He was restricted by back problems early in his career, and it took him 40 tournaments from his professional debut to reach the sekitori ranks, but once he got there he was regarded as extremely promising.

He won his first sansho or special prize for Fighting Spirit in January 1978, and in the following tournament in March 1978 made his sanyaku debut at komusubi.

His failure to make ōzeki (for which Kasugano eventually apologized to the Emperor for making an incorrect prediction) was put down to Kurama's flashy personal life, which included driving Lincoln Continentals, spending a million yen a night going out, building a mansion named after himself in Ichikawa, and marrying the actress Yayoi Watanabe.

He was also involved in an accident in 1985 when he crashed into two cars waiting at a traffic light, which contributed to the Sumo Association introducing a ban on wrestlers driving.

He became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association under the name Shikoroyama, but left his role in 1990 due to ill health.

A bone marrow transplant was a possibility, with his brother a match, but also risky with only a 50 percent success rate and immediate death if a failure, and so he decided to continue with chemotherapy instead.

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