[2] He was a fine all round athlete in elementary school, and although he had no family connections to sumo, he was introduced by a shop owner to Kasugano Oyakata, the former yokozuna Tochigiyama.

He was of such small size that he had to drink copious amounts of water to meet the weight requirement at his physical exam.

[2] However, his stablemaster, to whom Tochinishiki served as an attendant or tsukebito and was a great influence on him in his early days, expected him to become strong.

[2] After this performance, Tochinishiki began to raise his rank on the banzuke rapidly, taking his first top division championship in September 1952 and earning promotion to ōzeki.

They were of a similar build, and each won ten top division tournament championships in their careers, with Tochinishiki coming out slightly ahead in their personal meetings with 19 wins out of 35 bouts.

[1] In October 1959 his stablemaster died suddenly and Tochinishiki became head coach of Kasugano stable whilst still an active wrestler (a practice no longer permitted).

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