Tamarikidō made his debut in the top "makuuchi" division in January 2001. He has spent eleven tournaments in the top division in total, the last in November 2003 when he had to withdraw after winning only two bouts. 2004 was a disastrous year for him as a knee injury in May meant he missed nearly all his matches and fell to the fourth "sandanme" division. It was subsequently discovered that due to the lack of treatment of earlier injuries, his anterior cruciate ligament was completely worn away. He began his comeback in 2005, winning the "sandanme" division championship in March of that year.