He did judo while at high school, joining
Tatsutagawa stable in January 1989 just before graduating. Following him into the stable two months later was the future
maegashira Toyozakura. He initially fought under his own surname of Yoshitane. Progressing up through the
lower divisions he stalled for a time after his
makushita debut, falling back to
sandanme, but he won the
makushita division championship or
yūshō in January 1992 with a perfect 7–0 record. In May 1993 he won promotion to
jūryō, about four years after his professional debut. To mark his ascension to
sekitori status he was given the new
shikona of Shikishima. His first
jūryō tournament was unsuccessful, as a 3–12 record sent him back to
makushita, but he returned to the second division after the September 1993 tournament and in March 1994 won the
jūryō championship with a 12–3 record. In November of the same year he reached the top
makuuchi division for the first time, but he moved back and forth between the two divisions before finally establishing himself as a
makuuchi regular after the May 1996 tournament. In March 1998 he reached what was to be his highest career ranking of
maegashira 1, and earned his first
kinboshi for a
yokozuna upset on the fourth day when he defeated
Takanohana. His second and final
kinboshi came in the next tournament with another defeat of Takanohana. However despite appearing in
makuuchi for 28 tournaments, he was never able to reach the
sanyaku ranks. His overall win rate in
makuuchi was around 43 percent, with 175 wins against 228 losses, compared to an overall career win rate of just under 50 percent (416 wins against 418 losses). In July 2000 he lost his top division status when he could score only 3–12 at
maegashira 12. In November 2000 his stablemaster, the former
Aonosato, reached the mandatory retirement age of 65, and Tatsutagawa stable closed. Shikishima and his stablemates moved to
Michinoku stable, from the same
ichimon or stable grouping of Tokitsukaze. In January 2001, ranked at jūryō 5, he had to withdraw on just the second day due to a
cardiac function disorder, which was so serious he risked death if he continued to compete. He was forced to miss the rest of that tournament and all of the next, falling to the lower end of the
makushita division. By May 2001 his condition had recovered to the point where he could live without problems in daily life, but he decided not to risk competing again and announced his retirement. ==Retirement from sumo==