 He followed up with another strong 11-4 record in July 2009, ensuring himself of a return to the top division for the first time in nearly four years.The 23 tournaments it took him to win back promotion is the fifth longest ever, behind Satoyama, Wakanoyama, Daihi and Daizen.In the September 2009 tournament, fighting from the "maegashira" 13 ranking, he recovered from 3-9 to win his last three matches and stay in the top division.