Yokozuna Comparisons
Joe Kuroda
SFM’s historian, JK, wraps his two-part article on the greatest of the tsuna wearers

Amateur Sumo's Global Aspirations
Courtesy: International Sumo Federation
What exactly is it and furthermore, what does it do? The ISF explain themselves and their purpose in existing

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
Man or myth? Sumo's first yokozuna comes under the spotlight

Heya Peek
Barbara Ann Klein
Tokitsukaze-beya and its famous find themselves the target of Barbara's peek into life inside the heya

SFM Interview
Mark Buckton
Featuring interviews with amateur sumo's European Sumo Union General Secretary and the President of the newly founded Irish Sumo Federation

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
Would chanko exist without sumo? What is chanko anyway? Find out in Sumo 101

Photo Bonanza
See the Haru
Basho through the eyes of the fans in the seats as SFM gives the mantle of photographer(s) for this basho to Barbara & Gerald Patten. And don't miss our all-Mongolian Bonanza supplied by our Editor, Barbara Ann Klein

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

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila covers the lower division goings on like nobody else around

Natsu Basho Forecast
Mark Buckton
Mark Buckton glances back to look forward in his ones to look out for come May

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

Sumo in Print
Mark Buckton
Our gaming thread takes a break for April so we can look at the Spanish language book on the sport not long since released

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Todd’s bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites today

Fan Debate
Facilitator – Lon Howard
April's man VS monkey debate covers the issue of reducing the number of honbasho

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
Sit back and enjoy the offerings

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that
made you a sumo fan? Thierry Perran lets us in on his reasons for loving this sport

Readers’ Letters
See what some
See what our featured letter is for this issue

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

  established in May 1950, discuss the merits of yokozuna promotion, when there is a suitable candidate, and if the rikishi is deemed to meet criteria such as record, performance, personal conduct and grace. If considered to be fit for promotion, the YDC will recommend his promotion to the Association executives. Incidentally, YDC members also discuss the performance of the current yokozuna after each tournament and issue appropriate comments to the chairman of the Sumo Association, to be conveyed to the yokozuna and his stable master.

The members of the YDC are actually appointed by the Sumo Association and are known for backgrounds in Japanese arts or business. The number of members is set at no more than 15. As for the rank of yokozuna, this did not become a banzuke rank until the 16th yokozuna Nishinoumi Kajigoro was so designated in 1890. From a banzuke ranking point of view, prior to Nishinoumi, all the sport's top rikishi were considered to be ozeki and competed as such. The yokozuna title was nothing more than an indication of permission granted to perform the yokozuna
dohyo-iri ceremony.

The first rikishi to officially be promoted to yokozuna by the Sumo Association was the 41st yokozuna Chiyonoyama Masanobu in 1951. (covered by SFM in Issue 4)

Prior to this time, sumo's de-facto licensing body, the House of Yoshida Tsukasa, sanctioned each yokozuna promotion. The House of Yoshida Tsukasa issued the yokozuna certificate to 37 yokozuna, with the exception of the first three. Akashi, Ayagawa and Maruyama and certain Osaka sumo-based yokozuna received their own initial licenses from the House of Gojo, which caused fierce battles between the two rival ‘camps’. The Osaka-appointed yokozuna were the 7th yokozuna Inazuma, the 12th yokozuna Jinmaku, the 14th yokozuna Sakaigawa and the 15th yokozuna Umegatani. who received his licenses from both Osaka and Tokyo at the same time. The 23rd yokozuna Ookido was independently awarded the title by the Osaka Sumo Association.

When the House of Yoshida Tsukasa reconciled their differences with the Osaka Sumo Association and the
yokozuna certificate was approved for presentation to rikishi in both branches of the sport thereafter, the House of Gojo soon disappeared from ozumo, never to be heard from again. Interestingly, around this time, the House of Yoshida Tsukasa amended their documents on yokozuna then of lore and listed Ayagawa and Maruyama as yokozuna although, in the case of Ayagawa, the historical dates are still unclear. We could probably then view the 3rd yokozuna Maruyama in a manner similar to those later yokozuna whose licenses were recognized by the Yoshidas either after they had retired from an active career or posthumously.

The members of the Yoshida Tsukasa family originally became involved in sumo by serving as gyoji after inheriting the title and post from Shigano Seirin – the man generally acknowledged as the first man to establish the (initial) forty-eight sumo techniques and as the founder of the gyoji profession. Gyoji status has long since been transferred from the House of Yoshida Tsukasa to the families of Kimura and

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