Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna

Wakanohana Masaru

Masaru Hanada is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. As an active wrestler he was known as Wakanohana Masaru , 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 Kenshi, who was also his stablemaster, and the nephew of Wakanohana Kanji I, a famous yokozuna of the 1950s. Wakanohana was a long serving ōzeki who won five tournament championships, and eventually joined his brother as the 66th yokozuna in 1998, creating the first ever sibling grand champions.

Born

1971

January 20

Died

Living

Era

1970s

Country

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About

Wakanohana, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1971 Born

Also on January 20

What else happened on this day, through history

250 Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
1156 Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Lake Köyliö.
1265 The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament".
1320 Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.

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The world in 1971

When Wakanohana arrived

april 1 Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre more than a thousand people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.
april 17 The Provisional Government of Bangladesh is formed.
april 19 Sierra Leone becomes a republic, and Siaka Stevens the president.
april 19 Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on January 20

Chandra Wickramasinghe 1939– Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist David Lynch 1946–2025 American television and film director, visual artist and musician, complications from emphysema (born 1946) Derek Dougan 1938–2007 Irish-English footballer and journalist (died 2007) Enoch L. Johnson 1883–1968 American mob boss (born 1883) Eric Stewart 1945– English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer J. J. McCarthy 2003– American football player Jan Muršak 1988– Slovenian ice hockey player Jeffrey Epstein 1953–2019 American financier and child sex trafficker (born 1953) José Luis Garci 1944– Spanish director and producer

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1971

Elon Musk 1971– South African-born American entrepreneur Adam Gilchrist 1971– Australian cricketer and sportscaster Ajith Kumar 1971– Indian actor and race car driver Besnik Hasi 1971– Kosovo Albanian football manager and former player Carla Gugino 1971– American actress Chris Hardwick 1971– American comedian, actor, producer, and television host Corin Nemec 1971– American actor, producer and screenwriter Dannii Minogue 1971– Australian singer-songwriter and actress David Arquette 1971– American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and wrestler

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Wakanohana's birthday January 20 Wakanohana's zodiac Aquarius When Wakanohana arrived 1971