 As a young boy Takatōriki idolised Takanohana Kenshi and even stayed with the former "ōzeki" and his family in Tokyo for a while.He joined Takanohana's Fujishima stable in March 1983 after leaving junior high school, where he had also done judo.Initially fighting under his own surname of Kamakari, he rose up the ranks rather slowly, finally becoming a "sekitori" in May 1989 after six years in the unsalaried divisions.