He entered the top "makuuchi" division for the first time in May 1998. He recorded his first "kinboshi" or gold star win against "yokozuna" Wakanohana in the November 1998 tournament, but the next day he broke his ankle in a match with Musōyama and had to miss the last day of the tournament and all of the next. He suffered a more serious injury in November 1999, rupturing anterior cruciate ligaments. He sat out two successive tournaments after having surgery and was demoted to the "jūryō" division . He won consecutive "jūryō" championships upon his comeback, in May and July 2000, and was promoted back to "makuuchi" in September. He quickly made the titled "san'yaku" ranks, making "komusubi" in November 2000 and recovering from 2–6 down to finish 9–6. As a result, he was promoted to "sekiwake" for the first time in January 2001.