Izutsu stable
Sakahoko made his professional debut in January 1978, dropping out of high school to join Izutsu stable, which was run by his father, ex "sekiwake" Tsurugamine. His elder brother, , had joined sumo in March 1975, but Sakahoko quickly caught up with him and they made their "jūryō" debuts together in July 1981. Sakahoko made his debut in the top "makuuchi" division in November 1982. (His elder brother, meanwhile, never got higher than "jūryō" 2 and slid down the rankings).