His highest rank was sekiwake and he earned seven special prizes and eight gold stars during his long makuuchi career.

[1] He had intended to join in March 1984 alongside Kotonishiki, but failed the physical because of high blood pressure, delaying his entry by two months.

However he had to wait until January 1999 to achieve his highest rank of sekiwake, following a strong 10-5 showing at komusubi the previous November.

Kotonowaka never won a tournament, but he nevertheless earned eight kinboshi or gold stars for victories against yokozuna while a maegashira, with three such wins coming against Takanohana.

He also received five Fighting Spirit and two Outstanding Achievement prizes in the course of his long career, the first coming in July 1995, nearly five years after his top division debut.

[3] He injured the knee again in November 2003 and was the last wrestler to be able to take advantage of the kosho seido (public injury) system before its abolition, sitting out the January 2004 tournament without affecting his ranking.

[1] Kotonowaka relied strongly on countering techniques against his opponents, and his bouts were often relatively long as compared to most other wrestlers.

[10] At the Haru 2024 basho, ōzeki Kotonowaka achieved kachi-koshi with his 8th win on Day 10, avoiding kadoban and ensuring that he would proceed with the name change to Kotozakura before the start of the May tournament.

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