Tōki began his career in January 1991 after joining the
Takasago stable. Just like former
sekiwake Takamiyama, who was a member of the same stable during the 1970s and 80s, Tōki wore long
sideburns as a distinctive feature. On his slow rise through the ranks he won both the fourth- and third-division championship once, the latter in May 1997 by winning out in a seven-way playoff. In March 1998 he would fail to secure the second-division championship, losing to
Kushimaumi in a playoff. Nonetheless, Tōki managed to enter the top
makuuchi division for the first time and quickly became a regular
maegashira, although his results were not sufficient to make him a ''
san'yaku wrestler (although he was a komusubi for one tournament in September 2003, he could not retain this rank). He was not a great challenge to the top wrestlers in his makuuchi
days, losing every bout he fought against both Musashimaru and Takanohana. He never managed to defeat a yokozuna'' or win a
special prize. On December 18, 2000 in
Osaka Tōki was behind the wheel of a car which hit a pedestrian and killed her. He should not have been driving at all because the
Sumo Association had banned all wrestlers from doing so following a previous incident. Tōki was told by the Sumo Association not to leave his house for two months, and given a 20 percent pay cut. He withdrew from the January 2001 tournament as a result, and fell to the
jūryō division. This left the Takasago stable without any top division wrestlers for the first time in its 123-year history. However, Tōki was immediately promoted back to
makuuchi following his return to the ring in March 2001. In 2004, Tōki suffered a shoulder injury which eventually led to him dropping to
jūryō once more. He did not succeed in making a sustained comeback to
makuuchi, although he managed to return temporarily twice. He suffered increasingly from back problems related to
spinal stenosis, which was the reason why he missed six days of the January 2006 tournament. This also reduced the power of his pushes and thrusts to his opponents. After a disastrous
make-koshi in March, Tōki was demoted to
makushita in May 2006 and announced his retirement on the day the tournament started. ==Fighting style==