"[3] His uncle Wakanohana Kanji I was a yokozuna from 1958 to 1962, and his father Takanohana Kenshi had held the second highest rank of ōzeki for a then record 50 tournaments from 1972 to 1981.

[4] Takanohana and his brother made their professional debuts together in March 1988, with future rival Akebono also beginning his career in the same month.

[7] Kōji initially wrestled under the name Takahanada (貴花田), and it was understood that he would only be allowed to adopt his father's shikona of Takanohana (meaning noble flower)[8] when he reached the rank of ōzeki.

[5] Their early career attracted much publicity, with each divisional promotion regarded by the media as part of an inevitable rise to the top ranks.

[4] In March 1991, in his fourth top division tournament, Takahanada was runner-up with twelve wins, and became the youngest ever sanshō or special prize winner, receiving awards for Fighting Spirit and Technique.

[10] Interest in sumo rose to its highest level since the era of Futabayama in the 1930s,[7] with official tournaments (honbasho) selling out of tickets every day.

[5] He won his third championship in May 1993, but lost a playoff to Akebono in the following tournament in July, and even produced a make-koshi or losing record of 7–8 in November.

[16] Sumo rules prevent wrestlers from the same heya meeting in regular tournament bouts (playoffs excepted) which meant Takanohana avoided not only his brother and Takanonami but also sekiwake Akinoshima and Takatōriki.

[1] Takanohana was affected by a liver disorder in the first half of 1998, which caused him to withdraw from the January 1998 tournament and miss the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Nagano (his place was taken by Akebono).

Shunning the traditional treatment methods available from his stable, he turned instead to a physical therapist called Tashiro Tomita, who had a considerable influence over him.

[15] After making peace with his family,[19] Takanohana regained some of his consistency in 2000, although he was temporarily sidelined by an elbow injury suffered in the July tournament.

Takanohana won his first tournament in over two years in January 2001, winning his first fourteen bouts and then defeating fellow yokozuna Musashimaru in a playoff on the final day.

A shoulder injury caused him to miss two days, and after suffering successive losses to Dejima and Aminishiki he announced his retirement.

Because of his great achievements in sumo he was given a bonus of 130 million yen and was also made a "one generation" elder without having to purchase a share in the Association.

However both former yokozuna, Kitanoumi and Chiyonofuji whom Takanohana is often compared to, served a stint as Associate Manager of Judging prior to their becoming the Board director.

[citation needed] Takanohana mentioned in October 2009 that he was interested in running for a spot on the Board of Directors in the February 2010 elections, and confirmed in January that he would stand, despite the fact that this would mean opposing the two officially sanctioned candidates of the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables.

As a result, Takanohana and six of his supporters, Ōtake (the former Takatōriki), Futagoyama (the former Dairyū), Otowayama (the former Takanonami), Tokiwayama (the former Takamisugi), Ōnomatsu (the former Masurao), and Magaki (the former Wakanohana II) left the Nishonoseki ichimon.

[44] In July 2010, in the wake of a scandal involving several wrestlers admitting to illegal gambling, he denied he had connections with members of the yakuza underworld after media reports that he was seen with a mobster during a visit to Ehime Prefecture to recruit new apprentices.

[51] Takanohana was criticized for his delay in notifying the Sumo Association that Takanoiwa would miss the November 2017 tournament because of injuries allegedly sustained in an assault by the yokozuna Harumafuji at a restaurant in bar in Tottori Prefecture in late October.

[53] An editorial in the Nikkei Asian Review compared his actions to "an executive withholding from top management information that could rock the company.

[57] Their recommendation was certified by a meeting of Sumo Association councilors and external members on January 4, with Takanohana demoted two rungs in the hierarchy.

[60] In March 2018 Takanohana was demoted again, to the lowest rank of toshiyori, due mainly to the behavior of his wrestler Takayoshitoshi, who was suspended for one tournament for punching his attendant in the dressing room after a match.

Although he withdrew the letter later that month following Takayoshitoshi's misbehavior, in August the Association demanded that he disavow what he wrote as "totally false," but he refused.

[69] Their different attitudes towards both sumo philosophy and the outside world had been noted, with Takanohana being regarded as somewhat aloof and reserved and Wakanohana having a warmer personality.

[73] Takanohana also condemned his mother for her extramarital affair, which led to her divorce from his father and exit from the stable in July 2001, and had only been rumored up to that point.

[74] She has now reverted to her old name of Noriko Fujita and published a book and appeared on TV, revealing details of life as a stablemaster's wife that are seldom heard outside the sumo world.

[76] In June 2008 he spoke of his distress at the news that she had been named as a defence witness in a civil lawsuit brought by the Sumo Association against the tabloid magazine Shūkan Gendai over allegations that his father benefited from a thrown match for the championship in 1975, saying, "she will essentially be fighting against me.

In late 1992 Takanohana announced his engagement to actress Rie Miyazawa, news which sparked a similar amount of coverage to the Japanese royal wedding held that year.

[25] However the engagement was broken off the following year, reportedly because Miyazawa was seen by Takanohana's parents and the Sumo Association as being unwilling to sacrifice her career to become a regular stable wife.

[82] Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi