Hananoumi
| Hananoumi Ken | |
|---|---|
| 花乃湖 健 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Ken Sawaishi December 6, 1960 Ikawa, Akita, Japan |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 134 kg (295 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Hanakago - Hanaregoma |
| Record | 402-369-55 |
| Debut | May, 1976 |
| Highest rank | Komusubi (May, 1987) |
| Retired | July, 1989 |
| Championships | 1 (Makushita) |
| Special Prizes | Technique (2) |
| Gold Stars | 4 Chiyonofuji (2) Hokutoumi (2) |
| * Up to date as of August 2012. | |
Hananoumi Ken (born 6 December 1960 as Ken Sawaishi) is a former sumo wrestler from Ikawa, Akita, Japan. He made his professional debut in May 1976, and reached the top division in March 1985. His highest rank was komusubi. He retired in July 1989.
He was persuaded by his father, a rice farmer, to be a sumo wrestler, although he really wanted to play baseball. He joined the original Hanakago stable in May 1976, and for five years he was a tsukebito or personal attendant to yokozuna Wajima Hiroshi, until the latter′s retirement in 1981. The two spent much of their spare time tinkering with Wajima′s luxury American automobile, a Lincoln Continental. Sawaishi began competing under his own surname, although he went through a number of different shikona, including Otowadake, Sawakaze and Onoumi, before finally settling on Hananoumi, meaning ′lake or sea of flowers.′
In July 1983 he took the makushita division championship with a perfect 7–0 record and was promoted to the juryo division, becoming a fully fledged sekitori for the first time. He reached the top makuuchi division in March 1985 and just one tournament later won his first sansho or special prize, for Technique. In November 1985 he had his first victory over a yokozuna, earning a kinboshi for defeating tournament winner Chiyonofuji. In March 1987 he beat Chiyonofuji again, scored ten wins at maegashira 1 and won his second Technique Award, and with it promotion to what was to be his highest rank of komusubi. In September 1987 he achieved the feat of winning a majority of wins against losses (kachi-koshi) despite missing four days and having to return for the last seven – the first time this had been done in the top division for 22 years.
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