Kamioiyama Kiyoshi

Kamioiyama Kiyoshi - 神生山 清 (born May 24, 1931 - January 19, 1982) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Takamatsu, Kagawa. He made his debut in November 1947 and last wrestled for Nishonoseki stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1956. His highest rank was maegashira 15 and he retired in July 1958.

## **Early Life**

Kiyoshi Murakawa's was born in the town of Busshozan in Kagawa and his father managed a factory which made bags. Since he was in elementary school, he was a big fan of sekiwake Kamikaze and in 1946, he met Kamikaze while he was on a tour in Takamatsu, Kagawa. He later joined Nishonoseki stable (the stable that Kamikaze belonged to) and made his professional debut in November 1947.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He initially wrestled under his surname Murakawa and was promoted to sandanme in January 1950 and makushita in September 1950. In May 1951 he was given the shikona "Kamioiyama" (神生山); the "kami" (神) is derived from his mentor Kamikaze and the "oiyama" (生山) is derived from his hometown of Busshozan (仏生山). After four years in makushita he was promoted to juryo in March 1954.

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Kamioiyama finished with a solid 9-6 record. In September 1955, he won the juryo yusho with a strong 13-2 record and was promoted to makuuchi for the following January 1956 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Kamioiyama was ranked in the top division for a total of six tournaments, reaching as high as maegashira 15 in March 1957. He failed to advance to the upper-maegashira ranks due to recurring knee injuries. In September 1957 he sprained his right knee during a match against Atagoyama and subsequently withdrew from the tournament. He was later demoted back down to juryo in November 1957 where he remained for his later career. After posting a disastrous 1-14 record in July 1958, he retired from sumo after the tournament.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring from sumo, he became a truck driver and ran a transportation company called Kamisei Transport Co., Ltd. (神生運輸株式会社) in Osaka City.

### **Death**

Kamioiyama died suddenly on January 19, 1982, in a traffic accident while driving a passenger car in Higashiyodogawa Ward, Osaka City. He was 50 years old.

## **Personal Life**

His grandson Masataka Murakawa (born on September 25, 1983, in Higashiyodogawa Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture), joined Magaki stable after graduating from junior high school. He made his professional debut in March 1999 and adopted his grandfather's Kamioiyama ring name. However, he only rose to the rank of sandanme 99 and retired from sumo in January 2006.

## **Fighting Style**

Kamioiyama was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out. He also regularly employed uwatenage, or overarm throw.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 253-243-30/494 (40 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 33-44-13/76 (6 basho)
* **Juryo:** 102-106-2/207 (14 basho)
* **Makushita:** 61-46-15/107 (10 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 27-19/46 (4 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 25-17/42 (3 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 2-4/6 (1 basho)
* **Shinjo:** 3-7/10 (2 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (September 1955)

## **Shikona History**

* Murakawa Kiyoshi (1947.11 - 1951.01)
* Kamioiyama Kiyoshi (1951.05 - 1958.07)

## **Sources**

* Kamioiyama Kiyoshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kamioiyama Kiyoshi Rikishi Information