Wakanohana Kanji I facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wakanohana Kanji |
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| 若乃花 幹士 | |
Wakanohana, 1961
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| Personal information | |
| Born | Hanada Katsuji March 16, 1928 Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | September 1, 2010 (aged 82) Tokyo, Japan |
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 105 kg (231 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Nishonoseki, Hanakago |
| Record | 593-253-70-4 draws |
| Debut | November, 1946 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (January, 1958) |
| Retired | May, 1962 |
| Elder name | Futagoyama |
| Championships | 10 (Makuuchi) 1 (Sandanme) 1 (Jonidan) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (2) Fighting Spirit (2) Technique (1) |
| Gold Stars | 6 Haguroyama (2) Chiyonoyama (2) Azumafuji (2) |
| * Up to date as of June 2020. | |
Wakanohana Kanji (Japanese: 若乃花 幹士, Hepburn: Wakanohana Kanji, March 16, 1928 – September 1, 2010) was a famous Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He became the 45th yokozuna, which is the highest rank in sumo. People called him the "Devil of the Dohyō" (the sumo ring). This was because he had amazing fighting spirit and never gave up!
Wakanohana was a very popular wrestler. He was known for being one of the lightest yokozuna ever, weighing around 100 kg (220 lbs). He won ten top division championships, called yūshō, during his career. He had a big rivalry with another wrestler named Tochinishiki in the 1950s. After he stopped wrestling in 1962, he started his own sumo training stable called Futagoyama stable. He even led the Japan Sumo Association, which is like the main organization for sumo, from 1988 to 1992. His younger brother, Takanohana Kenshi, was also a famous sumo wrestler, and his nephews, Wakanohana Masaru and Takanohana Kōji, became champions too!
Becoming a Sumo Star
Wakanohana was born as Hanada Katsuji in Hirosaki, Japan. When he was a child, his family moved to Hokkaidō. He worked as a stevedore, which is someone who loads and unloads ships. A sumo wrestler named Onoumi noticed him and invited him to join a sumo stable. A stable is like a special training gym for sumo wrestlers. Wakanohana joined Nishonoseki stable in November 1946.
He trained very hard. His first ring name, or shikona, was Wakanohana Yoshimi. He later changed it to his real name in May 1948. In 1952, his coach Onoumi started a new stable called Shibatayama, and Wakanohana followed him. This stable was later renamed Hanakago stable in 1953.
Wakanohana reached the top division of sumo in 1950. In September 1955, he had an amazing match against yokozuna Chiyonoyama. This match lasted for over 17 minutes! Most sumo matches are over in just a few seconds, so this was very unusual. The match ended in a draw. After this impressive performance, he was promoted to ōzeki, which is the rank right below yokozuna.
He won his first top division championship in May 1956. Wakanohana became a yokozuna in January 1958, after winning his second championship. He was the first yokozuna from his group of stables in over 20 years!
Rivalries and Retirement
Wakanohana had a famous rivalry with another yokozuna named Tochinishiki. They were very similar in height and weight, and both won ten top division titles. In March 1960, they faced each other on the last day of a tournament, and both were undefeated! This was the first time two yokozuna had ever met like this. Wakanohana won that match. Tochinishiki retired after the next tournament.
Wakanohana continued wrestling until 1962, even facing new young yokozuna like Taihō and Kashiwado. He was so popular that a movie about his life, called Wakanohana Monogatari Dohyō no Oni, was made in 1956!
Life After Sumo
After retiring from wrestling, Wakanohana started his own sumo stable, Futagoyama. This stable trained many great wrestlers, including his brother Takanohana and his nephews, who also became very famous.
He also became the head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1988 to 1992. During his time leading the association, he made some changes to improve sumo. For example, he started fining wrestlers who made false starts at the beginning of a match. In 1988, he performed his kanreki dohyō-iri, a special ring entrance ceremony. This ceremony is done to celebrate a yokozuna's 60th birthday and their time at the highest rank.
When he retired from the Sumo Association in 1993, his stable joined with his brother's stable. He then became the director of the Sumo Museum. Wakanohana passed away in September 2010 at the age of 82 from kidney cancer.
Wrestling Style
Wakanohana was known for his clever and skillful fighting style. He was especially good at throwing his opponents using overarm techniques. Some of his famous moves included uwatenage (an overarm throw) and dashinage (a pulling overarm throw). He was also known for a rare move called yobimodoshi, which is a pulling body slam. This move is hardly ever seen in sumo today!
He was also very flexible in his grip on his opponent's mawashi (the belt sumo wrestlers wear). He could use both a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) and a migi-yotsu (the opposite) grip, which made him very hard to beat.
See also
- Glossary of sumo terms
- Kanreki dohyō-iri
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament top division champions
- List of sumo tournament top division runners-up
- List of yokozuna
