Tatsunami stable
He had been an amateur sumo champion at Nihon University but worked as a high school physical education teacher after graduation. He did not join the professional sport until March 1992, when he was nearly 28, an extraordinarily late age. (The Sumo Association have since changed its rules and all former amateurs must now make their professional debuts before the age of 25). He made his debut in the third highest "makushita" division, fighting out of Tatsunami stable. At just and , he was not much bigger than Mainoumi, the lightest wrestler at the time. He began wrestling under his own surname of Narimatsu, but upon reaching "sekitori" status he adopted the formal "shikona" of Tomonohana, meaning "flower of wisdom."