Early career He entered the
dohyō for the first time in the March 2015 tournament and was given the name Mitakeumi. His name is taken from a mountain near his hometown of Agematsu named
Mount Ontake (御嶽山. 御 can be read as "On" or "Mi"). The "Umi" part of his name comes from his stable, Dewanoumi. This propelled him to the rank of east
makushita #3 in the next tournament where he got another 6–1 record and advanced to the second highest (
jūryō) division of sumo in the July tournament. He became only the 11th wrestler promoted to
jūryō after only two tournaments. In his first
jūryō tournament Mitakeumi earned the championship with an 11–4 record at the July 2015 tournament. It had been 66 years since the May 1949 tournament that a wrestler from Nagano had won the
jūryō tournament. On day 10 of the tournament he suffered a loss as well as a sharp blow to the mouth from
Jōkōryū requiring 15 stitches to his upper lip, however he was able to return the following day and earn a victory.
Promotion to makuuchi Mitakeumi fought for the first time in the
makuuchi division while in
jūryō on Day 14 of the September 2015 tournament. He finished with a 12–3 record at the rank of
jūryō #5 at this tournament and was promoted to the
makuuchi division for the November tournament in Kyushu. He became the first wrestler to enter the top (
makuuchi) division from
Nagano prefecture since retired from sumo in January 1978 (this period of 37 years was the current longest amongst all the prefectures). It had also been 47 years since a wrestler from Nagano reached the rank of
jūryō (Ōwashi in 1968). He earned an 8–7 winning record on his top division debut. He had the flu during the January 2016 tournament, which contributed to his first losing record in the top division, however he followed this tournament with two strong performances of 10–5 and 11–4, taking his first special prize, the fighting spirit prize, in May 2016. He made his ''
san'yaku debut at komusubi in the November 2016 tournament. The new rank though proved to be a challenge as he had to face everyone above him in the first week losing 7 of the first 8 days. In the end he only managed to get 6 wins, going 6-9 overall. 2016 proved overall to be a good year for Mitakeumi having three tournaments with double digit wins, winning his first prize, and making it to komusubi,'' and he was the 53rd winner of the annual "best makuuchi newcomer" award sponsored by
ChuSpo.
Promotion to sekiwake Mitakeumi began the Hatsu tournament in January 2017 with a win over
ōzeki Gōeidō, and on Day 2 he earned his first
kinboshi (a
yokozuna upset by a wrestler from the
maegashira ranks) when he defeated
Harumafuji. He also defeated
yokozuna Kakuryū on Day 4. He finished with 11 wins and was awarded a Technique prize for his performance in this tournament. He returned to the
sanyaku ranks in the March 2017 tournament at
komusubi, and came through with a winning record of 9–6. In May he defeated Kakuryū on Day 1 and Harumafuji on Day 11 (which was Harumafuji's first loss in the tournament). He finished with an 8–7 record and received the Outstanding Performance Award for the first time. He was promoted to
sekiwake for the July 2017 tournament, the first wrestler from Dewanoumi stable to achieve this since
Dewanohana in 1982. In this tournament he defeated
yokozuna Kisenosato on opening day, and tournament leader
Hakuhō on Day 11, who was on a 25-match winning streak and hoping to equal the all-time career wins record of 1047. Mitakeumi's only previous win over Hakuhō had been by default when the
yokozuna pulled out of the March 2017 tournament through injury. Mitakeumi maintained his
sekiwake rank in the September and November tournaments, and was the only top division wrestler to secure a majority of wins against losses in every tournament of 2017. In January 2018 he started well with seven straight wins but he recorded only one more win (over Kakuryū) in the tournament. A 7–8 result in March saw him demoted to
komusubi but he rebounded with 9 wins in May to return to
sekiwake.
First tournament win The 2018 Nagoya tournament in July saw many injury withdrawals (
kyūjō): Kisenosato did not start the tournament, and by day 6 he had been joined on the injured list by
Hakuhō,
Kakuryū and the newly promoted
ōzeki Tochinoshin. Mitakeumi won his first eleven matches and appeared to have extended his run against the
ōzeki Takayasu on day 12 but the referee's decision was overturned by the judges. After a win over the
ōzeki Gōeidō the following afternoon he clinched the title on day 14 with a
yorikiri victory over
Tochiōzan. Interviewed immediately after the match he had difficulty responding to questions as he struggled to control his emotions and repeatedly broke down in tears. He became the first wrestler from the Dewanoumi stable to win a top-division title in since
Mienoumi in 1980. Despite losing to
Yutakayama in his final match he was awarded the Emperor's Cup as champion as well as the special prizes for technique and outstanding performance. Addressing the crowd after the presentation of the trophies he said "It's simply awesome. I've never spoken in front of such a big crowd. I probably won't remember what I said here. I wanted to end on a good note with a win, but I think I still need to get stronger. I wasn't able to push my opponent out, so I think I'll have to go back and practice." He received plenty of local support as the Nagoya tournament is held close to his hometown of Agematsu. He finished the tournament with eight wins and was awarded the Outstanding Performance Award for defeating both two
yokozuna as well as the tournament winner
Tamawashi. He became the first wrestler since special prizes were established in 1947 to win one despite missing some bouts through injury. Despite a 7-8 performance in March he retained his
komusubi status and secured a return to
sekiwake with nine wins in May. Another nine wins in July meant that he entered the next tournament in ''san'yaku'' for the 16th consecutive time. on the final day of the May 2019 tournament.
Second championship The 2019 September tournament saw the upper ranks depleted as the
ōzeki Takayasu sat out the tournament while the two active
yokozuna, Hakuhō and Kakuryū withdrew by the end of the first week. After losing to
Asanoyama in his first match Mitakeumi won his next six bouts before losing tamely to
Takakeishō on day 8. He remained in contention throughout the second week despite a loss to
Ryūden on day 11 and a victory over
Gōeidō on day 14 (in which he employed a
henka) saw him enter the final day in a three-way tie for the lead alongside
Okinoumi and Takakeishō. After Takakeishō defeated Okinoumi, Mitakeumi secured his place in a play-off for the title with a
yorikiri win over
Endō. In the play-off Mitakeumi evaded Takakeishō's attempt at a pull-down, secured a double inside grip and quickly forced his rival over the bales to win his second top division championship and the Outstanding Performance Award as well. Mitakeumi needed a strong performance and record in the November 2019
basho to secure a promotion to
ōzeki. On Day 3, he badly injured his right eye in his win over
Meisei. Mitakeumi never recovered after that, finishing with a losing record of 6–9 and eliminating all chances for a promotion. Instead, he was demoted from
sekiwake all the way down to West
maegashira #2 for the January 2020
basho. This was his first time in the
maegashira ranks since January 2017. In the March 2020
basho he posted 10 wins, securing his promotion to
sekiwake for the July 2020
basho, where he posted 11 wins and defeated Asanoyama and Hakuhō. He was awarded his sixth Outstanding Performance prize. This performance saw him on another
ōzeki run, but he posted only 8–7 in the following tournament in September. In November 2020 he produced a
make-koshi record of 7-8 and fell to
komusubi for the January 2021 tournament. He went on to secure a winning record in every tournament in 2021, and finished the year with an 11–4 record.
Third championship and ōzeki career Fighting at the rank of
sekiwake at the January 2022 tournament, Mitakeumi won his third top-division
yūshō with a 13–2 record. Mitakeumi defeated
yokozuna Terunofuji on the final day to secure the championship. He said afterwards, "I was worried at one point about whether I could hold up mentally, but I was able to take the pressure." Having won 33 matches in the last three tournaments which includes one
yūshō, Mitakeumi met the
de facto requirement to be promoted to
ōzeki, and a meeting was scheduled to discuss the promotion. The promotion was finalized on 26 January 2022. In his customary acceptance speech, Mitakeumi said he would embrace gratitude, express his own style and devote himself to the way of sumo. Mitakeumi is the first
ōzeki from Nagano prefecture in 227 years, since
Raiden Tameemon. The
Sumo Association announced that Mitakeumi tested positive for
COVID-19 on January 31. The test was announced after he had participated in the
danpatsu-shiki of
Gōeidō during the previous two days. In his ōzeki debut in March 2022, Mitakeumi produced an 11–4 record, and was ranked in the top
Ōzeki 1 East slot for the May 2022 tournament. Mitakeumi was forced to withdraw on Day 7 of the July 2022
basho after another member of
his stable tested positive for
COVID-19. Later the same day, it was announced that Mitakeumi himself tested positive for the virus. As he had already been in
kadoban status but withdrew before a winning or losing record could be determined, the Sumo Association decided to extend his
kadoban status to the following tournament in September. Mitakeumi's
losing record in the September tournament resulted his demotion to
sekiwake. At a total of four
basho, his reign as an
ōzeki is one of the shortest since 1941, and the shortest since
Takakeishō's first
ōzeki stint in 2019. He could have made an immediate return to
ōzeki had he secured at least ten wins in the November 2022 tournament, but this became impossible with his sixth defeat on Day 10.
Post- career For the January 2023 tournament Mitakeumi was ranked
maegashira 2, marking the first time he had been placed outside the upper rankings since 2020. He finished the tournament with a losing 7–8 record. Following a good May tournament, Mitakeumi was promoted to
maegashira 2 for the July tournament of the same year. Prior to this tournament, however, Mitakeumi learned of his father's death, forcing him to travel from
Inuyama (Dewanoumi's training camp) to
Kiso (
Nagano Prefecture) to attend the funeral at his parents' home. His master
Dewanoumi-oyakata commented, however, that Mitakeumi still wished to take part in the tournament, which began 3 days later. In fact, Mitakeumi resumed training on the evening of the 7th. Commenting on his father's death, he admitted that his parents had hidden from him his father's hospitalisation for
acute heart failure. Moreover, by his own admission he was having sleepless nights during the funeral ceremony, but vowed to perform well in his father's memory. After scoring a low result in the tournament, Mitakeumi confessed to
Chunichi Sports that he had also lost his maternal grandmother during the tournament. In the same interview he confided that he had apologized to his father's grave for having been "pitiful" during the tournament, vowing to return to the ''san'yaku
ranks by the end of the year by winning the September tournament. Relegated to Maegashira
11, his lowest ranking since the March 2016 tournament, Mitakeumi competed in matches at the very start of his division, these usually serving as build-ups for the higher-ranked wrestlers. For the first time in seven and a half years, he was one of two wrestlers to open the makuuchi
matches of a tournament day, nonetheless earning an eighth victory over Sadanoumi, guaranteeing promotion in makuuchi''. At the May 2024 tournament, Mitakeumi established himself as one of the tournament leaders, recording five consecutive wins from the first day of the competition. However, his winning streak came to an end when he was defeated by fellow leader
Ura. On Day 8, he maintained his place one win behind the leading group with a victory over
Shōnannoumi, both opponents falling from the
dohyō at the end of the match and Mitakeumi showing signs of being unable to close his left knee. He gave up a share of the lead on Day 10, and finished the tournament with eight wins. Mitakeumi was unable to secure a
winning record in each of the next five tournaments. In May 2025 he was demoted to –his first time ranked outside of the top division since he was promoted to it in November 2015. After regaining his status for the July 2025 tournament, Mitakeumi continued to compete at this level after being promoted to 12 for the September tournament. Two days before the start of the tournament, Mitakeumi learned of the death of his mother at the age of 55, following a sudden illness. Returning to
Agematsu to mourn, Mitakeumi conveyed through his master Dewanoumi his wish to still participate in the September tournament. ==Fighting style==