Ganyū Kenji

Ganyū Kenji (born 6 August 1970 as Kenji Hirano) is a former sumo wrestler from Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1986, and reached the top division in March 1996. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 1. He retired in 2000 and became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association. In 2015 he became the head coach of Yamahibiki stable following the death of his old stablemaster, Kitanoumi.

Career

In junior high school he liked basketball and shot put, but began taking sumo seriously from his third year when he attended a Nippon Steel sumo class in his home town. He began his professional career in March 1986 at the age of 15, joining Kitanoumi stable which had been founded the previous year by former ''yokozuna'' Kitanoumi. He picked up a tournament championship or ''yūshō'' in the ''jonidan'' division in September 1989 with an undefeated record, and in November 1991 another 7–0 record in the ''makushita'' division saw him promoted to ''jūryō'' in January 1992. In his first tournament as a ''sekitori'' he managed only a 3–12 record and was demoted back to ''makushita''. He missed the May 1992 tournament through injury and a 2–5 record in July saw him fall back to ''sandanme''. It was only when he won the ''makushita'' championship in May 1995 that he returned to ''jūryō'', over three years after his ''jūryō'' debut. He fared much better the second time around, with four straight ''kachi-koshi'' or winning records seeing him promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division for the March 1996 tournament, exactly ten years after his professional debut. He was the first member of Kitanoumi stable to reach ''makuuchi'' since its founding in 1985.

Ganyu fought in the top division for 23 tournaments, with a total of 144 wins against 193 losses. He did not manage to win a special prize or a gold star, and he never made ''sanyaku'', his top rank being ''maegashira'' 1 which he reached in September 1997. In May 1999 he continued fighting in the tournament despite having ligament damage in his ankle, in search of the eighth win that would give him a winning record. He was also restricted by persistent knee problems. His last ''makuuchi'' tournament was in November 1999.

Retirement from sumo

He retired in May 2000, having been demoted to ''makushita'', and became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association under the name Yamahibiki. He took over the running over the Kitanoumi stable in November 2015 after the death of Kitanoumi. The stable was renamed Yamahibiki stable, as Kitanoumi had a special one-generation elder status and the name could not be passed on. As of 2021 the stable does not have any ''sekitori''. Yamahibiki served as a councilor of the Japan Sumo Association alongside Minatogawa Oyakata and Otake Oyakata for two years from 2014. He was elected to the Sumo Association's board of directors in 2016, and served as director of the sumo training school, replacing Tomozuna. He was re-elected in 2018, but stood down in 2020.

Fighting style

Ganyū was a ''yotsu-sumo'' wrestler who primarily used grappling techniques as opposed to pushing. His preferred grip on his opponent's ''mawashi'' or belt was ''migi-yotsu'', a left hand outside, right hand inside position. His most common winning ''kimarite'' were ''yorikiri'' (force out) and ''uwatenage'' (outer arm throw).

Career record

See also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of past sumo wrestlers
*List of sumo elders

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganyu, Kenji
1970 births
Living people
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Hyōgo Prefecture
Japanese people of Korean descent