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.

and officials – at least quadruples the size of the touring party. This, in turn, would significantly increase the travel costs of the NSK (I assume that travel by plane is more expensive than the road/rail travel used to reach Nagoya or Osaka). Increased travel costs would, one supposes, add to the NSK’s break-even figure for a tournament profit – especially if a Tokyo tournament (where travel costs are minimal) were moved. And, of course, if the break-even figure goes up (not least after the expensive hire of a new venue for 15 days), I am worried that ticket prices will also increase. If ticket prices increase then the two presumed aims of the overseas tournament (attracting higher attendances and increasing basho profits) will be placed under threat – especially in the lands of Baruto, Kotooshu, Roho and Asashoryu, where real wages (and thus entertainment budgets) are significantly lower than in Japan. These are just possibilities and my risk-averse attitude suggests I’d make a very poor stockbroker. But it seems the only way I can make a fist of this debate! JH: Chris is spot on regarding the massively increased finances and huge logistical nightmare a honbasho in the EU or Mongolia would entail, but I think a great deal of potential loss could effectively be cancelled out if you consider the massive advertising opportunities along the way. (Japanese) Airlines would benefit from increased publicity as the rikishi departed en-masse, Japanese companies operating in the target nation would likely serve as sponsors in some way, shape or

form, large numbers of Japanese living locally, perhaps with the exception of Mongolia, would snap up the tickets, and hovering in the background from the outset would be the Japanese government – the NSK being a legal entity under the jurisdiction of at least one government ministry. Potential, potential, potential. Admittedly, ticket prices could cause locals to sweat a little in parts of the EU and Mongolia if they were too high but nothing too excessive would be passed onto the fans if a decent advertising agency was employed. Ulitmately though, sumo isn’t about money, sumo is about sumo, about Japan and about that certain je ne sais quois that can’t be pinned down when we try to describe why we love sumo so much. Japan craves recognition by western nations, as seen by media features on their opinions of Japan. Opinion polls conducted locally always end up being compared to similar polls held in the EU or US, against which Japanese measure themselves. To be at the center of continent-wide attention for a fortnight in the west would have Nippon Plc foaming at the mouth, so with the sport pretty much carried by non-Japanese rikishi nowadays, it is just a matter of time before someone realizes the PR / attention an overseas honbasho would create. CG: James is entirely correct – sumo is not just about the money. However, it would be comforting if foreign tours generated cash for investment in future development. I am pleased that we have outlined

both the financial Opportunities and Threats in the exchange above – readers can now easily compare the two. James’s arguments onadvertising potential are sound – I recall that a couple of high-profile names signed up to sponsor the 1991 practice tournament in London and Grand Sumo Las Vegas in 2005. But even if sufficient sponsorship were roped in and ticket prices remained at reasonable levels, the NSK may still have problems getting people to watch a tournament abroad. To sell all of its 50,000 tickets for the 1991 jungyo tournament in London, sumo required a huge amount of mainstream television exposure. Between 10-15% of the total television viewing market was regularly tuning in to Channel Four’s broadcasts, which had been running for four years prior to the event. However, in today’s EU, sumo only ever seems to appear on Eurosport which, according to the only figures I have available, makes up less than 0.5%, and sometimes only 0.2%, of the television-viewing market. Even assuming that everybody who watches Eurosport also watches sumo, this would translate to no more than a few thousand regular viewers in each EU land. I think the NSK would have problems shifting 15x 10,000 tickets based on those figures, even if some interest would be generated from people purely interested in all things Japanese, or all forms of combat. It appears that when sumo is not on mainstream television, the NSK struggles to sell tickets on tour despite extensive promotional work, Next