He won 24 tournament championships during his career and was one of a series of truly great yokozuna who came from Hokkaido, the largest and northernmost prefecture of Japan.

Born in Sōbetsu, Hokkaido, Kitanoumi began his professional sumo career in January 1967 at the age of 13, whilst still in middle school.

[3] When he was defeated by underdog Takanohana in a playoff for the championship in September 1975, the audience threw so many zabuton—or cushions—into the ring in delight, that Kitanoumi said he could "hardly see the ceiling".

This was seen by many as a fitting end to a great career and he wanted to retire after that tournament, but was persuaded by the Sumo Association to carry on until the opening of the new Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium in January 1985.

[9] Kitanoumi was honored for his great achievements by being offered membership of the Japan Sumo Association without having to purchase a share (ichidai toshiyori).

Kitanoumi stable became one of the largest in sumo, and produced a handful of top division wrestlers over the years, such as maegashira Ganyū, Kitazakura and Kitataiki.

He was the first chairman under the age of 50 in half a century, and his appointment was widely welcomed;[4] however, he came under pressure after a series of scandals hit sumo.

[4] When it became clear in September 2008 that one of them was his own wrestler Hakurozan, whom he had previously backed, Kitanoumi resigned his post,[11] apologizing for "the trouble I have caused to the Sumo Association and to fans".

[12] He remained on the board of directors, in charge of running the Osaka tournament,[4] but had to resign from that position in April 2011 after another of his wrestlers, Kiyoseumi, was found guilty of match-fixing and forced to retire from sumo.

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