Born in Arikawa, Minamimatsuura District, he made his professional debut in January 1956, and reached "sekitori" status four years later upon promotion to the "jūryō" division in March 1960. He made his top "makuuchi" division debut in January 1961. Sadanoyama won his first tournament title in only his third tournament in the top division, from the rank of "maegashira" 13. The achievement of winning a tournament from the "maegashira" ranks is sometimes seen as a jinx on subsequent success in sumo, but Sadanoyama disproved that theory by going on to reach "ōzeki" in March 1962 after winning his second title, and then "yokozuna" in January 1965 after capturing his third championship.