Kokonoe stable
His older brother Kensho Sawada was also a professional sumo wrestler under the shikona of Chiyonoshin and was a member of Kokonoe stable from 2002 until 2012, and fought one tournament in the "makushita" division. It was Chiyonoshin who introduced Chiyonokuni to sumo. In 2018 he opened a restaurant in their home town of Iga, named Dining Makuni (after their "shikona").