# Kinbōzan Haruki

Kinbōzan Haruki (Japanese: 金峰山 晴樹, born 24 June 1997 as Yersin Baltagul (Kazakh: Ерсін Балтағұл) is a professional sumo wrestler from Almaty, Kazakhstan. He began his professional sumo career in November 2021 at the age of 24. After eight tournaments and two lower division championships he was promoted to the top ‹See RfD› makuuchi division, becoming the first Kazakh to do so. His highest rank to date has been ‹See RfD› maegashira 5 as of the May 2023 Tournament. He wrestles for Kise stable.

## Early life and education

Yersin originally practiced judo until the age of 18 when, at the suggestion of former ‹See RfD› yokozuna Asashōryū, he transferred to a high school in Japan to participate in amateur sumo wrestling. He then entered Nihon University and joined their sumo club. In 2019 he finished as the runner-up in the All-Japan Championships, and placed in the top 16 at that same tournament the following year.

## Career

Upon graduating from university Yersin was urged to enter professional sumo, where he would be eligible to skip the lower two divisions and start at the rank of ‹See RfD› sandanme because of a dispensation given to amateur wrestlers who have finished in the top 8 in tournaments such as the All-Japan Championships. He joined Kise stable under the ‹See RfD› shikona of Kinbōzan, which is derived from Mount Kinbō in Kumamoto, the hometown of his stablemaster (former ‹See RfD› maegashira Higonoumi) but also to be inspired by the martial spirit of Miyamoto Musashi, who wrote parts of his Book of Five Rings while staying on the mountain. Kinbōzan's first tournament was the November 2021 ‹See RfD› basho in Kyushu, where he won all seven of his matches and took the ‹See RfD› sandanme championship, resulting in his promotion to ‹See RfD› makushita. At the March 2022 tournament in Osaka he won the ‹See RfD› makushita championship with a 7–0 sweep at the rank of ‹See RfD› makushita 34. He would work his way up the ‹See RfD› makushita rankings and eventually earn promotion to the second-highest professional division, ‹See RfD› jūryō, in September 2022. Following winning performances in three tournaments (including double digit wins in two of them) he was promoted to the top ‹See RfD› makuuchi division in March 2023, becoming the first wrestler from Kazakhstan to do so. At a press conference following his top division promotion, Kinbōzan said that he wanted to wrestle his own style of sumo, adding he was motivated to become stronger following a recent visit to Kazakhstan to visit his mother, who was unwell. In his top-division debut he secured 11 wins and was awarded with the ‹See RfD› kantō-shō (Fighting Spirit prize), which is one of the special prizes awarded at the end of every tournament.
During the ‹See RfD› sōken of May 2023, Kinbōzan admitted that he was prone to breathing problems when put under stress or too much effort after he appeared to be genuinely uncomfortable after a ‹See RfD› butsukari session with more senior wrestlers. In the following tournament Kinbōzan notably won his match against ‹See RfD› Ōzeki Takakeishō, handing him his fourth defeat on Day 10. This victory marked the first time in seven years that a ‹See RfD› maegashira ranked wrestler without a fully grown ōichōmage inflicted a defeat on an ‹See RfD› ōzeki. The most recent previous occurrence of such a victory had been in July 2016 when Mitakeumi earned a victory over then- ‹See RfD› ōzeki Terunofuji. Kinbōzan nevertheless finished the tournament with a score of 4–11. After two successive tournaments, in which he recorded a negative score ( ‹See RfD› make-koshi), Kinbōzan also withdrew from the ‹See RfD› jungyō of August, reporting a sprained cervical vertebrae requiring 30 days of rest, an injury which he had already contracted at the May tournament and which really limited his capabilities.
Kinbōzan remained in the ‹See RfD› makuuchi division throughout 2023, however, and started 2024 at the rank of ‹See RfD› maegashira 6 east. During the twelfth day of the tournament, he suffered a knee injury in his match against Tsurugishō and had to limp back up the ‹See RfD› hanamichi, telling the press afterwards that he felt severe pain even with painkillers. On the fourth day of the March 2024 tournament, Kinbōzan fell hard outside the ring in his loss to Tamawashi. He withdrew the following day, with the medical certificate stating he would need seven days of rest due to a cervical vertebrae sprain. After three days of rest he returned to competition. In the next two tournaments Kinbōzan conceded 22 defeats, subsequently resulting in his demotion from the top division to ‹See RfD› jūryō. At the November tournament, however, he won his third professional title, taking the ‹See RfD› jūryō championship with 13 wins. The November performance put him back at the top division in January 2025 as West Maegashira #14.
At the January 2025 tournament Kinbōzan stood out, winning nine consecutive matches from the first day of the tournament to set a personal record, also establishing himself as the only wrestler in the tournament to remain unbeaten halfway point of the competition. On Day 10, however, he suffered his first defeat at the hands of ‹See RfD› komusubi Abi, reducing to one victory the two-victory gap he had spared against the trio of wrestlers still in positions to challenge him for the title (Ōhō, Takerufuji and Chiyoshōma). He however maintained an outright one-win lead after 13 days, having defeated two ‹See RfD› ōzeki opponents in Ōnosato and Kotozakura. On Day 12, he lost his match to ‹See RfD› ōzeki Hōshōryū, the nephew of Asashōryū, the man who introduced him to sumo, allowing the ‹See RfD› ōzeki to make a stronger bid for the title. Before the match, the former Asashōryū, who closely follows Kinbōzan's performance, allegedly called stablematser Kise (the former Higonoumi) to encourage the wrestler, going so far as to say that Kinbōzan shouldn't lose to "this jerk" (あのヤロウ, anoyarō), referring to Hōshōryū. On the final day, Kinbōzan faced Ōhō, the latter (along with Hōshōryū) being one of two wrestlers only one defeat behind the tournament leader. Kinbōzan lost the match, forcing at the very least a playoff between the two wrestlers. Later, Hōshōryū also qualified for the title after defeating Kotozakura, with the playoff becoming a three-way fight. Kinbōzan lost the title to Hōshōryū, who previously defeated Ōhō. For leading the competition, Kinbōzan nonetheless received his second ‹See RfD› sanshō for Fighting Spirit, however missing out on the award for Outstanding Performance after losing to Ōhō in regulation.

