Wakanohana Kanji I

Born Hanada Katsuji (花田 勝治) in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, he moved to Hokkaidō as a child. After working as a stevedore, he was scouted by the maegashira Onoumi,[1] joining Nishonoseki stable in November 1946. He was trained harshly by Rikidōzan in Nishonoseki stable, and reportedly bit Rikidōzan's leg in retaliation for his training.[2] He began sumo with the shikona or ring name Wakanohana Yoshimi (若ノ花 義美), before changing its given name to his real one in May 1948. Onoumi became head coach of Shibatayama stable after his retirement in May 1952, and Wakanohana followed him to the new stable. It was renamed Hanakago stable in September 1953.

Wakanohana and Chiyonoyama take a break during their 17-minute draw in September 1955

Wakanohana reached the top division in 1950. In September 1955 he fought a bout against yokozuna Chiyonoyama that lasted for over 17 minutes before being declared a draw.[1] In contrast, most sumo matches are over in a few seconds. He was promoted to ōzeki after that tournament. Wakanohana won his first top division championship in May 1956. Shortly before the following tournament his four-year-old eldest son Katsuo was scalded to death when a boiling hot pot of chankonabe fell on him.[3] Despite being devastated by the tragedy,[4] Wakanohana chose to compete in the tournament but ended up dropping out with a fever.[3] He changed the spelling of his ring surname in September 1957, and adopted the given name Kanji in May 1958.

Wakanohana was promoted to yokozuna in January 1958, shortly after he took his second tournament championship. He was the first yokozuna produced by the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables in over 20 years and consequently had to borrow the keshō-mawashi of the former Futabayama to perform his first yokozuna dohyō-iri or ring entering ceremony.[4]

Wakanohana's great rival as yokozuna was Tochinishiki. They were very evenly matched, being of similar height and weight, and both ended up with ten top division titles each. In March 1960, they faced each other undefeated on the final day – the first time ever that two yokozuna had met like this.[3] Wakanohana won the match and Tochinishiki retired after the next tournament. Wakanohana kept going until the new era of yokozuna Taihō and Kashiwado, retiring in May 1962.

Wakanohana was such a popular wrestler that he even starred in a feature film about his life, Wakanohana Monogatari Dohyō no Oni made by Nikkatsu and released across Japan on December 27, 1956.[4][5]

After retirement he set up his own training stable, Futagoyama, which produced a string of top wrestlers, including ōzeki Takanohana (his brother) and Wakashimazu, and yokozuna Wakanohana II and Takanosato. He was also head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1988 to 1992.[6] Among his reforms was an attempt to improve the quality of the tachi-ai or initial charge of a bout by fining wrestlers who engaged in matta, or false starts, beginning in September 1991.[7] In his first year as head of the Association, he also performed his kanreki dohyō-iri or '60th year ring entrance ceremony' to commemorate his years as yokozuna. At the end of his last tournament in charge he presented the Emperor's Cup to his nephew, Takahanada, who had become the youngest ever top division tournament winner.[8] Upon his retirement from the Sumo Association in 1993, his stable merged with his brother's Fujishima stable. He became director of the Sumo Museum. He died of kidney cancer in September 2010 at the age of 82. Umegatani I, who lived to 83, is the only yokozuna to live longer than him.[9]

Wakanohana was a noted technician, and his trademark was his overarm throwing techniques.[9] As well as uwatenage and dashinage he was also well known for yobimodoshi, or pulling body slam, a kimarite that has virtually disappeared from professional sumo today. He was equally adept at both a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) and migi-yotsu (the reverse) grip on his opponent's mawashi.

• The New Year tournament began and the Spring tournament returned to Osaka in 1953.

• Since the addition of the Kyushu tournament in 1957 and the Nagoya tournament in 1958, the yearly schedule has remained unchanged.

• 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wakanohana Kanji I.

• Japan Sumo Association profile