mamoru Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 5 September 2009.

External links

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