Kimura was a cast member on theFuji Television andNetflix reality television seriesTerrace House: Tokyo 2019–2020. Following a series of troublingtweets in which she addressed online bullying directed at her fromTerrace House viewers, she died from suicide viahydrogen sulfide inhalation at herTokyo apartment on May 23, 2020, at the age of 22.
Kimura was born inYokohama on September 3, 1997, the daughter of professional wrestlerKyoko Kimura.[3][4] Before she was one year old, her parents separated.[5] While the identity of her father is not publicly known, her mother has said that he isIndonesian, for which Kimura was sometimes referred to as Indonesian-Japanese.[6][7] She was bullied as a child due to herhafu heritage.[8][9]
After graduating theWrestle-1 training academy, she debuted for promotion on March 30, 2016, against her classmate,Reika Saiki, in a losing effort.[13] The pair wrestled against each other many times throughout 2016 in Wrestle-1.[14]
On August 7, 2016, Kimura wrestled against her mother in a match. On September 18, 2016, Kimura captured her first title, theJWP Junior Championship, by defeatingYako Fujigasaki in a tournament final.[14] She lost herJWP Junior Championship on December 28, 2016, to Yako Fujigasaki. On January 22, 2017, her mother retired. In Kyoko's retirement show, Kimura defeated her mother in a singles match and on the same show, the two teamed in a trios match in a winning effort.[14]
During 2017, Kimura split her time between Wrestle-1,Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling and Stardom while being a contracted performer for Wrestle-1. Kimura officially became a Wrestle-1 roster member on January 9, 2018.[15] She made an international tour in early 2018, competing forRing of Honor,Pro-Wrestling: EVE, and various promotions in Mexico.
On March 21, 2019, Kimura announced she was leaving Wrestle-1.[16]
Kimura eventually became a member of Stardom's heel stable,Oedo Tai.[citation needed] On June 21, 2017, at Stardom's Galaxy Stars 2017 event, Kimura teamed with her fellow Oedo Tai member, Kagetsu, to win theGoddesses of Stardom Championship by defeating Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona). Kimura and Kagetsu held the titles for nearly a year, successfully defending against teams such as Jungle Kyona andHZK,Io Shirai and Viper, Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora, HZK and Momo Watanabe, Mayu Iwatani and Tam Nakano. The team was defeated by Mayu Iwatani and Saki Kashima in 2018.[14]
During Kagetsu's final match in the 20185 Star Grand Prix on September 24, Kimura betrayed Oedo Tai by attacking Kagetsu with a chair, causing Kagetsu to lose and fail to reach the finals. Following the match, Kimura declared that she was no longer affiliated with Oedo Tai.[19] At Mask Fiesta 2018 on October 28, Kimura, under the ring nameHanita, teamed up withLa Maestra in a loss to Candy Skull andMarty Scurll.[20][21]
During her Stardom career, she won the Artist of Stardom Championship twice and the Goddesses of Stardom championship once,[31] while also winning the 2019 5★Star GP tournament and Stardom Fighting Spirit Award.[32]
Kimura joined the reality television seriesTerrace House: Tokyo 2019–2020 in September 2019, appearing on the show until her death.[33] One episode filmed in early January 2020 showed Kimura involved in a verbal conflict with her housemate, Kai Edward Kobayashi, for damaging her wrestling attire; after the episode aired in March 2020, her actions drew criticism,name calling, andracistcyberbullying from social media users, sending her intodepression.[29][34][35][36] The release of newTerrace House episodes was suspended as a result of Kimura's death,[37][38] andFuji TV later cancelled the season.[39][40]
Before her death, Kimura was set to co-star withEna Fujita in the music video for the musician's June 2020 single "Dead Stroke"[41] and Lalo the Don's "Til The Break of Don", recorded before theCOVID-19 pandemic and uploaded onYouTube on May 20, 2021.[42]
Early in the morning of May 23, 2020, Kimura postedself-harm images onTwitter andInstagram while sharing some of the hateful comments she received.[43][44][45][46] Later that day, she was found dead in herTokyo apartment at the age of 22.[47][48][49][50]Dave Meltzer revealed three days later that the cause of death washydrogen sulfide inhalation.[51] By December 2020, the death was ruled a suicide.[52]
On December 15, 2020, police announced that they had arrested a man in his mid-20s for cyberbullying.[53][54] The man, who resides inOsaka Prefecture, admitted to the allegations and was quoted by the police as saying he "couldn't forgive Kimura's attitude on the program".[55] On March 30, 2021, the Tokyo Prosecutors Office indicted the man for online abuse directed at Kimura, but was not obliged to face trial under the indictment as is often the case for relatively minor offenses in Japan. He was issued a fine of¥9,000 (equivalent to$80), which prompted concerns that the punishment was too light.[56] Kimura's motherKyoko Kimura filed a suit seeking more than $20,000 in damages from the man.[57]
