 After finishing runner-up to "maegashira" Sadanoyama in the May 1961 tournament with an 11–4 record he was promoted to "ōzeki".He had won 28 bouts over the previous three tournaments, not normally enough for "ōzeki" promotion, but there were only two "ōzeki" at the time, and two ageing "yokozuna" (Asashio and Wakanohana) and so the standard was lowered slightly.In an era dominated by Taihō he was only able to win one tournament championship, in July 1963, when he defeated Sadanoyama in a playoff.