Kisenosato will start life as sumo's 72nd yokozuna on the west side as the Japan Sumo Association on Monday released the rankings for the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
Kisenosato, after winning the New Year Basho with a 14-1 mark last month, became the first Japanese-born wrestler to be promoted to yokozuna since Wakanohana in 1998.
"On the one hand I am pleased but on the other hand I am bracing myself," Kisenosato told a packed press conference in Osaka. "I really feel that it (the challenge) starts here and so I kind of can't truly feel joy in my heart.