Kotoshogiku will take center stage in front of his home fans at the upcoming Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament after winning promotion to sumo's second-highest rank of ozeki.
Kotoshogiku, named on the ozeki west side of the rankings released Monday by the Japan Sumo Association for the Nov. 13-27 event at Fukuoka Kokusai Center, is the first Japanese wrestler to assume the ozeki rank in four years.
And the 27-year-old is hoping he can become as popular as the wrestler whose void he will be filling after another Fukuoka favorite, Kaio, retired just days after he had moved to the top of the all-time career wins list at the Nagoya meet in July.