 He rose quickly through the divisions, entering the second "jūryō" division in May 2004, aged 17 years and 9 months, the second youngest ever "jūryō" wrestler after Takanohana, whom Kisenosato had idolised when he was a boy.Three tournaments later, in November 2004, he entered the top "makuuchi" division, again the second youngest (18 years 3 months) after Takanohana.To mark his entry into the top division his stablemaster gave him the "shikona" or sumo name of Kisenosato.