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.

regarding the ozeki and yokozuna.  With all ranks below those top two, a rikishi’s record in a basho almost always has/had a direct effect on his banzuke rank the next time out.  But that’s not the case for ozeki and yokozuna, with both kadoban and kosho not existing throughout and affecting some ozeki more than others, and with some yokozuna taking several years off (over their career) with no effect on the actual rank held, except for dropping to O3w and Y2w, and the like.  So it wasn’t too complicated to insert a performance standard that insures that all ozeki and all yokozuna, respectively, are treated with equality.  The standard is 8 wins by an ozeki and 10 wins by a yokozuna in order for a basho to be included in the calculation.  If it isn’t achieved, then the banzuke ranking for that basho is excluded from the calculation; so it doesn’t really matter if they didn’t meet the

standard by under-performing or by not performing at all.  The performance standard means that everyone gets the same treatment. Click RULES for the complete rules and criteria. So what does the Banzuke show so far?  The Akebono-Takanohana juxtaposition might be revealing since it is Takanohana who is the dai-yokozuna, but he also comes after Akebono on the EB.  Since Takanohana was a child prodigy of sorts, many assume that he flew straight up the makuuchi banzuke to yokozuna.  A look at his career shows it didn’t quite happen that way, as the comparison with Akebono shows.  The Chiyotaikai-Kaio comparison shows the same thing about Kaio.  Newer fans might see Tosanoumi at M2 and say, “Whoa!” and check out his career just to make sure – at least that’s the hope.

And then there’s the EB poster child (so far), the ozeki Kirishima, who metamorphosed his career after four years of makuuchi mediocrity to become a decent ozeki, but spots up at M6e on the EB due to those early years at the lower ranks.  As we study more historical rikishi, we’ll probably find that the EB will be hard on the under-performing yokozuna, but easy on the under-performing ozeki, since those yokozuna will have retired before putting together much of a yokozuna portfolio, while the ozeki (see Asashio) can continue to pile up appearances while posting just eight or nine wins.  Again, the Eternal Banzuke shouldn’t be used to rank people in our minds, but to think about how rikishi’s careers compared with some others.  HERE is where we are so far.  Thanks for ‘watching’, and there’ll be more to come in June. Rules Home