Kasugano stable
He made his debut in November 1960, joining the then recently retired "yokozuna" Tochinishiki's Kasugano stable. He reached "jūryō" in May 1965 and the top "makuuchi" division in March 1967. He was relatively small, standing only 177 cm tall and weighing around 110 kg. In May 1968 he was runner-up to Tamanoshima with a 10–5 record, earning promotion to "komusubi." He also won the first of his six "Ginō-shō" or Technique Awards. He was runner-up once again in September of that year. He reached his highest rank of "sekiwake" in March 1970 but fell short with a 7–8 record.