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(Redirected from Takanohana Koji)
:''"Takanohana" redirects here. For the first Takanohana, see Takanohana Kenshi.
is a former sumo wrestler from Suginami, Tokyo, Japan. He was the 65th ''yokozuna'' in the history of the sport. He was one of the most successful ''yokozuna'' ever, winning 22 tournament titles. He comes from a family with a great sumo history. His elder brother Wakanohana Masaru also reached the rank of ''yokozuna'', and his father was an ''ozeki'' under the name Takanohana Kenshi, and as Futagoyama Oyakata was his stable master.

Contents

Early career

Yokozuna

Retirement from sumo

Marriage

Top Division Record

References

Related articles

External Links

Early career

Takanohana entered sumo in March 1988, at the same time as his brother, and also Akebono and Kaio. In the early part of his career, he wrestled under the name 'Takahanada'. He adopted his father's ''shikona'' of Takanohana (''noble flower'')^[1] upon promotion to ''ozeki''. He had a rapid rise through the ranks, in which he set numerous age-related records, including the youngest ever ''makushita'' tournament champion (16 years 9 months), youngest ever promotion to the ''juryo'' division (17 years 3 months), youngest ever promotion to the top ''makuuchi'' division (17 years 8 months), and youngest ever top division tournament champion (19 years 5 months). Although he was also the youngest ever to be promoted to ''ozeki'' (20 years 5 months) in January 1993, his lack of consistency delayed his promotion to ''yokozuna''. By mid 1994 he had won five top division titles, but all had been in Tokyo. However in September and November 1994 he finally managed to win two tournaments in a row, emerging undefeated from both, and was promoted to ''yokozuna'' in January 1995.

Yokozuna

Takanohana was at his peak as a ''yokozuna'' between 1995 and 1997, during which time he won 11 of the 17 tournaments he entered, finishing runner-up in the other six. In three of the tournaments he did not win, he was defeated by stablemates in playoffs: once to Wakanohana and twice to Takanonami. He produced two more perfect scores of 15-0, in September 1995 and September 1996. Overall he won 80 out of 90 bouts in 1995, 70 out of 75 in 1996 and 78 out 90 in 1997, far ahead of any other wrestler. In 1998 he was affected by a liver disorder in the first half of the year, which caused him withdraw from the January 1998 tournament and miss the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Nagano (his place was taken by Akebono).^[2] He pulled out of the March 1998 tournament as well and was still below his best in May. Shunning the traditional treatment methods available from his stable, he turned instead to a physical therapist called Tashiro Tomita, who became somewhat of a svengali figure. Takanohana became increasingly isolated from his father and brother, and it was suggested he had been "brainwashed" by Tomita. "What will become of the dynasty?" Lewin, Brian He recovered to win the July and September tournaments, and was runner-up in November. In 1999, however, he was even more badly affected by injury, managing only one score in double figures all year. After making peace with his family, Takanohana regained more consistent form in 2000. In January 2001 he won his first tournament for over two years, defeating fellow ''yokozuna'' Musashimaru in a playoff. He won his final championship in May 2001, again in a playoff against Musashimaru, but it came at a great cost. He had suffered serious knee ligament damage in a loss to Musoyama on the 14th day but he insisted on fighting on to the end of the tournament. "What will become of the dynasty?" Lewin, Brian As a result, he missed the next seven tournaments, undergoing surgery in Paris in July 2001 and having a lengthy recuperation after that. ^[3] He finally returned to the ring in September 2002, ater the Sumo Association declared he must compete or retire.^[4] He produced a 12-3 record, finishing runner-up to Musashimaru. Considering how long he had been away, it was an impressive comeback.^[5]However, he sat out the next tournament with a recurrence of the knee injury.^[6] He made another comeback in January 2003, making a late decision to compete. A shoulder injury caused him to miss two days, and after suffering successive losses to Dejima and Aminishiki he announced his retirement from sumo. ^[7] His record of 22 tournament championships is the fourth best in sumo history, behind Taiho, Chiyonofuji and Kitanoumi.

Retirement from sumo

After his retirement he became an elder (or member) of the Japan Sumo Association. Because of his great achievements in sumo he was allowed to keep his fighting name and he took over the operation of his father's training stable in January 2004, renaming it Takanohana stable. Upon his father's death in 2005, a bitter rift between Takanohana and his brother Wakanohana was widely reported in the Japanese media. Takanohana was very critical of both his brother and his mother: his attacks on his brother relating to the struggle between them to control their father's funeral rites; the attacks on his mother condemning her for her extra-marital affair (which led to her divorce from Futagoyama, and had only been rumored up to that point). There has been some suggestion that all of this relates to who will control their father's estate.^[8]
Also of note in the Japanese media at the same time was the change in Takanohana's appearance since his retirement - he had lost a lot of weight (more than retired wrestlers typically do) and grown something of a mop top hairdo.

Marriage

In late 1992 Takanohana announced an engagement to actress Miyazawa Rie, but it was abandoned the following year as Miyazawa was seen by his family and the Sumo Association as being unwilling to sacrifice her career to become a regular stable wife. In May 1995 he married television announcer Keiko Kono. The couple have a son and two daughters.

Top Division Record

References

1. The Big Book of Sumo, , Mina, Hall, Stone Bridge Press, 1997,
2. Winter Olympics: Akebono to lead sumo's debut on Olympic stage
3. Takanohana still star of the no-show
4. Last hurrah for Takanohana?
5. Maru overpowers Taka to take title
6. "Takanohana out again because of knee injury"
7. "Injured Takanohana retires from sumo"
8. "Sumo's fairy tale family feud leaves brothers grim"

Related articles

★ Glossary of sumo terms

★ List of active sumo wrestlers

★ List of yokozuna

External Links

★ Japan Sumo Association profile

★ Article on the "Hanada Dynasty"