[5] After winning the bronze medal in the 2000 Junior World Sumo Championships in Tokyo,[3] he was accepted by Naruto stable, a heya in Chiba run by former yokozuna Takanosato.

He fell back to sandanme after only two tournaments but returned to makushita in March 2005 and largely remained there for the next six years, unable to break through to the elite sekitori ranks.

After compiling a 5–2 record in the July tournament, which included a win over the former maegashira Ryūhō, he reached a new highest rank of makushita 4 in September 2009.

This earned him immediate promotion to the top makuuchi division for the September 2011, only the third time since the six tournaments a year system was established in 1958 that a jūryō debutant has achieved this (the other two were Daikiko and Ichihara).

Takanoyama had a difficult start to his makuuchi career, losing his first five matches and then only winning the sixth when his opponent inadvertently stepped out of the ring first (isamiashi).

However, he picked up a legitimate win on Day 7, downing the 166 kg Yoshiazuma with a hooking inner thigh throw (kakenage) and instantly becoming a favourite with the tournament crowd.

Takanoyama announced his retirement on Day 12 of the July 2014 tournament, where he had withdrawn after losing his first match, guaranteeing a large fall down the makushita division.

[10] In an effort to improve his understanding of Japanese culture, Takanoyama devoted his spare time to watching historical dramas and reading manga.

Takanoyama became a sekitori at around the same time as (temporarily) breaking through the 100 kg barrier, and attributed his gain in weight to the Naruto Oyakata (and the stablemaster's wife) giving him special dishes and snacks at night.