Photo: FourTildes / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
It is hard to convey to anyone who missed it how enormous the Wakanohana and Takanohana boom was in early 1990s Japan. Sumo was the national conversation and two brothers' names were traded in school corridors. Masaru Hanada, born in Tokyo in 1971, stood in the middle of that noise with a younger brother who happened to be a generational monster, and still climbed to yokozuna himself. After retiring he lost a startling amount of weight and became a warm, chatty television presence, a gap I have always enjoyed. The family friction got picked over endlessly in print. What he carried on that clay, though, is probably his alone to know.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Wakanohana Masaru
- Name (Japanese)
- 花田虎上
- Born
- January 20, 1971 (age 55)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Boar
- Origin
- Tokyo, Japan
- Occupation
- rikishi
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%B1%E7%94%B0%E8%99%8E%E4%B8%8A
Frequently asked questions
When was Wakanohana Masaru born?
Born January 20, 1971 (age 55).
Where is Wakanohana Masaru from?
Wakanohana Masaru is from Tokyo, Japan.
What does Wakanohana Masaru do?
Wakanohana Masaru works as rikishi.
Rikishi — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-07-26
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.