Mikiya Ishioka was born in the rural district of Kitatsugaru and grew up in a single-parent household, his mother (a former sprinter) having divorced his father during his high school years.
[6] After high school, he continued his amateur career by joining Nihon University,[6] where he was classmate with Miyagino stable's Kihō and Ōtani [ja].
[9] During his university years he acquired a sense of rivalry with Daiki Nakamura, one of the great names of Japanese amateur sumo, facing him a total of four times and winning two of these matches.
His results did, however, earn him promotion to the jūryō division for the first tournament of 2024, when he recorded a fourth (kachi-koshi) victory over Tsushimanada.
Having been promoted after just one tournament in jūryō, Takerufuji is also the first wrestler since Endō in 2013 to achieve this feat, being the seventh overall in sumo's modern history.
[22] Takerufuji continued his unbeaten progress in the top division by facing and beating a san'yaku-ranked wrestler for the first time, defeating Komusubi Abi on Day 9.
[27] During Day 14, Takerufuji lost a second match against former ōzeki Asanoyama, injuring his right leg in the process and having to be taken from the dohyō area in a wheelchair.
[30] This championship victory for a beginner wrestler in the makuuchi division is a feat never achieved in 110 years, a first since Ryōgoku Kajinosuke II won the June 1914 tournament.
[30][33] Finally, Takerufuji is the first wrestler from Aomori Prefecture to win a top division tournament in 26 years, since former ōzeki Takanonami in November 1997.
At the same time, his hometown of Goshogawara announced the creation of its own "Citizen's Honor Award", with the intention of making Takerufuji the first recipient of the prize.
Stablemaster Isegahama left open the possibility of Takerufuji entering the July tournament while it is in progress depending on his recovery, citing his strong desire to participate.
[44] Newspapers reported that as a result of the two wins it was very likely that Takerufuji would remain ranked in jūryō for the September 2024 tournament, rather than be demoted out of sekitori status to the makushita division.
Nevertheless, after the January 2024 tournament, he revealed that on the advice of Yokozuna Terunofuji he had refrained from continuing any strength training in order to focus more on the lower body.
[49] Takerufuji's maternal grandfather, a coach at a local sumo club in Goshogawara, is a former amateur wrestler who served as an Aomori prefectural official.
[50] Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Takerufuji Mikiya's official biography (English) at the Grand Sumo Homepage Terunofuji (retired) Kotozakura Hōshōryū Ōnosato Wakamotoharu Daieishō Abi Wakatakakage Takanoshō Kirishima Tobizaru Atamifuji Gōnoyama Ōhō Shōdai Ura Hiradoumi Chiyoshōma Takayasu Ichiyamamoto Endō Mitakeumi Rōga Takarafuji Churanoumi Ōshōma Tamawashi Meisei Midorifuji Takerufuji Nishikigi Ōnokatsu Shōnannoumi Kotoshōhō Hokutofuji Kinbōzan Hakuōhō Kitanowaka Tamashōhō Kagayaki Nishikifuji Tokihayate