 He was promoted to his highest rank to date of "maegashira" 1 for the following tournament, just missing out on the two available "komusubi" positions which instead went to the demoted "sekiwake" Kotoshōgiku, and Toyonoshima who had scored 8-7 at "maegashira" 1.Hōmashō suffered his first big setback in the May 2007 tournament, dropping his last four matches (all against "maegashira" ranked wrestlers) to finish with a poor 5-10 record.In July 2007 he won nine of his first ten bouts but lost the last five, finishing on 9-6.