Injury-plagued yokozuna Takanohana started his bid to return to the ring in time for the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament when he resumed training on Saturday.
"My knee has not given me any problems at all today. I'll just continue training at my own pace," said Takanohana, who went through a light one-hour workout at the Futagoyama stable.
The grand champion returned to the ring in September after missing a record seven straight tournaments because of knee injury and marked an impressive 12 wins to finish just one victory behind the eventual champion, fellow yokozuna Musashimaru.
Takanohana had an operation to save his career after tearing ligaments in his right knee when he won his 22nd Emperor's Cup in May 2001. The injury flared up after the autumn meet, forcing him to pull out of the Kyushu tournament in Fukuoka.