Takanonami Sadahiro

Takanonami Sadahiro - 貴ノ浪貞博 (born October 27, 1971 - June 20, 2015) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Misawa, Aomori. He made his debut in March 1987 and wrestled for Takanohana stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 1991 and has 3 special prizes, 2 kinboshi and 2 top division championships. His highest rank was ozeki and he retired in May 2004.

Early Life[]

Born in Misawa, Aomori, the young Namioka did sumo at elementary school, but did not initially consider it as a profession, intending to follow his father and work in local government. However, he was introduced to Fujishima Oyakata (the former Takanohana Kenshi) who was in Misawa to give a speech, and was persuaded to join Fujishima Stable.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his debut in March 1987 and initially wrestled under his surname. He climbed the ranks steadily and was promoted to sandanme in March 1988 and makushita in March 1989. Due to his size, he could out muscle most of his opponents. In January 1991 he produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 4 and was promoted to juryo in the following March tournament.

Juryo Career[]

He made his juryo debut at the age of 19 and continued to produce winning records. He posted a 9-6 record in his debut and followed with an 8-7. In September 1991, he produced a strong 12-3 record, but missed out on the yusho after losing the playoffs to Daizen. Nevertheless, he was promoted to makuuchi in the following November tournament.

Makuuchi Career[]

He led the race for the championship in the first week of the tournament, the first debutant to do so, and defeated Kotonishiki, the winner of the previous tournament. However he started losing in the second week and finished with a score of 8–7. He earned his first special prize in his first tournament at komusubi rank in May 1993. After a 13–2 runner-up performance from sekiwake rank in January 1994, he earned promotion to ōzeki simultaneously with Musashimaru.

Ozeki Career[]

Main dcf228efa665e2cd4c361df75c7ae7b7 — Takanonami defeats rival Musashimaru for his kinboshi (c. 2002)

His two tournament victories in January 1996 and November 1997 both came after playoff wins against stablemate Takanohana. He normally avoided having to meet Takanohana, as well as other top division stars such as Wakanohana, Takatoriki and Akinoshima, as they were all members of Futagoyama stable, a large and dominant heya which had merged with Fujishima in 1993. At his peak he consistently scored 11 or 12 wins in a tournament and was runner-up three times in 1996. He was ranked as an ozeki for 37 tournaments in total.

Later Career[]

He lost the rank at the end of 1999 after two make-koshi or losing scores, but was promoted back after scoring ten wins as a sekiwake in January 2000: the first wrestler to achieve this since Mienoumi in 1976. However, after two more losing scores in March and May 2000 he was demoted once again, and was never able to return.

Rivalry with Musashimaru[]

Takanonami had a well-known rivalry with fellow ozeki and later yokozuna, Musashimaru. They met a total of 58 times in the top division, which at the time of his retirement was the most between any two wrestlers in the history of sumo. In all, Musashimaru had the upper hand, winning 37 bouts to Takanonami's 21, although Takanonami did manage to beat him seven times in a row from November 1996 to January 1998, and also won their last three matches, after he had fallen from the ozeki rank. Two of those wins provided Takanonami with his only kinboshi.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Aa618a21c04fe0e63a14f9f61acca4e620150622113247552 — Otowayama oyakata

By May 2004 Takanonami was the only top division wrestler left from the once dominant Futagoyama stable, which had been renamed Takanohana stable a few months earlier. He had slipped to maegashira 13 in the rankings and after losing his first two bouts, he announced his retirement. He worked as a coach in his old stable under the name Otowayama. Along with five other oyakata (Magaki, Onomatsu, Otake, Tokiwayama and Futagoyama), he left the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables in January 2010 after declaring his support for his former stablemate Takanohana's unsanctioned bid to be elected to the board of directors of the Sumo Association. He was appointed as a judge of tournament bouts in February 2015. As an oyakata he was known as one of the more bright personalities in his stable, and he appeared on a number of variety programs on Japanese TV largely due to his accessible personality.

Health Problems and Death[]

Takanonami was first diagnosed as having a possible heart condition, specifically atrial fibrillation, in 1998. He spent some time in hospital whilst still an active wrestler, but in February 2006 he was admitted to hospital once again with sepsis, pneumonia and other complications. He fell into cardiac arrest and had to undergo emergency surgery, which saved his life. On June 20, 2015, he died of acute heart failure.

Personal Life[]

Takanonami was one of the tallest active rikishi at 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in). He claimed that he was closer to 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in), but it made him sound like a "monster", so he would change his posture when officials recorded his height.
Takanonami's favorite food is natto. His hobby is fishing and darts.
Takanonami was reportedly a big fan of American football and appeared as a commentator on sports programs in Japan.
Takanonami's wedding was held in February 2002.

Fighting Style[]

Takanonami had an unusual defensive style, often being driven back to the edge of the dohyo before using his long reach to lean over and grab his opponent's arms and launch a counter-offensive. This style was given as the reason why he was not awarded a special prize in November 1993 despite a 12–3 record at sekiwake rank. He regularly won by kimedashi (arm barring force out), a sumo technique seldom seen today. He was also a frequent employer of kotenage, the armbar throw, with 65 victories using this technique from 1990, more than any of his contemporaries. In his later years his various injuries (particularly those to his ankles) meant his defensive style was less effective, and his results suffered. He largely remained in the maegashira ranks and had six consecutive losing scores in 2003.