On April 5, 2021,Tokyo Metropolitan Police charged a second man in his late 30s for online abuse he sent to Kimura. They said the second man, fromFukui Prefecture, admitted to the allegations during voluntary questioning, with investigative sources quoting him as saying, "Many hateful messages had been posted, and I followed suit. I'm sorry."[55] When asked why he did it, he said he was "simply joining in with what he saw others doing on her site".[58]
On January 22, 2021, Kyoko filed a lawsuit with theTokyo District Court seeking damages of around ¥2.94 million ($27,000) against a third man for causing emotional distress to her family. The third man, fromNagano Prefecture, reportedly posted hateful messages about Kimura's death in May 2020.[59] On May 19, 2021, Japanese judge Momoko Ikehara ordered the third man to pay ¥1.29 million (US$12,000).[60]
On the May 27, 2020 episode ofWWE NXT,Io Shirai and commentatorMauro Ranallo paid tribute to Kimura. Shirai said, "Hana was one of the most talented female wrestlers in the world, and I was looking forward to watching her grow to see how far she could go. I will always remember her smile that would brighten up any room she walked into. It is so important that we all love and treat each other with respect."[62] On the May 29 episode ofWWE SmackDown,Sasha Banks wore a black armband that said "HANA" in white letters.[63] On the June 2 episode ofWWE Raw,Kairi Sane wrote a message on her umbrella that read "花ちゃん、ありがとう" ("Hana-chan, thank you").[64] AtNXT TakeOver: In Your House on June 7,Dakota Kai sported pink hair that she confirmed was dyed as a tribute to Kimura.[65] On June 21,World Wonder Ring Stardom had its first event during theCOVID-19 pandemic; before the event, they paid tribute to Kimura with all the wrestlers atringside for a traditionalten-bell salute.[66] Kimura's fellowTerrace House cast memberPeppe drew her in the third volume of hismanga seriesMingo, which was released on July 10.[67] On the September 3 episode ofAEW Dynamite,Kenny Omega wore a Hana Kimura shirt on what would have been her 23rd birthday. The shirt was released onPro Wrestling Tees with all the proceeds going to Kimura's mother.[68] At NJPW'sBattle in the Valley on February 18, 2023, Mercedes Moné (formerly known as Sasha Banks) again paid homage to Kimura by wearing an outfit similar to what Kimura wore after leavingOedo Tai.[69]
In response to Kimura's online bullying, Japan's parliament passed a new "online insults" law in June 2022. Offenders convicted of online insults can be jailed for up to one year or fined ¥300,000 ($2,200).[70]
On March 31, 2021, Kyoko Kimura launched the anti-bullying non-profit organization Remember Hana.[71] As a result, the annualHana Kimura Memorial Show series commenced on May 23, 2021.
^"【スターダム】木村花 元レスラーの母に「石の上にも三年」と言われたけど…" [[Stardom] Hana Kimura Former wrestler's mother told me, "Three years on the stone" ...].Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). August 22, 2019. RetrievedMay 24, 2020.
^"ドラフト会議2019／ユニット新編成速報" [Draft Conference 2019 / New Unit Organization Bulletin].Stardom (in Japanese). April 14, 2019. Archived fromthe original on December 1, 2020. RetrievedApril 16, 2019.
^"Japanese wrestling star Hana Kimura dies aged 22".BBC News. 23 May 2020. Retrieved2020-05-23.The cause of death was not immediately clear. Shortly before she died, she issued a series of troubling social media posts implying she had been cyber-bullied. The most recent update on her Instagram story on Friday featured a photo of her with her cat, with a caption that read "goodbye".
^"藤田恵名、『バキ』ED曲MV公開。木村花を予定していた女格闘家役にプロ雀士・和久津晶" [Ena Fujita releases MV for "Baki" ED song. Akira Wakutsu, a professional [mahjong player], plays the role of a female martial artist who was planned to be played by Hana Kimura].Barks (in Japanese). June 17, 2020. RetrievedSeptember 21, 2020.
^Alvarez, Bryan; Meltzer, Dave (May 24, 2020)."WOR: Hana Kimura, AEW Double or Nothing, Stadium Stampede, more! 5/24".Wrestling Observer Radio. Event occurs at 15:00–15:40. RetrievedMay 24, 2020.The death was actually at 4:00 am. She had inhaled hydrogen sulfide. So that was the cause of death and not too much else is going to be released because her mother did not want much more released.
^"『テラハ』出演の木村花さんが死去 22歳 所属のスターダムが発表" [Hana Kimura, who appeared on "[Terrace House]", dies at 22 years old, Stardom announced].Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Archived fromthe original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved2021-04-24.
^Casey, Connor (26 May 2020)."Hana Kimura Cause Of Death Revealed".ComicBook.com.More details about her death have since come to light, as Dave Meltzer provided details about what happened on the night of her death during a recent Wrestling Observer Radio. According to Meltzer, Kimura died after inhaling hydrogen sulfide. He explained that concerns about her health first popped up when she posted a tweet early Saturday morning indicating that she was going to cause self-harm.
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