Attention to Akeni Carolyn Todd SFM's newest addition to the writing staff takes an in-depth look at akeni, their history and production techniques Rikishi of Old Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda slides former yokozuna Minanogawa under his SFM microscope Eric Evaluates Eric Blair Eric's wit scythes through the SML and makes clear his opinion of where the future lies for online sumo forums. Eternal Banzuke Phase II Lon Howard Stats, equations and mathematics all lead to a list of sumo's most prolific up and downers Matta-Henka: Another View Lon Howard A row that will never be fully decided but Lon gives his impressions on it all the same Heya Peek Mark Buckton Mihogaseki, former home of Estonian sekitori Baruto is toured (and peeked at) by SFM's Editor-in-Chief SFM Interview Mark Buckton Mark interviews shin-komusubi Kokkai Photo Bonanza See the Nagoya basho and Akeni photo bonanzas Nagoya Basho Summary Lon Howard Lon gives us his Nagoya basho summary, along with the henka sightings results Lower Division Rikishi Mikko Mattila Mikko Mattila casts his watchful eye over lower division goings on in makushita and below. Aki Ones to Watch Carolyn Todd Carolyn takes over the job of rikishi job performance prediction for SFM as she looks at those to keep an eye on come September Kimarite Focus Mikko Mattila Our man Mikko's latest trio of kimarite get thrown about the SFM literary dohyo Amateur Angles Howard Gilbert Howard returns with the second of his columns on the amateur sumo scene. Sumo Game SFM's very own quiz comes in for a bit of self scrutiny by our secretive man of questions. We'll call him 'X'. Sumo in Print Barbara Ann Klein SFM’s Editor reviews “The Little Yokozuna”, a book for “young” (and older) adults Kokugi Connections Todd Lambert Check out Todd's bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites Fan Debate Facilitator - Lon Howard Keri Sibley and Eduardo de Paz  ponder the concept of ‘to pay or not to pay’ makushita salaries SFM Cartoons Stephen Thompson Sit back and enjoy the offerings of one of sumo's premier artists Lets Hear From You What was it that made you a sumo fan? SFM’s own Todd Lambert details his path into sumofandom Readers' Letters See what our readers had to say since we last went out Sumo Quiz The Quizmaster Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

SFM Interview – Kokkai Text and Photo by Mark Buckton

worst thing would have been losing the war, and at its worst houses and cars were destroyed everywhere, people were dead and people had to live in small rooms. Whole families in small rooms (gesturing to indicate a similar size to his own room – approximately 2.5m x 3.5m). MB – At what age did you start training for amateur wrestling and when did you win the European Junior Championship? K – Eleven - no ten, but then I moved to Tbilisi with all the trouble. Eh, Euro Champ, I don’t remember – maybe ‘99, 2000, maybe ‘99? I don’t recall. MB - You gave up amateur wrestling due to a rule change that limited your weight to less than 120 kg and you were already over 130 kg, but how did you find your way into sumo? K – I thought I could lose the weight to continue in wrestling, but then if I did I couldn’t join sumo. If I wanted to join sumo I was at a good weight so (there was) no point in losing weight. At that time no-one understood sumo so when I saw it on Eurosport I thought ‘ah, that’s sumo is it?’ MB - Georgia’s Levan Ebanoidze (widely respected figure in amateur sumo circles) is reported Next

Kokkai, the Georgian shin- komusubi, was kind enough to sit for a lengthy interview with SFM's Editor-in-Chief recently. Taking almost an hour, the interview was conducted in Japanese in the sekitori's private room in Oitekaze-beya just to the north of Tokyo where, joined by one of the sekitori's tsukebito, the pair covered such topics as war in Kokkai's homeland, his ideal fighting weight and even his taste in music - plus a great many other subjects in between. MB – Sekitori, you’ve won a yusho at each level except jonokuchi and makunouchi and have the experience and confidence to compete with the higher rank rikishi now. To that end, what are your next goals regarding sanyaku, attaining the rank of ozeki, or even the yusho? K – I haven’t won the jonokuchi or makuuchi yusho, and as I am in sanyaku I do want to win the yusho of course, but my main  aim now is to get rid of my bad habits from wrestling. That’s my main goal now. After that I can start

thinking about the yusho. MB - You were born on March 10, 1981 in Sukhumi (a town facing the Black Sea). What was the place like and what sports did you play when you were small? Any wrestling? K – As a kid, my house was close to the sea. It was so beautiful and I enjoyed swimming in the sea. It was really nice until the war started. I enjoyed swimming, and after that, wrestling until I moved to Tbilisi a year later. For the six or seven years thereafter, it was all wrestling. MB - The town became engulfed in a political dispute between Georgia and Abkhazia when you were a youngster - how were things around that time? K -  Really bad as we didn’t know from one minute to the next if we’d live or die, and for one week I didn’t know if my mother or father were alive or dead, but then I found out - by telephone - they were alive –and was happy. For Georgians, the