 Following two consecutive tournament victories (his second and third) he became a "yokozuna" in September 1961, less than two years after his top division debut.At the time of his promotion Taihō was the youngest wrestler ever to have achieved sumo's highest rank of "yokozuna" aged 21 years and three months, a record subsequently surpassed by Kitanoumi who was one month younger.In a fashion which is considered to be exceptional for a newly promoted "yokozuna" he also managed to win his first tournament subsequent to his promotion.