Sumo Fan Magazine

<DATE> Contents

Sumo Souvenirs
Mark Buckton Second of a two parter on sumo souvenirs - some hints on avoiding the fluff.

Konishiki
Chris Gould Takamiyama's 60s / 70s successes notwithstanding Konishiki was sumo's first full-on mover and shaker from lands afar leaving Chris G to take an in-depth look at the ripples the big guy left behind when exiting the sumo pool.

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda's looks back at the life and times of former yokozuna Shiranui.

Eric Evaluates
Eric Blair Eric IDs the true winners of the henkafest that was the Haru Basho senshuraku.

Rikishi Diary
Mark Kent Mark Kent - English pro-wrestler and amateur heavyweight sumotori - takes his training a step further on his road to European and World sumo glory.

Heya Peek
Mark Buckton Oitekaze Beya just to the north of Tokyo and not far from the abode of SFM's Ed-i-C falls under the microscope.

SFM Interview
Carolyn Todd Carolyn interviews Riho Rannikmaa during his recent trip to Osaka - head of all things sumo in Estonia, friend and mentor of Baruto, this is a man with something to announce.

Sumo à la LA
Alisdair Davey SFM's man in the shadows reports on his recent jaunt in LA, as guest of the Californian Sumo Association and SFM reporter at large.

Photo Bonanzas
Hot on the heels of the recent Ise bonanza - Haru up close and very very personal - some of our best pics to date.

Haru Basho Summary
Lon Howard Lon wraps the Haru Basho and chucks in a few bits on the henka issues the top dogs are suffering from at present.

Sumo Menko
Ryan Laughton Sumo cards of old brought to life once again by expert collector Ryan Laughton. None of your BBM offerings here - Pt II of III.

Natsu Ones To Watch
Carolyn Todd Carolyn ponders the ones to watch come May and Natsu when sumo comes home to Tokyo.

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila Mikko's latest look at sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations.

Amateur Angles
Howard Gilbert On your marks, get set, go - Howard Gilbert walks us through the months ahead on the amateur calendar.

Kokugi Konnections
Todd Lambert Click on Todd's latest selection of the best sumo sites the WWW has to offer.

Fan Debate
Facilitator - Carolyn Todd Should it or shouldn't it? Honbasho go on the overseas road that is. See what SFM's Chris Gould and James Hawkins have to say.

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample ST's latest artistic offerings.

Sumo Odds & Ends
SFM's interactive elements - as always includes Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!

Let's Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan - A. S. - the face in the crowd reveals almost all - to see everything you'll have to close your eyes.

Readers' Letters
See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens.

Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster Answer the Qs and win yourself a genuine banzuke.

Eternal Banzuke – Rules and Criteria

1.   A rikishi must have a string of at least 30 consecutive qualifying banzuke appearances in order to be listed on the Eternal Banzuke.

2.   A qualifying string begins with the first makuuchi appearance and ends with the last makuuchi appearance.

3.   A rikishi’s position on the Eternal Banzuke is based on his Median Rank (MR). It is the highest rank held at least 50 per cent of the time during his qualifying string. It is determined by first counting the total number of banzuke appearances in his qualifying string – if the result is an odd number, then add 1 to it in order to obtain an even number. That number is then divided by 2, and the result is called the determinator. Then, starting with the rikishi’s highest held career rank, begin counting the total number of banzuke appearances at that and each succeeding lower rank, carrying the total as you go down. Stop the count at the rank where the total equals or exceeds the determinator. That rank is the rikishi’s MR, and it is the rank at which he resides on the Eternal Banzuke.

4.   When two or more rikishi occupy the same rank on the Banzuke, the order in which they appear is determined by adding the total appearances each of them had at the MR and above, to obtain a tie-breaker number for each of them. They are then listed in tie-breaker number order – highest number first. If that number is also a tie, make the same determination at the next highest rank, and keep going up in rank until the tie is broken, and no tie exists between or among any rikishi. If two or more rikishi are still tied at the rank of Ye, start at the next rank below the MR and make the same determination, and keep going down in rank until all ties are broken.

5.   Special rules apply to banzuke appearances at the yokozuna and ozeki ranks. A minimum level of performance is set for these appearances. For yokozuna it is ten wins and for ozeki it is eight wins. If this level is not met for any such banzuke appearance, then that basho is simply removed from the count of appearances in the rikishi’s string, and correspondingly, no credit is given for an appearance at that rank. In other words – don’t count the basho or the rank held – it’s as if the basho never happened.