Kokonoe stable
At high school he preferred judo, and had little sumo experience, but his judo teacher was a friend of Kokonoe-"oyakata", the 58th "yokozuna" Chiyonofuji. After being introduced he joined Kokonoe stable, making his professional debut in March 1999. His stablemate, Chiyotaikai, made his debut at the rank of "ōzeki" in the same tournament. He initially fought under his own surname, before adopting the "shikona" of Chiyohakuhō in November 1999. (He has no connection to the better known wrestler Hakuhō, who did not make his debut until March 2001.) He was first promoted to the third highest "makushita" division in November 2001.