Mutetsuyama Go

Mutetsuyama Go - 武哲山 剛 (born March 27, 1971 - July 20, 2013) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Amagasaki, Hyogo. He made his debut in January 1993 and last wrestled for Musashigawa stable. He reached the juryo division in July 1994. His highest rank was juryo 11 and he retired in July 1998.

## **Early Life**

Kurimoto attended Hotoku Gakuen Junior & Senior High School and was a member of the school's sumo club. He continued his amateur career at the collegiate level where he wrestled for Chuo University. In his second year he won the All Japan Sumo Championships and he served as the captain of the sumo club in his fourth year. He was also teammates with the future Wakatsutomu and Dejima. After graduating college, he initially wanted to become a high school teacher while continuing his amateur career on the side, but in the end he decided to joined Musashigawa stable.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his debut in January 1993 and due to his amateur success he was given makushita tsukedashi status which meant he was able to make his debut at the bottom of the makushita division. He rose up the ranks steadily, but did not produce any spectacular results. In May 1994, he posted a strong 6-1 record at the rank of makushita 5 and was promoted to juryo in the following July 1994 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

Upon promotion to juryo he changed his shikona from his surname to "Mutetsuyama" (武哲山). He was ranked in juryo for a total of seven tournaments from 1994-1997. He was burdened by a right leg injury and could only manage a winning record (an 8-7 in January 1996) once as a sekitori. He had a total of five stints in juryo where he lasted three consecutive tournaments at most.

### **Later Career**

In March 1997, Mutetsuyama suffered a foot injury and had to withdraw on the fourth day which resulted in a fall back down to makushita. He injured his knee during a match in the July 1997 tournament and he fell down to sandanme by 1998. He suffered a thoracic herniated disc in May 1998 and announced his retirement in the following July 1998 tournament.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring, he enrolled at the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, with a focus in physical education. He completed the program in 2005. He later taught at Toyo University Affiliated Ushiku Senior High School where he was a geography and civics teacher. He also worked as a coach for the school's sumo club and participated in amateur sumo tournaments as well.

### **Death**

On July 20, 2013, he died suddenly due to heart failure while sleeping at his home in Ibaraki prefecture. He was 42 years old. His funeral service was held on July 25th, 2013.

## **Personal Life**

* A Hyogo native, Mutetsuyama was a big fan of the local Hanshin Tigers baseball team ever since he was a child. he requested himself that his kesho-mawashi incorporate the Hanshin Tiger logo.

## **Fighting Style**

Mutetsuyama was 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 was oshidashi or a straightforward push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 137-113-44/248 (34 basho)
* **Juryo:** 39-55-11/93 (7 basho)
* **Makushita:** 90-52-26/141 (24 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 8-6-7/14 (3 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Kurimoto Go (1993.01 - 1994.05)
* Mutetsuyama Go (1994.07 - 1998.07)

## **Gallery**

Mutetsuyama's illustrious career in college sumoMutetsuyama poses with his new kesho-mawashi after promotion to Juryo (c. 1994)Mutetsuyama before a matchMutetsuyama with his Hanshin Tigers kesho-mawashiMutetsuyama during the Juryo dohyo-iri (c. 1996)Mutetsuyama's tegata
## **Sources**

* Mutetsuyama Go Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Mutetsuyama Go Rikishi Information