 In January 2000 Musōyama won his first top division "yūshō" or tournament championship with a score of 13–2, finishing one win ahead of Takanohana who he had defeated earlier in the tournament.He followed up with a 12–3 score in March, his second runner-up performance, which earned him promotion to "ōzeki".He missed the whole of his debut "ōzeki" tournament through injury and could manage only a 4–11 record on his return, resulting in demotion back to "sekiwake".