(born 23 September 1986 as Toshiji Naoe) is a former professional

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestler from

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. His highest rank was ''

maegashira , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' 13. He won the ''

jūryō Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' championship in March 2012.

Career

He was the first professional sumo wrestler from

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

in 78 years. He joined

Oguruma stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. In its modern form it existed from March 1987 when it was founded by Kotokaze, a former Sadogatake stable wrestler., until February 2022. The first wrestler from the sta ...

in January 2009, recruited by former ''

ozeki Ozeki or Ōzeki may refer to: * Ōzeki, a rank in ''Makuuchi'', the top division of professional sumo ** List of ōzeki * Ōzeki station (disambiguation), the name of two railway stations in Japan * Ōzeki Masutoshi (1849–1905), 16th daimyō o ...

'' Kotokaze. He was promoted to the ''

juryo Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' division in July 2011 after winning the ''

makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' division championship or '' yusho'' with a perfect 7-0 record. At this point he changed his ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the ''rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' co ...

'' from his family name of Naoe to Kimikaze. After winning the ''juryo'' championship in March 2012 with a 12-3 record, he was promoted to the top ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' division. He had to withdraw from his debut tournament in the top division on the 13th day and never managed to return to ''makuuchi''. He is the first wrestler since

Sakaizawa Sakaizawa Kenichi (born 11 April 1983 as Kenichi Sakaizawa) is a former sumo wrestler from Saitama, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 2006, and reached the top division in March 2008. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 15. He was f ...

to have to withdraw from his only top division tournament.

Retirement from sumo

Due to persistent injuries, including a torn

rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...

in his right shoulder, he announced his retirement in May 2014. His

danpatsu-shiki The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

or official retirement ceremony took place on June 22, 2014 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Hotel with around 230 guests taking part in the hair-cutting. His marriage was announced at the event. After leaving sumo he returned to his hometown of Chofu to open a sumo-themed restaurant.

Fighting style

Kimikaze was an ''oshi''-sumo specialist, preferring pushing techniques to fighting on the ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a var ...

'' or belt. His most common winning ''

kimarite ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the ''gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The rec ...

'' was ''oshi-dashi'' (push out) but he was also very reliant on slap downs (''hataki-komi'').

Career record

References

External links