CalendarZ

  1. Home
  2. On This Day
  3. March
  4. 16
  5. Wakanohana Kanji I

Births on March 16

Wakanohana Kanji I
1928Mar, 16

Wakanohana Kanji I

Wakanohana Kanji I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 45th Yokozuna (d. 2010)
Wakanohana Kanji I (Japanese: 若乃花 幹士, Hepburn: Wakanohana Kanji, March 16, 1928 – September 1, 2010) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 45th yokozuna. He was a popular wrestler and was nicknamed the "Devil of the Dohyō" (土俵の鬼, Dohyō no Oni) due to his great fighting spirit and endurance.

Wakanohana's younger brother (by twenty-two years) was the late former ōzeki Takanohana Kenshi and he was the uncle of Wakanohana Masaru and Takanohana Kōji. He won ten top division yūshō or tournament championships during his career and at a fighting weight of around 100 kg was one of the lightest yokozuna ever. He had a long-standing rivalry with Tochinishiki and was one of the most popular wrestlers of the 1950s. After his retirement in 1962 he established Futagoyama stable and was also head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1988 until 1992.

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1928

  • 12Mar

    St. Francis Dam

    In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kills 431 people.
  • 12Apr

    Junkers W 33

    The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
  • 4Jun

    Zhang Zuolin

    The President of the Republic of China, Zhang Zuolin, is assassinated by Japanese agents.
  • 18Jun

    Amelia Earhart

    Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).
  • 2Oct

    Josemaría Escrivá

    The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded by Josemaría Escrivá.