Hananokuni Akihiro

Hananokuni Akihiro - 花ノ国明宏 (born October 15, 1959) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fujiidera, Osaka. He made his debut in March 1975 and wrestled for Hanaregoma stable. He reached the makuuchi division in March 1988 and has one special prize as well as one kinboshi. His highest rank was maegashira 1 and he retired in November 1994.

Early Life[]

Akihiro Noguchi practiced sumo from an early age and was trained by his father who was a sumo enthusiast. After graduating Fujiidera Shiritsu Domyoji Junior High School, he joined Hanakago stable and made his professional debut in March 1975.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Noguchi steadily climbed the ranks of the lower divisions. He was promoted to sandanme in November 1976 and makushita in July 1978. Upon promotion to makushita, he changed his shikona to "Omisugi" (大三杉). He changed his shikona to "Hananokuni" (花ノ国) in May 1982. After the shikona change, Hananokuni posted seven consecutive winning records and was promoted to juryo in May 1983.

Juryo Career[]

Screen Shot 2021-04-27 at 8.27.14 PM — Hananokuni (c. 1991)

Hananokuni could only manage 4 wins in his sekitori debut and he was demoted back down to makushita. He returned to juryo in January 1984, but could only last four tournaments. In 1985 he transferred to Hanaregoma stable after his Hanakago stable closed down. He briefly reverted his shikona back to his surname "Noguchi" (野口). He won the makushita yusho in March 1985 with a perfect 7-0 record at the rank of makushita 15. This earned him a promotion back to juryo and he changed his shikona back to Hananokuni. However he continued to struggle and was demoted back down to makushita on two separate occasions. He returned to juryo for the fifth time in March 1987 and produced four consecutive winning records which sent him to the top of juryo. In January 1988 he finished with a 10-5 record and was promoted to makuuchi in March 1988.

Makuuchi Career[]

At the time of his makuuchi debut, Hananokuni was already 28 years old. His best result in a tournament came in September 1988 when he won eleven bouts, defeated ozeki Konishiki and received the Fighting Spirit Award. He defeated yokozuna Hokutoumi in September 1989 to earn his only kinboshi. Chiyonofuji defeated him in March 1990 to become the first wrestler to win 1000 career bouts. His highest rank was maegashira 1 which he earned in November 1989.

Later Career[]

His last appearance in the top division came in November 1992 and he spent the last two years of his career back in the juryo and makushita divisions. His sumo had deteriorated due to an injury on his elbow.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Upon his retirement in November 1994 he was unable to obtain elder stock and become a member of the Japan Sumo Association. However, he was able to remain in sumo by becoming a wakaimonogashira, a kind of record keeper and odd job man which is a salaried role within the Sumo Association. His highest rank of maegashira 1 means he is the wakaimonogashira with the highest career rank in History. At the time of his retirement, his active career rank surpassed 38 of 103 oyakata in the Association. He can often be seen assisting with the presentation of prizes to the yusho winner at the conclusion of tournaments. He is attached to Shibatayama stable. He retired from this position in October 2024 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.

Fighting Style[]

Hananokuni′s favored kimarite or techniques included yoritaoshi (force out and down), uwatenage (overarm throw) and shitatedashinage (pulling inner arm throw. He used a migi-yotsu grip on the mawashi, with his left hand outside and right hand inside his opponent′s arms.