Kimenzan had been a retained wrestler of the Tokushima clan since joining the Makuchi rank and he was a strong wrestler once called Shitenno (The Big Four) of Awa together with Jinmaku; and Jinmaku was of the Satsuma clan which was building on the momentum at the end of the Edo period.
対する鬼面山は新入幕以来徳島藩の抱え力士で、陣幕とともに阿波の四天王と称されたこともある強豪力士であり、陣幕は幕末の勢いに乗る薩摩藩抱えであった。