At age 14, he decided to devote himself to sumo after seeing a tournament featuring fellow Mongolians Kyokutenhō and Kyokushūzan on TV.

[8] Kakuryū made his professional debut at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in November 2001, then weighing 82 kg (181 lb).

[9][10] After reaching the fourth highest sandanme division fairly quickly, he struggled, being demoted back to jonidan twice.

[8] Kakuryū first reached sekitori status in November 2005 upon promotion to the jūryō division but fell short with a 5–10 record, dropping back to makushita.

[10] He was the eighth Mongolian to make makuuchi after Kyokushūzan, Kyokutenhō, Asashōryū, Asasekiryū, Hakuhō, Harumafuji and Tokitenkū.

[10] Ranked at komusubi in the May 2011 "technical examination" tournament, Kakuryū finished runner-up for the second time with a 12–3 record, winning his sixth Technique prize.

[17] After an unremarkable 2013, in which he scored no better than ten wins in any of the six tournaments, Kakuryū surprised many observers with a 14–1 performance in January 2014, defeating Hakuhō in their regulation match and only losing the title in a playoff against him on the final day.

[10] He followed it up with a 14–1 record in March 2014, defeating both Hakuhō and Harumafuji en route to the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament title.

[2] His first tournament as a yokozuna ended in disappointment as he gave up an early kinboshi to Endō on Day 4 and lost his last three matches to finish on 9–6.

Kakuryū was forced to withdraw on the eve of the March 2015 tournament, after suffering a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

[19] He made a respectable comeback in the July tournament, scoring 12–3 and being in contention for the championship until his defeat to Hakuhō on the final day.

In the final scheduled match of the tournament, he was beaten by Terunofuji but won the ensuing playoff by uwatedashinage to take his second championship and his first since his promotion to yokozuna.

"[3] 2017 began disappointingly as Kakuryū suffered five defeats in the first ten days, including three kinboshi given up to maegashira ranked wrestlers.

[27] In November he was again forced to withdraw shortly before the tournament, this time owing to a lower back problem in addition to his ankle injury.

[28] On December 20, 2017, the Sumo Association announced that he was being docked his salary for January 2018 for failing to act when Mongolian wrestler Takanoiwa was injured by Harumafuji at a restaurant and bar in Tottori in October.

[31] Having felt pain in his left ankle towards the end of the tournament, he underwent surgery in early February to remove loose cartilage.

In the May 2018 tournament Kakuryū won consecutive championships for the first time, losing only to maegashira Shōhōzan and finishing one win ahead of Tochinoshin with a 14–1 record.

[34] In September he appeared to be in excellent form and won his first ten bouts but after losing to Tochinoshin on day 11,[35] he failed to win again and ended with a 10–5 record.

[39] In the September 2019 tournament he won his first four matches but lost three in a row to maegashira Asanoyama, Daieishō and Tomokaze and withdrew on Day 8 because of a left knee injury.

[10] Kakuryū pulled out of the July 2020 tournament on Day 2 with an elbow injury after injuring himself in his opening match, a defeat to Endō.

According to his stablemaster Michinoku, Kakuryū said he would be putting his career on the line at the next tournament, and said he would be working to regain his fitness so that he could resume training as early as possible.

[50] Having withdrawn from four straight tournaments, Kakuryū initially told reporters that he would compete in March,[51] but withdrew the following week because of a muscle strain in his left leg.

[52] Facing a potential of further condemnation by the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee, Kakuryū submitted his resignation to the Japan Sumo Association on March 24, 2021.

He retained his shikona (wrestler name) upon becoming a sumo elder, which he was entitled to as a former yokozuna to do for a period of five years pending his acquisition of a permanent share.

Some 380 people took turns in cutting Kakuryū's ōichōmage, including all three of the other yokozuna from Mongolia: Asashōryū, Harumafuji and Hakuhō.

[55] On 27 December 2023 the Sumo Association announced that Kakuryū would inherit the Otowayama elder stock, which had been vacated earlier in the year by former maegashira Tenkaihō.

[5] The stable is located in a three-story building in Sumida, Tokyo that was previously used by the local government before being renovated for use by sumo wrestlers.

He preferred yotsu-sumo, a style which involves grabbing the opponent's mawashi, or belt, and forcing or throwing him to the edge of the ring.

[62] In December 2020 after a two and a half year process, Kakuryū obtained Japanese citizenship, a requirement for staying in the Sumo Association as an elder after retirement, and took the name Mangarajarabu Ananda.

[63][64] Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi