Attention to Akeni Carolyn Todd SFM's newest addition to the writing staff takes an in-depth look at akeni, their history and production techniques Rikishi of Old Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda slides former yokozuna Minanogawa under his SFM microscope Eric Evaluates Eric Blair Eric's wit scythes through the SML and makes clear his opinion of where the future lies for online sumo forums. Eternal Banzuke Phase II Lon Howard Stats, equations and mathematics all lead to a list of sumo's most prolific up and downers Matta-Henka: Another View Lon Howard A row that will never be fully decided but Lon gives his impressions on it all the same Heya Peek Mark Buckton Mihogaseki, former home of Estonian sekitori Baruto is toured (and peeked at) by SFM's Editor-in-Chief SFM Interview Mark Buckton Mark interviews shin-komusubi Kokkai Photo Bonanza See the Nagoya basho and Akeni photo bonanzas Nagoya Basho Summary Lon Howard Lon gives us his Nagoya basho summary, along with the henka sightings results Lower Division Rikishi Mikko Mattila Mikko Mattila casts his watchful eye over lower division goings on in makushita and below. Aki Ones to Watch Carolyn Todd Carolyn takes over the job of rikishi job performance prediction for SFM as she looks at those to keep an eye on come September Kimarite Focus Mikko Mattila Our man Mikko's latest trio of kimarite get thrown about the SFM literary dohyo Amateur Angles Howard Gilbert Howard returns with the second of his columns on the amateur sumo scene. Sumo Game SFM's very own quiz comes in for a bit of self scrutiny by our secretive man of questions. We'll call him 'X'. Sumo in Print Barbara Ann Klein SFM’s Editor reviews “The Little Yokozuna”, a book for “young” (and older) adults Kokugi Connections Todd Lambert Check out Todd's bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites Fan Debate Facilitator - Lon Howard Keri Sibley and Eduardo de Paz  ponder the concept of ‘to pay or not to pay’ makushita salaries SFM Cartoons Stephen Thompson Sit back and enjoy the offerings of one of sumo's premier artists Lets Hear From You What was it that made you a sumo fan? SFM’s own Todd Lambert details his path into sumofandom 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.

divisions of jonokuchi and jonidan be continued  without pay, since in them, the young wrestlers must demonstrate whether they are prepared to compete in sumo or not.  But everyone who reaches sandanme has at least already  made clear that he knows how to fight and can aspire to something. Perhaps this is a good departure point from the present system, so that the fighters in this division can receive a small economic contribution that encourages them to continue competing. And of course, in makushita, the contribution would have to be higher -perhaps a wage that allows the wrestler to be able to buy something for himself, and that teaches him what he can obtain if he continues working hard and is able to reach the higher ranks.   I am sure that a change in the attitude of the Nihon Sumo Kyokai in this aspect will cause many young Japanese boys to begin to watch sumo with other eyes, and that in just a short time, there will be many new Japanese rikishi who will aspire to be yokozuna.  But without this, with almost the entire top of the banzuke being occupied by foreign rikishi, Japan’s national sport will continue losing more and more fans to baseball, football, soccer, and other kinds of wrestling.  It is very sad to think about.   KS:    I have to disagree that adopting a pay scale will do much for bringing new talent into the sport.  I think the biggest frustration for a young rikishi is culture shock, even for the

Japanese.  A young sumotori joining a new heya is faced with changes in his life. The sumo culture has been designed this way and it serves its purpose well. You’ve really got to want to be there and the toughness of this new way of life weeds out the ones looking for what they might think is an easy climb to success.  A strong will, hard work and love of the sport are what is needed to be successful in sumo.  Changing the system could lead to a decrease in the integrity of the sport. The pay system you describe will serve only to keep the marginal rikishi around a little longer and, in the end, they still won’t have anything to fall back on, especially if the minimal amount of yen they’re going to get gets spent on entertainment and fast food. I would go as far as to say that it would make a marginal rikishi stay in the sport longer than they probably should and delay the process of getting on with life after sumo. I would propose an alternative method of pay that would maintain the integrity of sumo, as well as give a little to each rikishi as they make their way up the banzuke. This system would be based mostly on performance and a little bit on rank.  It is similar to the current kensho system, except that the Kyokai puts up the money for makushita and below.  The winner of each match gets prize money based on the torikumi.  The loser goes home to ponder how he can do better next time.  Unless you go 0-7, you will go home with your karaoke money.  The more wins you get, the more karaoke you get.  It provides a rikishi that doesn’t win so much, an incentive to train

harder and in turn, (hopefully) win even more. So this brings us to the next question…what happens to the rikishi that just don’t have the goods to make it to the top?  Not everyone can be the best and as with the current system, there will be casualties to this system as well.  To answer this question, I also propose an education fund for the rikishi that make a serious attempt at making it in the sumo world, but inevitably fall short.  There would have to be requirements (maybe your suggestion of sandanme rank would apply here) in order to qualify for this fund, but at least it would be there for the serious rikishi and a career in sumo wouldn’t be a complete waste. In my next response I will explain how to really get the young Japanese youths interested and back into the sport.   EP:    I believe that you are partially assuming some of my positions, which makes me happy because I can see that I am true in some things I said. The payment system that I mentioned was only an example, and I really believe that the one that you have indicated can be even better than the one proposed by me.  Of course, it is highly probable that by the time any such reform takes effect, some expert people will propose a solution far better than our own.  Next