Takanohana Kenshi
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Real name | Mitsuru Hanada | |
| Date of birth | February 19, 1950 | |
| Place of birth | Toyko | |
| Height | 182cm | |
| Weight | 115kg | |
| Career* | ||
| Heya | Futagoyama | |
| Rank | retired | |
| Record | 726-490-58 | |
| Debut | May, 1965 | |
| Highest rank | Ozeki (November 1972) | |
| Yushos | 2 (Makuuchi) 2 (Juryo) 1 (Jonokuchi) |
|
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (3) Fighting Spirit (2) Technique (4) |
|
| Gold stars | 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 Japanese sumo wrestler. His highest rank was ozeki. 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 yokozuna Wakanohana Masaru and Takanohana Koji.
Takanohana began his career in the spring of 1965, joining the Futagoyama stable run by his elder brother, former yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji I. He reached the top makuuchi division in November 1968 at the age of just 18, the youngest ever at the time. He was promoted to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki in November 1972. He won the top division tournament (or honbasho) championship on two occasions (March and September 1975), each time delighting the crowds by defeating the giant yokozuna Kitanoumi in a playoff. He also holds the record for the most tournaments ranked as ozeki, at 50, corresponding to over eight years in the rank.
After retiring from sumo in January 1981, he took the name Fujishima (currently owned by former Ozeki Musoyama) and led the Fujishima stable, for many years in which it grew to be one of the most powerful in terms of top makuuchi ranked wrestlers. When his elder brother, former yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji I, retired as a stablemaster he inherited his brother's 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 period it was undoubtedly the most powerful stable the sumo world has seen in the postwar period.
In February of 2005, his son, Takanohana II, publicly announced that his father was struggling with cancer. He underwent extensive treatment, but no recovery was possible, and on 30 May 2005, he succumbed to the disease at the age of 55.
