Fighting under his own surname of Yakigaya, he rose steadily through the ranks until reaching sandanme where he started to struggle.

He fought for four years in the makushita ranks with occasional temporary demotions to sandanme before finally achieving a record that enabled his promotion to the second division, jūryō, in January 2008.

His best performance in the top division came in November 2011 when he finished runner-up to yokozuna Hakuhō with a score of 12–3 and was awarded his first sanshō or special prize, for Fighting Spirit.

After a few years as a fixture in the second division he retired mid-tournament in September 2014 when his losing record had assured his demotion to the unsalaried ranks.

His most common winning kimarite were oshi-dashi (push out), tsuki dashi (thrust out) and hiki-otoshi (pull down).

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