 In November 2008 he scored 11–4, sending him to "komusubi" for the fifth time in the January 2009 tournament.He scored eight wins there, and Aminishiki's losing record meant Kisenosato finally made his long-awaited "sekiwake" debut in March 2009, in his tenth tournament at a "san'yaku" rank.He produced a somewhat disappointing 5–10 record and was demoted to "maegashira" 4 in May.