He adopted the "shikona" of Yutakayama upon his entry to the top division in January 1962 and was a runner-up to "yokozuna" Taihō in his debut tournament with a score of 12–3, also receiving the Fighting Spirit prize. He made "komusubi" rank in May 1962 but fell just short with seven wins. However, after a fine 12–3 score in September he was elevated straight to "sekiwake" and two more runner-up performances (to Taiho once again) saw him promoted to the second highest rank of "ōzeki". The 37 wins he had in the three tournaments prior to his promotion was the strongest record for an "ōzeki" candidate since the six tournaments a year system began in 1958 (it has since been equaled by Hokuten'yū, Wakanohana III and Tochinoshin).