Izutsu stable
He was born in Funabashi, Chiba, not far from the Kuramae Kokugikan. At the age of 15 in March 1976 he joined Izutsu stable (later renamed Kokonoe stable), recruited by former "yokozuna" Kitanofuji. He switched from his family name of Yagi to the ring name of Fujihikari in 1978. After several years in the lower divisions he broke into "jūryō" division in January 1985, but only stayed there for two tournaments. He returned to "jūryō" in January 1986 and made the top "makuuchi" division in September of that year, before falling back to "jūryō". In November 1987 he returned to the top division and stayed there for two years, reaching a highest rank of "maegashira" 1 in January 1988, although he was unable to defeat a "yokozuna" or win a special prize. During this period he was part of a stable that included two "yokozuna", Chiyonofuji and Hokutoumi, as well as fellow "maegashira" Takanofuji.