## Fighting style

Kinbōzan primarily uses pushing and thrusting techniques, with most of his wins by way of ‹See RfD› oshidashi (frontal push out), ‹See RfD› yorikiri (frontal force out) and ‹See RfD› tsukidashi (frontal thrust out).

## Personal life

Kinbōzan is a Muslim and therefore abstains from pork and alcohol. He is the second Muslim sumo wrestler since Ōsunaarashi from Egypt.

## Career record

Kinbōzan Haruki :
| Year | January Hatsu basho, Tokyo | March Haru basho, Osaka | May Natsu basho, Tokyo | July Nagoya basho, Nagoya | September Aki basho, Tokyo | November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
| 2021 | x | x | x | x | x | Sandanme tsukedashi #100 7–0 Champion |
| 2022 | West Makushita #59 5–2 | West Makushita #34 7–0 Champion | West Makushita #4 5–2 | West Makushita #1 6–1 | West Jūryō #12 10–5 | West Jūryō #7 8–7 |
| 2023 | East Jūryō #5 11–4 | East Maegashira #14 11–4 F | East Maegashira #5 4–11 | East Maegashira #10 7–8 | East Maegashira #10 9–6 | West Maegashira #7 8–7 |
| 2024 | East Maegashira #6 7–8 | East Maegashira #7 6–7–2 | West Maegashira #10 8–7 | West Maegashira #8 4–11 | West Maegashira #12 4–11 | West Jūryō #1 12–3 Champion |
| 2025 | West Maegashira #14 12–3–P F | West Maegashira #5 – | x | x | x | x |
| Record given as wins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira |||||||