Kitaharima

is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in March 2002. His highest rank has been ''maegashira'' 15. He wrestles for Yamahibiki stable.

Career

He was born in Tatsuno, Hyōgo, where there is a shrine to the legendary founder of sumo, Nomi no Sukune. He is a member of the generation born between April 1986 and April 1987 ( Showa 61) known as the that also includes ''Yokozuna'' Kisenosato, ''Ōzeki'' Gōeidō and ''Sekiwake'' Myōgiryū. He did judo when he first joined school, but from the fourth year of elementary school he switched to sumo, and participated in national sumo competitions at elementary and junior high school. He had aspirations to go to high school, but was persuaded to join Kitanoumi stable, run by the former ''yokozuna'' Kitanoumi, upon graduation from junior high.

He made his professional debut in March 2002, alongside future top division wrestlers such as Kisenosato and Katayama, and also his own stablemate . He reached the third highest ''makushita'' division in July 2005, but weighing barely more than he found it hard to make further progress. He had begun wrestling using his own surname of Shimada, but adopted his present ''shikona'' in March 2008, formed from combination of his original stable name (Kitanoumi) and an old name for west Hyōgo Prefecture (Harima Province). He finally reached the ''jūryō'' division for the first time in January 2012 nearly a decade after his debut. He was the first ''sekitori'' from Tatsuno since Banryūyama who had been a stablemate of Kitanoumi and was then a coach at the affiliated Mihogaseki stable. He spent all of 2012 in ''jūryō'' but had only two winning records in that time and was demoted back to the ''makushita'' division in January 2013. After moving between ''jūryō'' and ''makushita'' a number of times he re-established himself in ''jūryō'' from the September 2014 tournament. In November 2015 after the death of his stablemaster Kitanoumi, who was also the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, the former ''maegashira'' Ganyū took over the running of the stable, which was renamed Yamahibiki stable.

Following a record of nine wins against six losses at the rank of ''Jūryō'' 4 in May 2016, Kitaharima made his top ''makuuchi'' division debut in the July 2016 tournament, the only wrestler in that tournament who was new to the top division. It had taken him 85 tournaments from his professional debut to reach the top division, which is the ninth slowest in sumo history. His promotion came 14 years after leaving junior high school. He told reporters that having been in sumo since he was 15, he was disappointed that his contemporaries who had instead gone to high school and university before entering the professional ranks had overtaken him. At he was lightest man in the top division and some lighter than the average for the division. Kitaharima's stablemaster stressed the importance of his predecessor Kitanoumi to Kitaharima's success, saying that Kitanoumi always called Kitaharima by his given name "Seiya," because "my disciples are the same as my own children."

Kitaharima won his first bout in the top division, defeating Nishikigi. However he finished the tournament with a losing record of six wins against nine losses and was demoted back to ''jūryō'' after just one tournament. Restricted by neck pain, he had two poor performances of 5–10 and 4–11 in the following two tournaments and fell back to ''makushita'' in January 2017. After his neck problem cleared up he returned to ''jūryō'' after a 5–2 record, but lasted only one tournament. After two consecutive winning records in ''makushita'' in May and July 2017 he returned to ''jūryō'' again in September 2017. Both he and were being promoted to ''jūryō'' for the seventh time in this tournament, the second highest ever at the time. However he lost seven of his first eight bouts, and with a 5–10 record at the end of the tournament was once again demoted. He remained in ''makushita'' for the next three years before finally getting his eighth promotion to ''jūryō'' after the July 2020 tournament at the age of 34. He secured this result by defeating Takagenji on the final day for a 5–2 record at ''Makushita'' 3. He had been out of ''jūryō'' for 17 tournaments. In the September 2020 tournament Kitaharima could manage only five wins against ten losses, losing his last four bouts. He narrowly failed to return to ''jūryō'' in November and was ranked at ''Makushita'' 1 East in January 2021. He was forced to sit out the March 2021 tournament after a coach at his stable tested positive for COVID-19, but his ranking was protected. In January 2022 he had his poorest record for over a decade, a 1–6 at ''makushita'' 15, which sent him down to ''makushita'' 40 for March 2022. In May 2022, Kitaharima failed to win the ''makushita'' championship when he lost to Ōshōma on the last day.

Relegated to the ''sandanme'' division for the first time since 2008 at the September 2023 tournament, Kitaharima nonetheless won all his matches and claimed the division's championship. In doing so, he became, at the age of 37, the oldest wrestler ranked in the ''makushita'' division or below to win a tournament since who won the ''makushita'' tournament in 2005 at the age of 36. After his championship win, Kitaharima spent two tournaments in the ''makushita'' division before it was announced in January 2024 that he was promoted to the ''jūryō'' division for the ninth time in his career, hence being tied for the most promotion to the ''jūryō'' division along former (repromoted for the ninth time in July 2018). This latest repromotion, at the age of 37 years, 6 months and 29 days, makes Kitaharima the second oldest wrestler to be repromoted to ''sekitori'' status in modern sumo history, behind Ōshio (repromoted in May 1987 at the age of 39). On the occasion of this new promotion Kitaharima shared that his inspiration for remaining an active wrestler was his former stablemate Kitazakura, who, as the third-oldest repromoted to ''jūryō'' in modern sumo, continued his career even after his demotion to the ''makushita'' division. However, Kitaharima suffered an eighth defeat (''make-koshi'') in his match against Chiyoshōma on Day 11, making it uncertain whether he will remain in ''jūryō''. In the end, he won just 4 victories in the tournament, leaving little chance of staying in the ''sekitori'' ranks. However, he declared himself pleased with the public support he received, declaring "It was an experience that gave me goose bumps every day."

Fighting style

Kitaharima is a ''tsuki/oshi'' specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the ''mawashi'' or belt. His most common winning ''kimarite'' or technique is ''oshi dashi'' or a straightforward push out.

He is known for wanting to practice day or night, which led to his stablemaster warning against him over-training. Kitaharima has said he has no real hobbies and on his ''makuuchi'' promotion remarked that he was thinking only about sumo. At the age of 37, he confided on the occasion of his ninth repromotion in the ''jūryō'' division that he still hadn't changed his training habits, although he also admitted to having to rely more on alternative treatments such as massages or changing his diet on the advice of Takayasu.

Family

His younger brother Tetsuya Shimada was also a wrestler at the same stable. He reached a highest rank of ''sandanme'' 78 and was known as Tatsunoumi. He retired after the September 2022 tournament.

Career record

See also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of active sumo wrestlers

References

External links

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitaharima, Seiya
1986 births
Living people
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Hyōgo Prefecture