Wakanohana Masaru

(1971-)

Japanese sumo wrestler

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Masaru Hanada (花田虎上, previously 花田勝, Hanada Masaru, born January 20, 1971) is a Japanese former sumo wrestler. As an active wrestler he was known as Wakanohana III Masaru (若乃花勝), and his rise through the ranks alongside his younger brother Takanohana Kōji saw a boom in sumo's popularity in the early 1990s. He is the elder son of the former ōzeki Takanohana I, who was also his stablemaster, and the nephew of Wakanohana I, a famous yokozuna of the 1950s. Wakanohana was a long serving ōzeki who won five tournament championships, and eventually joined his brother at yokozuna rank in 1998, creating the first ever sibling grand champions. After a brief and injury plagued yokozuna career he retired in 2000, becoming a television personality and restaurant owner. The death of his father in 2005 saw a very public falling out with his brother.