Sumo Fan Magazine

Nagoya Nears
Eric Blair
As Nagoya nears, EB gets a head start on the pack by focussing on points of interest, past and present surrounding sumo's hottest basho

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
The 42nd yokozuna Kagamisato falls under the JK microscope

Heya Peek
Barbara Ann Klein
Kokonoe-beya and the Chiyo Boys

SFM Interview
Mark Buckton
SFM's Ed-in-Chief interviews Estonian up and comer Baruto

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
SFM's Editor looks at all the twists and turns involved in the tsunauchi-shiki and adds a photo bonanza to boot

Photo Bonanza
See the Natsu
Basho and Kokonoe-beya photo bonanzas

Natsu Basho Summary
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Natsu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila lets you know what is going on down below the curtain

Nagoya Ones to Watch
Mark Buckton
MB's mixed bag of things to look out for in Nagoya

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Our man Mikko takes us on a tour of several defensive oriented kimarite

Amateur Angles
Howard Gilbert
The first of our regular column pieces on the amateur sumo scene from a man who knows more than most

Sumo Game
Bruce Rae
For a look at his very own: PTYW (Pick The Yusho Winners)

Sumo in Print
Barbara Ann Klein
SFM's Editor reviews the newly published biography of Akebono, Gaijin Yokozuna – but sees it as more than just a biography

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Check out Todd's bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites around

Fan Debate
Facilitator – Lon Howard
Sumo author Mina Hall and long long time fan Jim Bitgood discuss how to make sumo more entertaining – if such a concept is even necessary

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
Sit back and enjoy the offerings of sumo's premier artists

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that
made you a sumo fan? James Vath in rural Japan lets us in on his gateway to the sport

Readers’ Letters

See what our readers had to say since we last went out

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

Elevator Rules

THE GENERAL PROCEDURE

Three components are used in determining a rikishi's position in the Ranking:

1.	Move On Quotient (MOQ): The average number of banzuke spots moved per basho (currently 42 spots on the makuuchi banzuke): Starting with the 2nd basho in the string, count the number of spots moved – whether up or down – from the previous basho, and do this through the final basho in the string. Total all those figures and divide by the number of figures used. This is the MOQ.
2.	About Face Quotient (AFQ): The percentage of time the rikishi changed direction on the banzuke: Starting with the 2nd basho in the string, record a plus (+) if the rikishi moved up the banzuke from the previous basho, and record a minus (–) if the rikishi moved down (no mark is necessary if there was no movement). Then, starting with the 3rd basho in the string, determine if there was a change of direction or not, e.g., if a plus (+) is recorded, a change of direction occurs with the next minus (–), and vice versa. Finally, divide the total number of direction changes by the total number of times a direction change was actually possible (i.e., number of basho in the string, minus 2). This percentage is the AFQ.
3.	Elevator Index (EI): Simply multiply the MOQ by the AFQ.

Rikishi are then ranked according to their Elevator Index, highest on top.

SPECIFIC RULES

1.	A rikishi must have an unbroken string of at least 30 consecutive qualifying basho in order to be listed in the Ranking.
2.	A rikishi's string is assumed to start with his first makuuchi appearance and end with his last. There are only two exceptions to this general rule:
	When a string begins with the first makuuchi appearance, in order for it to remain unbroken, as you count down the list of basho, the total number of makuuchi appearances must at least equal the total juryo or below appearances. At any point, when this is not true, that string is broken, and a new string is assumed to begin with the second makuuchi appearance, with the same test applied. The string actually begins with the first makuuchi appearance where the test is passed.
	If the last makuuchi appearance is immediately preceded by three consecutive juryo or below appearances, the string will not end with that appearance. Instead, go up to the next-to-last makuuchi appearance and apply the same test. Keep going up if necessary. The string actually ends with the last makuuchi appearance, which is not immediately preceded by at least three juryo or below appearances.
3.	If a rikishi doesn't accumulate a string of at least 30 consecutive qualifying basho under these rules, he may still qualify to be listed in the Ranking by foregoing both exceptions listed in #2, above. By doing that, the string still must contain 30 basho – if it doesn't, the rikishi will not be listed in the Ranking.
4.	In calculating the Move On Quotient (MOQ), a rikishi is credited with zero banzuke spots moved for any basho in juryo, and for the first makuuchi basho when transiting back from juryo – regardless of how many actual spots were moved – and no credit is given for a change of direction for either basho.
5.	All sanyaku ranks other than East are considered West, e.g., S2e, S2w are both counted as Sw. (∗)
(∗) Note: Trying to be exact in accounting for more than two spots for each sanyaku rank (in the cases where that occurred) required a system which sometimes produced nonsensical outcomes further down the banzuke, such as rikishi going from M6e to M7e, yet being credited with a 0 or a 1 count in spots moved, even though two spots were actually moved.

Current Elevator Ranking:

(Fully Qualified Rikishi Only)
(Active rikishi in bold)

RIKISHI MOQ AFQ EI MID
YEAR

1. Takanofuji 11.00 0.9355 10.29 1989

2. Itai 11.58 0.8039 9.31 1987

3. Sadanoumi 10.61 0.7674 8.15 1984

4. Daitetsu 10.13 0.7586 7.69 1986

5. Jingaku 9.47 0.7955 7.53 1988

6. Daijuyama 9.91 0.7460 7.39 1986

7. Kirinji 10.23 0.6867 7.02 1982

8. Higonoumi 10.06 0.6863 6.90 1997

9. Mainoumi 9.21 0.7368 6.78 1995

10. Kasugafuji 8.88 0.7619 6.77 1993

11. Kyokudozan 8.40 0.8043 6.76 1993

12. Takamisugi 9.70 0.6812 6.61 1990

13. Kotofuji 10.00 0.6571 6.57 1992

14. Kyokushuzan 9.59 0.6667 6.39

15. Daishoho 9.73 0.6563 6.38 1994

16. Koboyama 9.06 0.6875 6.23 1986

17. Tochiazuma I * 8.34 0.7414 6.18 1972

18. Ozutsu 8.19 0.7500 6.15 1986

19. Tochihikari ** 8.52 0.7049 6.00 1979

20. Hamanoshima 9.14 0.6429 5.88 1998

* the sekiwake

** aka Kaneshiro