 His first major top division result was 12 wins against three losses in the September 2005 tournament, where he was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize.He was promoted to the rank of "komusubi" in July 2006, which he held until March 2007 when he fell back to "maegashira" 1.Early in his top division career Kisenosato was involved in some controversial bouts with "yokozuna" Asashōryū.