At the beginning of 2006 he was recruited by the former
sekiwake Tochinowaka of
Kasugano stable. The stable had not had a foreigner since the
Taiwanese wrestler
Tochinohana retired in 1988, but agreed to take on Gorgadze just as his tourist visa was about to expire. He made
komusubi for the fourth time in September 2012.
Falling to makushita Tochinoshin suffered an
anterior cruciate ligament injury in the July 2013 tournament, resulting in him missing the next three tournaments and falling from the
maegashira ranks to the unsalaried
makushita division. In March 2014, fighting from
makushita 55, he bounced back with a 7–0 perfect championship. He followed this in the very next tournament in May with a consecutive 7–0 championship in at
makushita 6, thereby guaranteeing his re-promotion to the salaried ranks of
jūryō. He continued his comeback in fine style by winning two consecutive
jūryō championships, the first after a playoff win over
Ichinojō and the second with a perfect 15–0 score (only the third time since the six tournaments a year system began in 1958 that the latter had occurred). Returning to the top division in November 2014, he scored 11–4 and picked up his fourth Fighting Spirit Award. In 2015 he won six times in January but in March his eight victories included a win over the
yokozuna Harumafuji, earning him his first
kinboshi. Winning records in May and July at
maegashira 1 saw him promoted to
komusubi for the September tournament for the first time in three years. Having fought his way back to ''san'yaku
from makushita
55, Tochinoshin was in first place for the lowest rank fallen before a successful return to the komusubi'' rank since World War II, but has subsequently lost that distinction to
Terunofuji. , December 2017 In September 2015 he maintained his rank with a 10–5 record and received his fifth Fighting Spirit prize. He scored only 7–8 in the following November tournament but managed to stay at
komusubi, although he fell to the
maegashira ranks after a 6–9 in January. In the May 2016 tournament he received his first Technique Prize, and earned promotion to the third highest rank of
sekiwake for the first time in the following July tournament. Losing records in July and September saw him drop down the rankings but he returned to
komusubi yet again after a 10–5 in November. In January 2017 he lost his first five bouts before withdrawing from the tournament with a knee injury. He had an excellent showing in the July 2017 tournament, which resulted in his being promoted to
maegashira 1 for the September tournament, but an aggravation of his knee injury resulted him only achieving four wins against eleven losses in September.
Top division championship and promotion to ōzeki In January 2018, fighting at
maegashira 3, Tochinoshin won twelve of his first thirteen matches, thereby ensuring that he would, at least, enter a play-off for the championship and that he needed only one win from his last two bouts to secure the championship outright. Before his penultimate match he received a message of support from the
Georgian Prime Minister
Giorgi Kvirikashvili. On the fourteenth day he claimed his first top division title with a
yorikiri win over
Shōhōzan, becoming the first man from Georgia to do so. It was the first top division championship for
Kasugano stable in 46 years, since
Tochiazuma Tomoyori in January 1972. His achievement brought some good news for the stable after it had emerged earlier in the tournament that Kasugano Oyakata was being sued over an assault at the stable in 2014. Tochinoshin, who wrestles in his stablemaster's old
mawashi, embraced Kasugano after his victory on Day 14 and later told reporters, "several years ago he told me that he would clutch me to his chest if I won... I was so glad that I made it come true." In February 2018 he was awarded Georgia's
Medal of Honour, for the promotion of his country abroad. Tochinoshin returned to the
sekiwake rank for the March 2018 tournament for the first time since his single appearance at the rank in September 2016. In the March Tournament in Osaka, Tochinoshin started out slow with a record of 2–2 in the first four days. He would then go on to win his next five matches, before losing the following two against both
ōzeki. On Day 12, Tochinoshin won against
yokozuna Kakuryū ending his undefeated record. Tochinoshin finished the tournament with a 10–5 record to keep his hopes of being promoted to
ōzeki alive. He was also awarded the Outstanding Performance prize for achieving a winning record and having defeated Kakuryū the tournament champion and
yokozuna. Tochinoshin won his first 12 matches in the May tournament, including a win over
yokozuna Hakuhō on Day 12 which was his first victory against him in 26 attempts. He eventually finished the tournament 13–2 and runner-up to
yokozuna Kakuryū, earning the Fighting Spirit and Technique prizes in the process. Having won 37 bouts over the last 3 tournaments, including 1
yūshō, his promotion to
ōzeki was all but certain. The promotion was finalized during an extraordinary meeting of the
Sumo Association on May 29, and the following day it was officially announced. He became the eleventh foreign-born wrestler to reach
ōzeki, and the 60 tournaments it took him from his debut in the top division ties the record for the slowest ever, alongside
Masuiyama II. He is only the second wrestler since the start of the
Showa era to fall from
makuuchi to
makushita and subsequently make
ōzeki, after
Kotokaze. He was the first wrestler from Kasugano stable to reach
ōzeki since the double promotion of
Tochinoumi and
Tochihikari in May 1962. He returned to Georgia after the announcement for the first time in a year, and met Georgian president
Giorgi Margvelashvili. In June 2018 he was awarded the title of Knight seen as the highest honor in the Georgian sports world.
