Brothers in Sumo –
part two
Brian Lewin
Brothers still active on the dohyo get their turn

Yokozuna Comparisons
Joe Kuroda
SFM’s most eminent historian, JK, has a crack at the impossible and tries to see who was the greatest of the tsuna wearers

Rikishi of Old
John Gunning
Takanobori – former sekiwake, former NHK man and all ’round gent

Heya Peek
Barbara Ann Klein
Kitanoumi-beya, Kitazakura, mirrors & photo bonanza

SFM Interview
John Gunning
Kazuyoshi Yoshikawa (son of the late sekiwake Takanobori) on life in sumo way back when

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
Behind every good man there stands a good woman – read and ye shall see. A departure from our regular 101 feature

Photo Bonanza
See the Hatsu Basho
plus much more through the lens of our photographers

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

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila covers lower division goings on in detail

Haru Basho Forecast
Pierre Wohlleben & Mark Buckton
Pierre predicts the Haru Basho banzuke while Mark highlights the ones to look out for in Osaka

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

Minusha
John McTague
John’s unique bimonthly view of sumo news from outside the dohyo and in the restaurants!

Online Gaming
Alexander Nitschke
SFM’s own Alexander Nitschke covers the long running Hoshitori Game

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Todd’s bimonthly focus on 3 of the most interesting sumo sites today

Fan Debate
Feb's debate sees
a pair of Kiwis exchanging opinions on the honbasho going on the road

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In the third of our cartoon bonanzas, sit back and enjoy BL’s offerings and put a caption to ST’s pic to win yourselves a banzuke

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that
made you a sumo fan? A unique perspective from a sightless reader.

Readers’ Letters
See what some SFM
readers had to say since our last issue

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

Sumo 101 – the Wife behind the Yokozuna

Barbara Ann Klein 		Enjoy – for such an insight on such a personal level comes along rarely. This chat is being reported with the express permission of Tamiraa.

This particular evening, day 9 of the Hatsu Basho, Tamiraa Gombosuren and I met outside her apartment building. Asasekiryu’s sister, Ulndraa joined us. We went to Tamiraa’s favorite restaurant in Tokyo where we sat down and talked about all manner of things before our “official, informal” question and answer period. Halfway through, we were interrupted by a phone call from Tamiraa’s helper, who reported that the new baby was crying a lot, so we adjourned to her home.

BAK – Oftentimes the yokozuna is asked about his background but do you mind if we ask about yours?

TG – Well, it isn’t very exciting. I just grew up normally in Ulaanbaatar and went to university in Germany. But traveling out of Mongolia was very eye-opening, as well as educational, and made me want to travel even more.

BAK – What are some of the things that you are most interested in?

Next
SFM’s 101 slot was initiated more with the intent of giving those new to the sport an inside look at that seen as the norm by longer-term fans. That said, no borders for the page remain overly rigid and so we will use the 101 slot in this issue to bring you an angle on sumo that has not, we believe, been covered by any of the in-print, online or TV media to date. We will give you coverage of a chat our Editor – Barbara Ann Klein had with Tamiraa Gombosuren.
Who is Tamiraa Gombosuren some of you, the majority perhaps, will ask?

She is quite simply the wife of Asashoryu and mother of Ichinkhorloo and Jemiandorj as far as most sumo fans are concerned. As far as our Editor is concerned however, Tamiraa
is a friend and has been for a few years now. So, although Barbara included reference to her relationship with the yokozuna last issue , today SFM will show that the adage “behind every good man there stands a good woman” could not be more accurate when looking at the royal couple of ozumo.

Tamiraa and Barbara Ann Klein (Photo by Katrina Watts)
 
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