 After winning the "jūryō" division title in July of that year with a 13-2 record, he was promoted to the top "makuuchi" division for the next tournament.He was injured during his second top division tournament and had to withdraw, resulting in demotion back to the second division.He struggled in 2005, losing "sekitori" status on two occasions, but then made something of a comeback, returning to the top division for four straight tournaments from November 2006 to May 2007.