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.

But what seems clear is that a system is necessary to stimulate the lower ranked rikishi, to encourage them to train harder and stronger. It is true that it is not advisable for the young people to spend all their money in entertainment and fast-food, but all of us have been twenty-years-old, and at that age, how did we spend our money?  Did we invest in a plan of pensions or buy warrants on Wall Street?  Surely a young Japanese boy has the same daily modern whimsies as a young boy in Europe, America or Australia, and if he already knows he cannot indulge those whimsies until he becomes sekitori, there is very little, for boys of his new generation, to attract him to this life, because he must sacrifice his childhood.  In today’s world, that is a harsh request to make of a child, and is a request that is not going to be granted very often.    You ask a question; “What happens to the rikishi that just doesn't have the goods to make it to the top?”  You could ask the same question for any sport.  Everybody is not going to be Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona or Zidane, but anyway, thousands and thousands of young people are joining the football clubs trying to become good enough to join the great clubs like Real Madrid, AC Milan or Manchester United.  Most of these players are unable to join the great clubs and spend their entire career with the second division clubs.  Do we expect them to receive no salary at all? Like you, I believe that sumo is what it is, thanks to the

ancestral traditions that have been maintained from the old times.  But no sport and no culture can remain unchanged forever, and sumo, too, needs to adapt to the changing world around it.  If the Nihon Sumo Kyokai doesn’t want to see nearly all foreign rikishi’s names at the top of the banzuke very shortly, then they must find some way to afford salaries for the younger boys near the bottom of the banzuke.  KS:    Yes, I believe that we both agree that a change to the monetary system the NSK has in place for the lower ranks could be improved upon.  Is my system better than yours, or yours better than mine?  A question, more than likely, that we will never have the answer to because the NSK is not likely to use either one of our proposals.  Still fun to debate, though. Hopefully, I won’t stray too far off topic.  So how do we bring more Japanese youths into the sport if the NSK will not pay the lower-rank rikishi?  The answer, in my opinion, is really quite simple; however, it is very difficult to implement.  The NSK needs to create an excitement on and around the dohyo.  Remember the most popular periods in sumo history – the recent rivalries between Futagoyama-beya and the Hawaiians – Chiyonofuji with his good looks, small size and hunger – Taiho’s invincibility – the Waka/Tochi era in the 50’s – and of course the great Futabayama? All of these eras had one thing in common.  It was exciting to watch!  And in that lies the difficulty for the NSK.  How does the NSK create an exciting brand of sumo?  How do you create rivalries, charisma, and popularity?  Maybe the answer is marketing the sport.  I’m not sure how much marketing goes on now, but if you compare it with, say,

baseball in Japan, my estimation would be that the two sports are not even close in the dollars spent on advertising its stars.  You have to put it out there where they can see it and make it sound and look as exciting as it really is.  Make those kids want to join sumo, not for money, but for the chance to become part of something that people will want to see.  Take a look at the top of the banzuke right now.  Of the 10 sanyaku, eight of them started from the bottom (unpaid) ranks and none of the college boys are higher than sekiwake.  What brought these guys into the sport? It certainly didn’t worry them that they wouldn’t see a paycheck until the reached juryo.  I believe they saw sumo as something exciting and they wanted to be a part of it. Asashoryu idolized Chiyonofuji, Tochiazuma was the same way with Wakanohana III.  Nobody wanted Hakuho, but he wanted sumo.  There was something inside them that said, “This is something I want to be a part of”.  If the youths of today never see it, they will never want to be a part of it. Getting back to the salary thing, it is a very hard thing to balance payment with desire.  I know and understand that 2nd division football and other sports do receive salaries.  It happens in the U.S. with minor league baseball.  I actually feel that salaries in the major leagues in baseball create a certain amount of complacency in a lot of ball players.  They are making a lot of money for themselves, but ultimately, they start getting comfortable and lose Next