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SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo |
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Chris Gould
Chris sinks his teeth deeper into how sumo can go about pulling in the younger fans in part two of a three-part series.
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Azumazeki up close and personal |
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Steven Pascal-Joiner / William Titus
A wiz with a pen and a wiz with a lens get together with SFM to share
their time with Azumazeki Oyakata - Takamiyama as was - with the wider
sumo following world.
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Rikishi of Old |
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Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda takes a detailed look at the life and times of a former yokozuna forgotten by many - Maedayama.
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Eric Evaluates |
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Eric Blair
Eric calls the musubi-no-ichiban kimarite call on nakabi in Kyushu as perhaps only he could.
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Heya Peek |
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Jeff Kennel
First time heya visitor Jeff Kennel wrote about, photographed and even
made a video of his time spent at Arashio Beya prior to the Kyushu
Basho. All to be found within.
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SFM Interview |
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Mark Buckton
Mark interviews Russian up and comer Wakanoho of Magaki Beya.
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Photo Bonanzas |
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See behind the scenes at the Kyushu Basho, morning training in Arashio
Beya through the eyes of an artist and exactly what the Azumazeki lads
had to eat halfway though the July Nagoya Basho. All originals, all
seen here and nowhere else, and all for you.
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Kyushu Basho Summary |
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Lon Howard
Lon wraps the Kyushu Basho in Fukuoka and throws in some henka sighting results for good measure.
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Lower Division Rikishi |
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Mikko Mattila
The lower divisions, their members and results get the once over thanks
to Mikko's eyeing of life down below the salaried ranks.
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Hatsu Ones To Watch |
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Carolyn Todd
Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come January and the Hatsu Basho.
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Kimarite Focus |
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Mikko Mattila
Mikko's latest clarification of a handful of sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations.
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Amateur Angles |
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Howard Gilbert
Howard looks at makushita tsukedashi and what it means in real terms.
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Kokugi Konnections |
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Todd Lambert
Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online.
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Fan Debate |
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Facilitators - Lon Howard / Carolyn Todd
Two SFMers talk over the yokozuna benefiting from weak opposition - or not as the case may be.
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SFM Cartoons |
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Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Stephen's artistic offerings.
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Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends |
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SFM's interactive elements including Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!
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Lets Hear From You |
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What was it that made you a sumo fan? Starting with issue #10, the SFM
staff will reveal a little of their own routes into sumo fandom -
starting with Benny Loh.
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Readers' Letters |
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See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens.
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Sumo Quiz |
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The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.
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true
rival of Asashoryu. While each on his day is able to defeat the
yokozuna, a combination of injuries, poor form and individual
inadequacies has meant the ozeki (as a collective) are no match for the
consistency of Asashoryu. They, unconsciously, have challenged
him as “a platoon”, whereby one or perhaps two are close to Asashoryu
for a majority of the basho but never all five.
LH: Thank you Howard, for
this interesting slant. Since my main point is not being disputed
– that a rival such as Wajima could not have possibly taken seven yusho
from Asashoryu during his run so far – it appears you’ve accepted it as
a valid one. As far as Wajima giving Asashoryu
something to think about, I’ll just offer that it’s dubious that the
presence of an additional yusho threat would affect someone with
Asashoryu’s robust mental character. If a 28-year-old Wajima
would suddenly cruise up to the dohyo in his limousine and exit in a
mawashi, I’m sure that Asashoryu would hurl something like, “Bring it
on!” and the only person trembling would be someone named Uchidate.
But now let’s get to the core of the discussion, and compare
Asashoryu’s opposition to that of some of the other four yokozuna I
mentioned.
During his nearly nine-year heyday, Chiyonofuji faced five ozeki who
didn’t make yokozuna…Kotokaze, Asashio, Hokutenyu, Wakashimazu and
Konishiki. This quintet won 10 yusho during their collective
careers, which is actually one less than the total amassed so far by
the current trio of Kaio, Tochiazuma and Chiyotaikai. What’s
more, the four primary yokozuna faced by Chinofuji: Takanosato,
Futahaguro, Onokuni, and Asahifuji, themselves only posted 10 yusho
collectively.
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The
presence of Chiyonofuji’s yokozuna heya-mate, Hokutoumi, was probably a
wash, as some of his five yusho during Chiyo’s heyday could have been
Chiyo’s, but he also prevented some of the other challengers from
winning some as well.
Looking at all of this, the three current ozeki stack up as exceptional
– certainly anything but weak. And to think that Asashoryu rose
up the ranks behind them and blew right on by them all is just
astounding! Moreover, he continues to dominate them whether they
are hurting or healthy. Although comparing athletes from
different eras is admittedly a fruitless exercise, when you consider
the ease with which Asashoryu has set aside these three ozeki and
brawny sekiwake like Kotomitsuki and Wakanosato, it’s unreasonable to
imagine that he couldn’t have at least equaled Chiyonofuji’s success
against the Wolf’s opposition, especially when you consider that
Chiyonofuji encountered these nine men over nearly nine years, while
Asashoryu is only three and a half years into his heyday. If he
continues at his present pace for three more years, the numbers will
simply overwhelm any attempt to suggest that he wins because of weak
opposition, and the discussion we’re having now will never again get
off the ground. But for the present, when you consider the
cumulative records of Kaio, Tochiazuma, and Chiyotaikai, I can’t count
them as weak. And also, there’s Hakuho, and Kotooshu before he
was injured….
HG: I don’t think it’s
accurate to use the career records of today’s ozeki to judge their
current competitiveness. I do agree that the three veterans have
had impressive careers, but for each and every one of them, their day
in the sun has come and gone. All three struggle with
persistent,
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chronic injuries and ailments that have whittled away at their physical abilities on the dohyo.
In their primes they might have been able to challenge Asashoryu but
age has overcome them. Tochiazuma and Chiyotaikai are both 30 and
Kaio is 34. Chiyotaikai has the best record over this time,
perhaps owing to being kyujo less than the others, with 207 wins, 119
losses and 34 absences. Kaio is 190-105-65, and Tochiazuma is
169-101-90 in the 24 basho.
Collectively, they have been kyujo 16 times during Asashoryu’s period
of dominance, while Asashoryu himself has only had to withdraw
twice. Only five of their collective 11 yusho have come during
Asashoryu’s heyday. In one of these Asashoryu was kyujo and in
another he was horribly prepared and went 9-6 as a result. A
third yusho came when Asashoryu was in his first basho as yokozuna and
the media scrutiny was intense.
Hakuho and Kotooshu are so new to the rank that it is hard to get a
true indication of their abilities as yusho candidates and future
threats to Asashoryu’s dominance. Both have shot up the ranks
with lightning speed, and have some impressive accomplishments on the
books already.
Hakuho already has one yusho (when Asashoryu was injured), one playoff
loss, and has been the runner-up five times during Asashoryu’s heyday
(he’s only been in makuuchi for 15 basho).
Kotooshu already has been in a playoff with Asashoryu and has been runner-up on two other occasions.
Both of them are much younger than
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