In 1999, with Akebono and Takanohana both struggling with injury and loss of form, Musashimaru suddenly came alive with two consecutive tournament wins in March and May 1999 to earn promotion to yokozuna.
There was little of the controversy that surrounded previous promotion drives by foreign wrestlers such as Konishiki, and Musashimaru's record of never having missed a bout in his career was praised by the Yokozuna Deliberation Council.
After a respectable 12–3 performance in his yokozuna debut, he won two further titles that year.
However, in January 2000 he had to pull out of the tournament with an injury on the fourth day, bringing to an end his record run of 55 consecutive tournaments with a majority of wins, dating from his 6–1 score in the makushita division in November 1990.
His kachi-koshi run ended just one tournament short of Kitanoumi's top division record.
Akebono returned to form in 2000, and Musashimaru was also sidelined with injury in May. He won just one title that year, in September, although it was one of his most impressive results as he won his first 14 matches, just failing on the last day to become the first wrestler in four years to win with a perfect record.
In 2001, although he did not have the injury problems of the previous year, he lost two playoffs to Takanohana in January and May, and had a mere 9–6 record in September, giving way five kinboshi to maegashira ranked wrestlers, an all-time record for a single tournament.
He had to wait until November 2001 for his ninth title.
In 2002, with Takanohana sidelined through injury, Musashimaru was dominant.
Although he missed most of the January 2002 tournament after injuring himself against Kyokushūzan on the third day, he won three tournaments that year, making 2002 his most successful year since 1999.
His victory over the returning Takanohana in September 2002 was his twelfth and final championship and was also the last time either man would complete a tournament, making it the end of an era.
In 1999, with Akebono and Takanohana both struggling with injury and loss of form, Musashimaru suddenly came alive with two consecutive tournament wins in March and May 1999 to earn promotion to yokozuna. There was little of the controversy that surrounded previous promotion drives by foreign wrestlers such as Konishiki, and Musashimaru's record of never having missed a bout in his career was praised by the Yokozuna Deliberation Council. After a respectable 12–3 performance in his yokozuna debut, he won two further titles that year. However, in January 2000 he had to pull out of the tournament with an injury on the fourth day, bringing to an end his record run of 55 consecutive tournaments with a majority of wins, dating from his 6–1 score in the makushita division in November 1990. His kachi-koshi run ended just one tournament short of Kitanoumi's top division record. Akebono returned to form in 2000, and Musashimaru was also sidelined with injury in May. He won just one title that year, in September, although it was one of his most impressive results as he won his first 14 matches, just failing on the last day to become the first wrestler in four years to win with a perfect record. In 2001, although he did not have the injury problems of the previous year, he lost two playoffs to Takanohana in January and May, and had a mere 9–6 record in September, giving way five kinboshi to maegashira ranked wrestlers, an all-time record for a single tournament. He had to wait until November 2001 for his ninth title. In 2002, with Takanohana sidelined through injury, Musashimaru was dominant. Although he missed most of the January 2002 tournament after injuring himself against Kyokushūzan on the third day, he won three tournaments that year, making 2002 his most successful year since 1999. His victory over the returning Takanohana in September 2002 was his twelfth and final championship and was also the last time either man would complete a tournament, making it the end of an era.
Musashimaru Kōyō