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.

  enterprising promoters started to stage sumo tournaments sanctioned by various local authorities. These events were more professionally run, but they were mostly hit-and-miss enterprises and no admission fee was collected. There were no established stars to attract the public and after a while these events fizzled out.

Then in 1624, according to historical sumo literature, at a sumo tournament held in the Yotsuya Shiomachi area in Tokyo, Akashi Shiganosuke displayed previously unseen and powerful sumo, in the process making the tournament financially successful for the first time. The resulting buzz about this new star meant admission charges could be levied. Another document, written years later, records this tournament as occurring soon after 1713, and even depicts Akashi Shiganosuke as a smallish, technically proficient rikishi.

Other historical sources describe Akashi Shiganosuke as a giant from the aforementioned Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture. He was said to have been 2.58
meters tall, weighing 184 kg. Furthermore, Akashi is said to have received the honorific title of “Hinoshita Kaizan” by the third Tokugawa Shogun, Iemitsu. The term symbolizes the most powerful man and the stamp is permitted to be used only by a yokozuna on his tegata and other documents. Originally it was a Buddhist term and meant ‘to be a pioneer by building a temple’ ; “Hinoshita” means “under the heavens” while “Kaizan” means “to open up a mountain”.

In sumo folklore, Akashi Shiganosuke faced the 2.27 meter giant, Niou Nidayu (also known as Maruyama Nidayu), in Kyoto. While he was hoisted high above Nidayu, Akashi somersaulted in the air and kicked Niou down to win the match.

Another historical document even says Akashi Shiganosuke lived around 1750 and that he was once defeated by a 65-year-old former rikishi – rather unlikely for a man of Akashi's reputed stature. In any case, one rikishi could not have competed in the early 1600s and then again in the mid-1700s.
However by 1800, Akashi's name had become synonymous with the most powerful and strongest rikishi. His exploits as a rikishi became a favorite tale told by many storytellers who kept adding their own embellishments and building on the legend.

One sumo illustration produced around 1850 displays the 1st (Tanikaze) to the 9th (Hidenoyama) yokozunas; all rikishi licensed by the House of Yoshida Tsukasa. And in the picture above them all, almost as if looking down at them from heaven, is Akashi Shiganosuke with his title, “Hinoshita Kaizan”.

Perhaps, in Jinmaku's mind, ignoring such a legend – and almost a sumo deity in his day – was unimaginable, considering the thousands of ordinary people who contributed to his cause. It must have weighed heavily on his mind while he placed the name of Akashi Shiganosuke at the top of the list of yokozuna on the stone we can still see today.

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