 He began using the fighting name of Takamisano, switching briefly to Tenfuku before adopting his familiar name in November 1995.In his early career in the lower ranks, he served as a "tsukebito", or personal attendant, to "yokozuna" Akebono.After a long stint in the third "makushita" division, he reached "sekitori" status by winning promotion to the second "jūryō" division in January 2002.