Brothers in Sumo –
part two
Brian Lewin
Brothers still active on the dohyo get their turn

Yokozuna Comparisons
Joe Kuroda
SFM’s most eminent historian, JK, has a crack at the impossible and tries to see who was the greatest of the tsuna wearers

Rikishi of Old
John Gunning
Takanobori – former sekiwake, former NHK man and all ’round gent

Heya Peek
Barbara Ann Klein
Kitanoumi-beya, Kitazakura, mirrors & photo bonanza

SFM Interview
John Gunning
Kazuyoshi Yoshikawa (son of the late sekiwake Takanobori) on life in sumo way back when

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
Behind every good man there stands a good woman – read and ye shall see. A departure from our regular 101 feature

Photo Bonanza
See the Hatsu Basho
plus much more through the lens of our photographers

Hatsu Basho Review
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Hatsu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila covers lower division goings on in detail

Haru Basho Forecast
Pierre Wohlleben & Mark Buckton
Pierre predicts the Haru Basho banzuke while Mark highlights the ones to look out for in Osaka

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko takes us on a tour of his chosen kimarite

Minusha
John McTague
John’s unique bimonthly view of sumo news from outside the dohyo and in the restaurants!

Online Gaming
Alexander Nitschke
SFM’s own Alexander Nitschke covers the long running Hoshitori Game

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Todd’s bimonthly focus on 3 of the most interesting sumo sites today

Fan Debate
Feb's debate sees
a pair of Kiwis exchanging opinions on the honbasho going on the road

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In the third of our cartoon bonanzas, sit back and enjoy BL’s offerings and put a caption to ST’s pic to win yourselves a banzuke

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that
made you a sumo fan? A unique perspective from a sightless reader.

Readers’ Letters
See what some SFM
readers had to say since our last issue

Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

NOTE:

Draw (Wake) – This is called when, after a certain duration, there is no winner or loser determined (for instance both rikishis stay in the center of the dohyo in a yotsu position and stop moving). There is also a special case of draw called Itami-wake when the bout is stopped due to an injury. We likely won’t see this but this decision still exists in the sumo rule book.

Hold (Azukari) – This would happen when a mono-ii was raised for a close bout but the judges could not decide on the
winner. This decision was in the rule book till Taisho Era (by 1920s), but now results in a rematch (torinaoshi).

No Result (Mushobu) – This was abolished by the end of Edo Era (by 1870s). The bout ended so close that the gyoji did not or refused to raise his gunbai to indicate the winner.

Kyujo (Yasumi) – In addition to the current kyujo situation due to an injury, prior to the Showa Era (1930 or earlier), there was no fusensho/fusenpai (default win/loss) rule, so if the opponent went on kyujo, the other rikishi who did show up was also
considered to be kyujo. As well, prior to the construction of indoor arena, such as the Kokugikan, tournaments were held outdoors. When there was inclement weather and the competition had to be canceled on that day, all rikishis were designated kyujo. Moreover, in the Edo Era, a rikishi could have been away and missing a bout for a number of reasons other than injury (as they were a member of regional masters, Daimyo). In such cases they were routinely given kyujo status.

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