Kisenosato overpowered plucky Takanoiwa to make it three wins out of three in his debut at yokozuna at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday.
Hakuho and Kakuryu also emerged victorious in their bouts, but Harumafuji missed the chance to complete a clean sweep for yokozuna, crashing to a shock second loss at the hands of Chinese-born maegashira Sokokurai.
Kisenosato was made to work for his victory. He took a couple of thrusts to the neck early on in the day's penultimate bout at Edion Arena, but in the end had too much gumption for No. 2 maegashira Takanoiwa (0-3) and bumped him over the ridge.