Ōzeki career and demotion Tochinoshin won his first five bouts in his
ōzeki debut but then injured his right big toe in a defeat to
Tamawashi on Day 6 and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. He was
kadoban, or in danger of demotion from ōzeki, for the September 2018 tournament, the first time in 18 years (since
Miyabiyama in the September 2000 tournament) that a wrestler has been
kadoban in only his second
ōzeki tournament. In September he still seemed below his best form but saved his
ōzeki status with a win over
Abi on day 14 and defeated Takayasu in his final match to end on 9–6. Going into the final tournament of the year Tochinoshin was tied with
Kakuryū for the most wins in 2018, with 51. With Kakuryū not participating in the tournament, Tochinoshin's 8–7 score in November was enough to give him the record with 59 wins in 2018. Tochinoshin withdrew from the January 2019 tournament on Day 5 having suffered four straight defeats, due to a thigh injury he picked up in training shortly before the tournament. At the March 2019 tournament Tochinoshin finished with seven wins and eight losses, and was demoted to
sekiwake for the May tournament after two losing records in succession. On Day 13 of the May 2019 tournament, Tochinoshin was initially declared the winner over eventual champion
Asanoyama, but the ruling of the
gyōji was reversed by the
shimpan in what was viewed by some as a controversial decision. Tochinoshin would win the next day without incident to secure his tenth victory of the
basho. His
ōzeki rank was officially restored for the July 2019 tournament, In September he managed only six wins and was demoted from
ōzeki for the second time. He withdrew from the November tournament on Day 5 after fracturing a rib in defeating
Takarafuji on the previous day. This ended his hopes of winning ten bouts and making an immediate return to
ōzeki, and he dropped to the
maegashira ranks for the January 2020 tournament. Tochinoshin withdrew from the first four days of the November 2021 tournament due to lower back pain. He was facing demotion to
jūryō at that point, but managed to return to the tournament and win six matches. In March 2022 he produced his first
winning record since November 2020, reaching 8–3 on Day 11 by defeating
Terutsuyoshi with a trademark or lift out. This ended a run of seven straight
losing records. Tochinoshin withdrew on the fifth day of the January 2023 tournament after dislocating his left shoulder in his Day 4 match against
Kotoshōhō. He was subsequently demoted to
jūryō for the next
basho, ending a streak of 49 tournaments in the top division. He is the seventh former to fall to .
Retirement Tochinoshin retired during the May 2023 tournament after losing his first five
jūryō contests. At a press conference, he told reporters that he had become fearful of wrestling because his left shoulder injury from January was worsening. "I'm grateful for being able to come to Japan and to be able to be a part of sumo," he said, adding thanks to
his stable for nurturing him upon his arrival from
Georgia. Although he still helped out at his stable's training sessions, Tochinoshin planned to leave the Sumo Association as he had not acquired
Japanese citizenship. Tochinoshin said in an interview in June 2023 that he would continue to live in Japan to market products from his home country (such as
wine or honey) via a company called "Royal Georgia", which he founded with a friend. Around 300 people took turns to cut the topknot, with among the most notable guests former
yokozuna Asashōryū, Teimuraz Lezhava (
Georgian ambassador to Japan) and fellow Georgian-born
Gagamaru. The ceremony ended with Kasugano (former
sekiwake Tochinowaka) giving the final scissor strokes. ==Family==