 He came to Japan in February 2002 with his brother, joining the stable of former "Yokozuna" Taihō (since transferred to Taihō's son-in-law, the former Takatōriki, and renamed Ōtake stable).His first appearance was in May 2002, and he won his first 19 bouts.He was promoted to "jūryō" in January 2004, then "makuuchi" for the September 2004 tournament.