Hana Kimura

Hana Kimura
木村花
Kimura in 2019
Born(1997-09-03)September 3, 1997
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
DiedMay 23, 2020(2020-05-23) (aged 22)
Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan[1]
Cause of deathSuicide (Inhalation of hydrogen sulfide)[2]
Parent(s)Kyoko Kimura (mother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Hana Kimura
Hanita
Billed height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)[3]
Billed weight128 lb (58 kg)[3]
Billed fromYokohama, Kanagawa, Japan[4]
Trained byAkira Nogami[5]
Debut2016

Hana Kimura (木村花, Kimura Hana, September 3, 1997 – May 23, 2020) was a Japanese joshi puroresu professional wrestler. She worked for native companies in her country such as World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2016 to 2020, and Wrestle-1, in addition to having made appearances for foreign companies such as Ring of Honor, Pro-Wrestling: EVE, and some independent promotions in Mexico. Kimura was a second-generation wrestler; her mother Kyoko Kimura is a former professional wrestler.[6]

She was a cast member on the Fuji Television and Netflix reality television series Terrace House: Tokyo 2019–2020, which is the fifth installment of the Terrace House franchise. Following a series of troubling tweets addressing online bullying directed at her from Terrace House viewers, she was found dead in her apartment in Tokyo on May 23, 2020.[7] Her death had been ruled a suicide by December 2020.[8]

  1. ^ S. Levine, Daniel (May 24, 2020). "Hana Kimura's Cause of Death Has Fans Devastated". Pop Culture. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  2. ^ 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. Retrieved May 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.
  3. ^ a b "Hana Kimura". Cagematch. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Ring of Honor Wrestling (March 19, 2018). Sumie Sakai vs Hana Kimura (WOH Championship Tournament Round 1). Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  5. ^ 【インタビュー】プロレス総合学院1期生＆PANCRASEラウンドガール＆JWP二冠王＆木村響子の娘・木村花が今の心境を語る！. Battle News (in Japanese). September 28, 2016. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "In Memoriam: Hana Kimura". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. May 23, 2020. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  7. ^ "Japanese wrestling star Hana Kimura dies aged 22". BBC News. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-23. 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".
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rogers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).