SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo Chris Gould Chris sinks his teeth deeper into how sumo can go about pulling in the younger fans in part two of a three-part series. Azumazeki up close and personal Steven Pascal-Joiner / William Titus A wiz with a pen and a wiz with a lens get together with SFM to share their time with Azumazeki Oyakata - Takamiyama as was - with the wider sumo following world. Rikishi of Old Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda takes a detailed look at the life and times of a former yokozuna forgotten by many - Maedayama. Eric Evaluates Eric Blair Eric calls the musubi-no-ichiban kimarite call on nakabi in Kyushu as perhaps only he could. Heya Peek Jeff Kennel First time heya visitor Jeff Kennel wrote about, photographed and even made a video of his time spent at Arashio Beya prior to the Kyushu Basho. All to be found within. SFM Interview Mark Buckton Mark interviews Russian up and comer Wakanoho of Magaki Beya. Photo Bonanzas See behind the scenes at the Kyushu Basho, morning training in Arashio Beya through the eyes of an artist and exactly what the Azumazeki lads had to eat halfway though the July Nagoya Basho. All originals, all seen here and nowhere else, and all for you. Kyushu Basho Summary Lon Howard Lon wraps the Kyushu Basho in Fukuoka and throws in some henka sighting results for good measure. Lower Division Rikishi Mikko Mattila The lower divisions, their members and results get the once over thanks to Mikko's eyeing of life down below the salaried ranks. Hatsu Ones To Watch Carolyn Todd Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come January and the Hatsu Basho. Kimarite Focus Mikko Mattila Mikko's latest clarification of a handful of sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations. Amateur Angles Howard Gilbert Howard looks at makushita tsukedashi and what it means in real terms. Kokugi Konnections Todd Lambert Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online. Fan Debate Facilitators - Lon Howard / Carolyn Todd Two SFMers talk over the yokozuna benefiting from weak opposition - or not as the case may be. SFM Cartoons Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Stephen's artistic offerings. Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends SFM's interactive elements including Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke! Lets Hear From You What was it that made you a sumo fan? Starting with issue #10, the SFM staff will reveal a little of their own routes into sumo fandom - starting with Benny Loh. 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 next basho’s banzuke.

Hawaii’s First Champion An Interview with Azumazeki Oyakata Text by Steven Pascal-Joiner  Photos by William Titus

We did not enter the building on the right but instead went immediately into the building on the left, which holds a large, industrial-sized kitchen and a raised tatami mat area roughly twenty mats in size. The mat space has one average-sized TV in the corner, one large A/C unit, and nothing else. When we

On an overcast Saturday afternoon in July, under the threat of rain more akin to a tropical deluge than the constant drizzle of a typical Japanese rainy season, I visited one of the true trailblazers of the modern sumo world. Jesse Kuhaulua has been involved in the sumo world for over 40 years as a rikishi (Takamiyama) and an oyakata (Azumazeki). The former Takasago Oyakata (former yokozuna Maedayama) scouted Jesse when he traveled to Hawaii in 1964 as part of a goodwill tour from Meiji University. Takasago Oyakata convinced Jesse, the youngest of 11, to try his hand at sumo. Jesse was following no precedent and had no kinsmen in Japan to help him out. Unlike today’s sumo world, the success of foreign rikishi had not yet been established at all in 1964. Yet the young boy from Maui said yes, and the sumo world changed forever. I had the opportunity to meet and interview the oyakata on day seven of the Nagoya basho at Azumazeki beya’s temporary home in the commuter town of Inazawa. The meeting and interview were made possible by a Kansai area junior high school sumo coach. A few of the coach’s rikishi were training in Azumazeki beya at the time of our visit and his status as a respected guest of the heya was clear. Azumazeki and his rikishi stay in their temporary heya each July; the grounds look rather nondescript and resemble more the rambling surroundings

Takamisakari-Azumazeki: Getting advice from the oyakata

of a neglected semi-rural temple (there is, in fact, a temple on the grounds) than a functioning sumo heya. A corrugated roof covers a dohyo surrounded by several rows of folding chairs on three sides. The bulk of the heya’s activity takes place in two buildings behind the dohyo space. With your back to the dohyo, the building on the right consists of one large room adorned with yukata hung over rafters, trying to dry in the humid afternoon air, futons rolled up but still on the floor, and a random scattering of personal items - manga, t-shirts, and well-worn cotton shorts. A hall on the right side of the big room opens onto small individual rooms. At the time of our visit, two rooms were occupied by the only two upper-rank rikishi in the heya: Takamisakari and Ushiomaru.

entered, a handful of young rikishi were lounging in patterned cotton shorts around the TV, watching tapes of day six. We announced ourselves and, a few moments later, the oyakata came out of an adjacent room that was filled with plastic bins full of an assortment of items - books, clothes, and electronics. This, it seemed, was the oyakata’s living quarters while in Nagoya. He came out in a simple black shirt and long shorts (with the word “Azumazeki” running down the leg) accompanied by his dog, a large poodle. Our party—two Japanese and five foreigners—shuffled around as zabuton were laid out and the oyakata made himself comfortable on the floor with his back against Next