Takanohana Kenshi

貴ノ花健士 Takanohana Kenshi
Personal information
Born	Mitsuru Hanada February 19, 1950(1950-02-19) Muroran, Japan
Died	May 30, 2005(2005-05-30) (aged 55)
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight	115 kg (250 lb; 18.1 st)
Career
Heya	Futagoyama
Record	726-490-58
Debut	May, 1965
Highest rank	Ozeki (November 1972)
Retired	January 1981
Yūshō	2 (Makuuchi) 2 (Juryo) 1 (Jonokuchi)
Sanshō	Outstanding Performance (3) Fighting Spirit (2) Technique (4)
Kinboshi	1
* Career information is correct as of January 2007.

Takanohana Kenshi 貴ノ花健士 (born Hanada Mitsuru; February 19, 1950 - May 30, 2005) was a sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was ozeki, which he held for fifty tournaments. As an active rikishi he was extremely popular and was nicknamed the "prince of sumo" due to his good looks and relatively slim build. He was the father of Wakanohana Masaru and Takanohana Koji, and as head of the Futagoyama stable coached both of them to the yokozuna rank.

Career

He had been a champion swimmer while at school, but did not think he could make a living out of it. He was determined to join professional sumo, in spite of some opposition from his family.^[1] He began his career in the spring of 1965, joining Futagoyama stable which had been set up his elder brother, former yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji I, three years previously. He initially fought under his own surname of Hanada. He reached the top makuuchi division in November 1968 at the age of just 18, the youngest ever at the time (the record is now held by his son Takanohana). He weighed barely 100 kg, and would remain one of the lightest men in the top division for the rest of his career. He adopted the shikona of Takanohana in 1969. He was the last man to beat yokozuna Taihō, in May 1971. As he rose up the rankings he collected nine special prizes, including four prestigious Ginosho, or Technique Awards.

After finishing as runner-up in consecutive tournaments in May and July 1972 he reached sumo's second highest rank of ozeki in November 1972. He was promoted at the same time as his friend and rival Wajima, who quickly went on to be promoted to yokozuna. Takanohana's progress was slower, but he did win two top division tournament (or honbasho) championships in March and September 1975, each time delighting the crowds by defeating the giant yokozuna Kitanoumi in a playoff. He and Wakanohana were the first brothers ever to each win a top division tournament title. He was also runner-up in the January and March 1977 tournaments. However he was ultimately unable to defeat Kitanoumi or Wajima on a regular basis, and was hampered by his inability to put on weight, and so never made the yokozuna rank.^[1] Nevertheless, he was an ozeki for fifty tournaments, corresponding to over eight years in the rank. This was a record until July 2007 when it was broken by Chiyotaikai. He was a bigger crowd attraction than some yokozuna.^[1]

By the early 1980s he was finding it harder to hold onto his rank, and had been overtaken by his stablemate Wakanohana Kanji II, and other younger wrestlers. After losing to the rising star Chiyonofuji twice in a row in September and November 1980, he decided the time was right to retire.

After retirement

After retiring from sumo in January 1981, he took the name Fujishima and established the Fujishima stable in 1982, which grew to be one of the most powerful in terms of top makuuchi ranked wrestlers. When his elder brother retired as a stablemaster in 1993 he inherited the name Futagoyama and led the merged Futagoyama stable, which had one quarter of all the top ranked rikishi in it at one point, including two yokozuna, an ozeki and many others regularly in the junior sanyaku ranks. During this time it was undoubtedly the most powerful stable the sumo world has seen in the postwar period. He oversaw the promotion of both of his sons to yokozuna, the first time ever that two siblings have held sumo's highest rank.

He was married in 1970 to a former actress and beauty queen, Fujita Noriko, who was once "Miss Ōita Prefecture."^[1] They were divorced in 2001.

His health began to decline in 2003, and he withdrew from his duties in the Sumo Association. He passed on control of Futagoyama stable to his son Takanohana in January 2004, and made his last public appearance in January 2005 at the retirement ceremony of one of his former wrestlers, Takanonami.^[2]

In February 2005, his son publicly announced that his father was struggling with mouth cancer (he had been a heavy smoker of Mild Seven cigarettes for most of his life). He underwent extensive treatment, but no recovery was possible, and on 30 May 2005, he succumbed to the disease at the age of 55.

Fighting style

Takanohana's favoured techniques were hidari-yotsu (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on his opponent's mawashi), tsuridashi (lift out) and uwatenage (overarm throw).

Top division record

Takanohana Kenshi^[3]

year in sumo	January Hatsu basho, Tokyo	March Haru basho, Osaka	May Natsu basho, Tokyo	July Nagoya basho, Nagoya	September Aki basho, Tokyo	November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1968	x	x	x	x	x	East Maegashira #13 8–7
1969	West Maegashira #11 7–8	East Maegashira #12 0–8–7	(Juryo)	(Juryo)	(Juryo)	(Juryo)
1970	West Maegashira #9 10–5	East Maegashira #2 3–12	West Maegashira #11 8–7	East Maegashira #7 11–4	West Komusubi 9–6 O	West Sekiwake 7–8
1971	East Komusubi 2–4–9	East Maegashira #5 9–6 T	West Komusubi 8–7 O	East Komusubi 8–7 O	West Sekiwake 9–6 T	East Sekiwake 8–7
1972	West Sekiwake 6–9	West Maegashira #1 10–5 ★	East Komusubi 11–4 T	West Sekiwake 12–3 TF	East Sekiwake 10–5 F	West Ōzeki 9–6
1973	West Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 0–3–12	West Ōzeki 8–7	West Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 9–6
1974	East Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 10–5	West Ōzeki 2–4–9	West Ōzeki 10–5	East Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 11–4
1975	East Ōzeki 10–5	East Ōzeki 13–2–P	East Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 0–4–11	West Ōzeki 12–3–P	East Ōzeki 8–7
1976	West Ōzeki 9–6	East Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 10–5	East Ōzeki 9–6	East Ōzeki 10–5	East Ōzeki 9–6
1977	West Ōzeki 12–3	East Ōzeki 13–2	East Ōzeki 10–5	West Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 10–5	East Ōzeki 10–5
1978	West Ōzeki 0–5–10	West Ōzeki 8–7	West Ōzeki 8–7	West Ōzeki 8–7	West Ōzeki 8–7	West Ōzeki 10–5
1979	West Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 9–6	East Ōzeki 10–5	East Ōzeki 9–6
1980	East Ōzeki 7–8	West Ōzeki 10–5	East Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 9–6	East Ōzeki 9–6	East Ōzeki 8–7
1981	East Ōzeki Retired 2–5–0	x	x	x	x	x
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s) P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of past sumo wrestlers
• List of sumo tournament winners
• List of sumo tournament second division winners

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-x. 
2. ^ "Futagoyama Oyakata Dies". Sumo Talk. 2005-05-30. http://www.sumotalk.com/futago.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-02. 
3. ^ "Takanohana Kenshi rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. http://sumodb.sumogames.com/Rikishi.aspx?r=4056. Retrieved 2007-07-20. 

External links

• Article on brothers in sumo

Persondata
Name	Takanohana, Kenshi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1950-02-19
Place of birth	Muroran, Japan
Date of death	2005-05-30
Place of death