He excelled at sumo in ability and determination from very early on, and by the time he joined his stable he was already known as a wrestler with possibly greater potential than his older brother.

[1] Due to his naturally thin physique he found it difficult to put on weight at first and had to be monitored closely by his stablemaster to make sure he was eating enough.

Aminishiki has won the prestigious ginō-shō or Technique Prize on six occasions, and has also earned eight kinboshi or gold stars for defeating yokozuna.

Having come close on a number of occasions, Aminishiki finally made his san'yaku debut in November 2006, having chalked up an impressive 11–4 runner-up record at maegashira 3 rank the previous September.

[3] In May 2008 he scored an impressive ten wins and was the only man to defeat Kotoōshū, the winner of the tournament, which secured him his third Outstanding Performance Prize.

Aminishiki returned to the sekiwake rank in January 2009 after winning his fourth Outstanding Performance Prize at komusubi in November 2008.

He forfeited the next day's bout against Kyokutenhō, and pulled out of the tournament altogether after doctors pronounced he would require at least two weeks to heal.

His withdrawal drew much attention in Japan because it meant on that day foreigners outnumbered native born Japanese in the top division for the first time ever (17 to 16).

Following the retirement of Kyokutenhō in July 2015, Aminishiki had the most appearances in the top division of anyone on the banzuke, and he finished his career fourth on the all-time list.

In May 2016 he competed in his 93rd top division tournament, equal fourth on the all-time list, but he tore his left Achilles tendon on the second day and had to withdraw.

Nevertheless, he was promoted to the top division for the November 2017 tournament, becoming at 39 years of age the oldest man to return to makuuchi since the Japan Sumo Association began keeping records in the 1920s.

[11] After falling back to jūryō in March he returned to the top division again in May, extending his own record for the oldest wrestler to be promoted to makuuchi.

[15] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Aminishiki's danpatsu-shiki or official retirement ceremony was repeatedly postponed, eventually taking place on 29 May 2022.

[16] In addition to his role as an elder, he has enrolled in Waseda University's graduate school to do a masters course in sports science research.

In September 2018 he defeated maegashira Kotoyuki with the rare tokkurinage, a kind of neck throw (named after the flasks used to serve sake) that had not been seen in the top division since its addition to the list of official techniques in 2001.

He made his debut three years before Aminishiki in 1994 but he spent only two tournaments in the top division, retiring in 2011 after having been found guilty of match-fixing.

[24] Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi