Kanao practised
judo in elementary and junior school, where he also excelled at painting and artwork. Because of his large size he also took part in team sumo competitions at school and regularly placed the team in the top three. Upon his graduation he joined
Futagoyama stable in March 1976. It was a prestigious
heya to join, as it was run by former
yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji I and contained a number of top division stars including popular
ōzeki Takanohana Kenshi. Initially fighting under his own surname, Kanao adopted the
shikona of Futagonishiki in 1977 but switched to Takamisugi two years later. In November 1978 after just having been re-promoted to the fith division, he won his first lower division championship, winning out in a rare ten-way playoff. In January 1981, after five years in the unsalaried divisions, he reached
sekitori level upon promotion to the second highest
jūryō division, and he made the top
makuuchi division just three tournaments later in July 1981. He initially struggled with injuries and after a number of setbacks, including a short spell back in the third
makushita division, he made a top division
kachi-koshi at the third attempt in January 1984, and established himself in
makuuchi. He dropped back to
jūryō in January 1987 but was re-promoted after winning the
jūryō championship or
yūshō in March with a 13–2 record. In November 1987 he defeated
Ōnokuni in the latter's debut tournament as a
yokozuna to earn his only
kinboshi or gold star. Takamisugi remained a rank-and file
maegashira for nearly all his top division career. Although he reached
komusubi twice, in January 1991 and January 1993, he recorded a losing score on both occasions. He holds the record for the most top division tournaments without ever winning a
special prize, at 71. In 1993 his stable merged with
Fujishima stable and he became a stablemate of
ōzeki (later
yokozuna)
Takanohana Kōji, whom he had fought eight times previously without beating. In November 1995 he fell into
jūryō once more and announced his retirement at the age of 34 after losing his first three matches. ==Retirement from sumo==