Takanohana Kōji

At 52 years old, Takanohana Kōji has this physical status:

Takanohana and his brother made their professional debuts together in March 1988, with future rival Akebono also beginning his career in the same month. The two brothers had to move from the family quarters in the stable and join the communal room with all the other new recruits. They were also instructed not to refer to their parents as "father" and "mother" any more but as "oyakata" and "okamisan" (coach and coach's wife). Kōji initially wrestled under the name Takahanada (貴花田), and it was understood that he would only be allowed to adopt his father's shikona of Takanohana (meaning noble flower) when he reached the rank of ōzeki.

Their early career attracted much publicity, with each divisional promotion regarded by the media as part of an inevitable rise to the top ranks. Takahanada's progress was rapid and he set numerous age-related records, including the youngest ever makushita division tournament champion (16 years 9 months), youngest ever promoted to the second highest jūryō division (17 years 3 months), and the youngest ever promoted to the top makuuchi division (17 years 8 months).

In March 1991, in his fourth top division tournament, Takahanada was runner-up with twelve wins, and became the youngest ever sanshō or special prize winner, receiving awards for Fighting Spirit and Technique. In the following tournament in May 1991 he defeated veteran yokozuna Chiyonofuji in a match watched by 44 percent of the Japanese population on TV, becoming the youngest ever to defeat a yokozuna. Chiyonofuji retired two days afterwards. In January 1992, he became the youngest ever top division tournament champion (19 years 5 months). He was too young to drink the celebratory sake at the after tournament party, and had to make do with oolong tea instead. After his second championship in September 1992, followed by two good scores of 10–5 and 11–4 in the next two tournaments, he was promoted to ōzeki in January 1993, the same tournament in which Akebono was elevated to yokozuna.

During this period the two brothers created a so-called "Waka-Taka boom" and were credited with restoring sumo's popularity, particularly amongst younger audiences. Interest in sumo rose to its highest level since the era of Futabayama in the 1930s, with official tournaments (honbasho) selling out of tickets every day. Both Takahanada and his brother became sex symbols.

Yokozuna career

Takanohana's total of seven tournament championships by the start of 1995 was the same as the total won by Akebono, who had reached the yokozuna rank two years before him. However, Takanohana now pulled ahead of his rival. He 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. He produced two more perfect scores of 15–0, in September 1995 and September 1996. Overall he won 80 out of 90 bouts he fought in 1995, 70 out of 75 in 1996, and 78 out 90 in 1997, far ahead of any other wrestler. In three of the tournaments Takanohana did not win during this period, he was defeated by stablemates in playoffs: once to Wakanohana and twice to ōzeki Takanonami. Sumo rules prevent wrestlers from the same heya meeting in regular tournament bouts (playoffs excepted) which meant Takanohana avoided not only his brother and Takanonami but also sekiwake Akinoshima and Takatōriki. The merger of his father's Fujishima stable with his uncle's Futagoyama stable in 1993 had added even more top division wrestlers to this list, giving him an advantage over Akebono, who had to face them all. By September 1996 Takanohana had won 15 tournament championships, and was still only 24 years old. However, after sitting out the first tournament of his career in November 1996 due to a back injury suffered on a regional tour, he put on more weight and began to be more susceptible to injury and illness.

Takanohana was affected by a liver disorder in the first half of 1998, which caused him to withdraw from the January 1998 tournament and miss the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Nagano (his place was taken by Akebono). 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 had a considerable influence over him. He became increasingly isolated from his father and brother, with his father claiming Takanohana had been "brainwashed" by Tomita. Despite his brother's promotion to yokozuna that year, creating the first ever sibling grand champions, the two were barely on speaking terms. Takanohana recovered to win the July and September 1998 tournaments, and was runner-up that November. In 1999, however, he was even more badly affected by injuries, including a dislocated shoulder, and managed only one score in double digits all year.

After making peace with his family, Takanohana regained some of his consistency in 2000, although he was temporarily sidelined by an elbow injury suffered in the July tournament. His brother had retired in March, and several other members of his stable were now past their best. With Akebono dominant once more, his best results that year were two runner-up performances.

Takanohana won his first tournament in over two years in January 2001, winning his first fourteen bouts and then defeating fellow yokozuna Musashimaru in a playoff on the final day. 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 Musōyama on the 14th day but he insisted on fighting until the end of the tournament. As a result, he then missed an unprecedented seven consecutive tournaments, undergoing surgery in Paris in July 2001 and having a lengthy recuperation after that.

Takanohana finally returned to the ring in September 2002, after the Sumo Association declared he must compete or retire. He finished behind Musashimaru on 12–3, the 16th time he had been a tournament runner-up. Considering how long he had been away, it was seen as an impressive comeback. However, he sat out the next tournament with a recurrence of the knee injury. 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. He said he had no regrets and was thankful to have achieved so much in sumo. His father spoke of his relief at the decision, after seeing his son battle through so many injuries. Takanohana's record of 22 tournament championships was the fourth best in sumo history, behind only Taihō, Chiyonofuji and Kitanoumi at the time. Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister, was among those paying tribute. His retirement left no Japanese born wrestlers at the yokozuna rank and was widely regarded as being the end of an era.

Takanohana's danpatsu-shiki, or official retirement ceremony, was held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan on June 1, 2003. Unusually, Takanohana allowed only 50 guests on stage to take a snip of his hair, instead of the normal 300 to 400. The ceremony, and the party held afterwards at the Imperial Hotel, were both broadcast live on Fuji TV.

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