Resurgent Summer Grand Sumo Tournament champion Terunofuji vowed to add to his title haul, which now stands at eight, on Monday, while fellow Mongolian-born sekiwake Kiribayama expressed his relief at all but securing his promotion to ozeki.
Concern swirled around Terunofuji, the sport's lone yokozuna, ahead of the 15-day meet at Ryogoku Kokugikan after the 31-year-old missed the previous three tournaments following surgery on both knees in October.
But Terunofuji showed few signs of rust, wrapping up the title with a day to go on Saturday by outmuscling Kiribayama and eventually ending the meet with an impressive 14-1 record.