He was born in 1923 as Noboru Ogata in Abashiri, Hokkaido, the second son of owners of a popular local restaurant.

He was turned down due to a lack of weight, with the coach who conducted the examination suggesting he might be better off as a tokoyama (sumo hairdresser).

Making his professional debut in January 1940, and managing to avoid being called up for war service, he rose slowly up the ranks.

His kinboshi were earned against six different yokozuna: Azumafuji, Yoshibayama (twice), Tochinishiki (twice), Chiyonoyama, Wakanohana and Asashio (three times).

He defeated Tochinishiki on the opening day of the September 1958 tournament, a match which became notorious after the referee initially awarded the bout to Tochinishiki and then argued with the judges for ten minutes after they reversed his decision, leading to the referee's suspension for the rest of the tournament.

His final win over a yokozuna was in May 1961 at the age of 38 years, three months, making him the oldest post-war wrestler ever to earn a kinboshi.

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