Several different heya were interested in recruiting him for professional sumo, but he eventually chose Kasugano stable.
He made his ring debut at the March 2005 tournament, under his family name Kageyama.
He rose through the divisions quickly, winning the third lowest sandanme division championship in November of that same year.
In September 2006 at the age of 19 he became a salaried sekitori wrestler when he entered jūryō, the second highest division, adopting the ring name Tochiōzan.

He made his debut in the top makuuchi division in March 2007, where he was in contention for the championship until the 14th day.
He finished with a strong 11–4 record and won the Fighting Spirit award.
Promoted to maegashira 4 for the May tournament, he faced all the top ranked wrestlers for the first time and faltered with a 6–9 record, suffering the first tournament in his career where he had more losses than wins (make-koshi).
At the July tournament the same year he suffered a dislocated shoulder on the tenth day and was forced to withdraw.
Ranked at maegashira 13 in September, he finished the tournament with a disappointing 7–8 score, losing his last five bouts.
He remained at the bottom of the division for the next few tournaments, struggling with lower back pain, but returned to form in March 2008, finishing with 11–4 and winning the Technique award.
He struggled once again in May however, losing his first eight bouts before staging a partial recovery to finish on 5–10.
He was one of seven wrestlers who NHK commentator Shuhei Nagao (the former Mainoumi) in 2008 called the "Seven Samurai" and identified as "holding the key" to a Japanese resurgence in sumo, which was dominated by foreigners in the top ranks. (
The others were Gōeidō, Kisenosato, Kotoshōgiku, Homashō, Toyonoshima and Toyohibiki).

After disappointing 6–9 scores in September and November 2008, he fell to maegashira 12, where he responded by winning his first eight matches in January 2009, finishing on 10–5.
This resulted in promotion to maegashira 2 for the March 2009 tournament.
He had a good start to this tournament as well, defeating three ōzeki (Kotoōshū, Harumafuji and Chiyotaikai) and standing at 7–3 after ten days.
He then lost four matches in a row, before securing his kachi-koshi with a win on the final day.

This was enough to earn Tochiōzan  promotion to the san'yaku ranks for the first time for the May 2009 tournament, at the rank of komusubi.
When the banzuke for the tournament was released in late April he held a press conference and said he would like to go one win better than his rival from high school sumo days, Gōeidō, who had just made sekiwake for the first time.
They began their professional careers in the same tournament and Tochiōzan preceded him into the jūryō and makuuchi divisions, but he had beaten Gōeidō just once in six meetings, in September 2007.
In the end both wrestlers finished on 6–9, although Tochiōzan did beat his rival for the second time in their individual match.
Falling back to the maegashira ranks for July, he could only produce a very poor 2–13 record, with one of his wins coming against Gōeidō.
An 11–4 score in September 2009 put him back up to maegashira 3 for the November tournament in Kyushu, where he beat two ōzeki (Harumafuji and the struggling Chiyotaikai) but fell short with a 5–10 record.

At maegashira 6 in March 2010 he defeated ōzeki Kotomitsuki and scored 11–4, returning to komusubi.
A strong 9–6 record in July, which included defeats of two more ōzeki, earned him promotion to sekiwake for the first time for the September 2010 tournament.
His sekiwake debut was a success as he scored 11–4 and was awarded his second Technique prize.
However, two losing scores in his next two tournaments saw him fall out of san'yaku, and a disappointing 4–11 in May 2011 saw him lose further ground.
He withdrew from the November tournament on the 11th day after suffering a ligament injury to his right ankle.
However he returned with a strong performance in the opening tournament of 2012, posting an 11–4 record.
He would have received hi
Several different heya were interested in recruiting him for professional sumo, but he eventually chose Kasugano stable. He made his ring debut at the March 2005 tournament, under his family name Kageyama. He rose through the divisions quickly, winning the third lowest sandanme division championship in November of that same year. In September 2006 at the age of 19 he became a salaried sekitori wrestler when he entered jūryō, the second highest division, adopting the ring name Tochiōzan.
He made his debut in the top makuuchi division in March 2007, where he was in contention for the championship until the 14th day. He finished with a strong 11–4 record and won the Fighting Spirit award. Promoted to maegashira 4 for the May tournament, he faced all the top ranked wrestlers for the first time and faltered with a 6–9 record, suffering the first tournament in his career where he had more losses than wins (make-koshi). At the July tournament the same year he suffered a dislocated shoulder on the tenth day and was forced to withdraw. Ranked at maegashira 13 in September, he finished the tournament with a disappointing 7–8 score, losing his last five bouts. He remained at the bottom of the division for the next few tournaments, struggling with lower back pain, but returned to form in March 2008, finishing with 11–4 and winning the Technique award. He struggled once again in May however, losing his first eight bouts before staging a partial recovery to finish on 5–10. He was one of seven wrestlers who NHK commentator Shuhei Nagao (the former Mainoumi) in 2008 called the "Seven Samurai" and identified as "holding the key" to a Japanese resurgence in sumo, which was dominated by foreigners in the top ranks. (The others were Gōeidō, Kisenosato, Kotoshōgiku, Homashō, Toyonoshima and Toyohibiki).
After disappointing 6–9 scores in September and November 2008, he fell to maegashira 12, where he responded by winning his first eight matches in January 2009, finishing on 10–5. This resulted in promotion to maegashira 2 for the March 2009 tournament. He had a good start to this tournament as well, defeating three ōzeki (Kotoōshū, Harumafuji and Chiyotaikai) and standing at 7–3 after ten days. He then lost four matches in a row, before securing his kachi-koshi with a win on the final day.
This was enough to earn Tochiōzan  promotion to the san'yaku ranks for the first time for the May 2009 tournament, at the rank of komusubi. When the banzuke for the tournament was released in late April he held a press conference and said he would like to go one win better than his rival from high school sumo days, Gōeidō, who had just made sekiwake for the first time. They began their professional careers in the same tournament and Tochiōzan preceded him into the jūryō and makuuchi divisions, but he had beaten Gōeidō just once in six meetings, in September 2007. In the end both wrestlers finished on 6–9, although Tochiōzan did beat his rival for the second time in their individual match. Falling back to the maegashira ranks for July, he could only produce a very poor 2–13 record, with one of his wins coming against Gōeidō. An 11–4 score in September 2009 put him back up to maegashira 3 for the November tournament in Kyushu, where he beat two ōzeki (Harumafuji and the struggling Chiyotaikai) but fell short with a 5–10 record.
At maegashira 6 in March 2010 he defeated ōzeki Kotomitsuki and scored 11–4, returning to komusubi. A strong 9–6 record in July, which included defeats of two more ōzeki, earned him promotion to sekiwake for the first time for the September 2010 tournament. His sekiwake debut was a success as he scored 11–4 and was awarded his second Technique prize. However, two losing scores in his next two tournaments saw him fall out of san'yaku, and a disappointing 4–11 in May 2011 saw him lose further ground. He withdrew from the November tournament on the 11th day after suffering a ligament injury to his right ankle. However he returned with a strong performance in the opening tournament of 2012, posting an 11–4 record. He would have received hi
Tochiōzan Yūichirō