 He rose to the "jūryō" division in March 2003 and the top "makuuchi" division in September 2003.Kakizoe's rank peaked at "komusubi" after the January 2004 tournament when, ranked "maegashira" 5, he achieved a result of 11-4 and the technique prize.He failed to retain his "san'yaku" rank for more than a single tournament, but mostly remained amongst the top half of "maegashira" for the next few years.