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SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo |
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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.
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Azumazeki up close and personal |
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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.
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Rikishi of Old |
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Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda takes a detailed look at the life and times of a former yokozuna forgotten by many - Maedayama.
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Eric Evaluates |
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Eric Blair
Eric calls the musubi-no-ichiban kimarite call on nakabi in Kyushu as perhaps only he could.
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Heya Peek |
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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.
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SFM Interview |
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Mark Buckton
Mark interviews Russian up and comer Wakanoho of Magaki Beya.
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Photo Bonanzas |
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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.
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Kyushu Basho Summary |
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Lon Howard
Lon wraps the Kyushu Basho in Fukuoka and throws in some henka sighting results for good measure.
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Lower Division Rikishi |
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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.
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Hatsu Ones To Watch |
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Carolyn Todd
Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come January and the Hatsu Basho.
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Kimarite Focus |
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Mikko Mattila
Mikko's latest clarification of a handful of sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations.
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Amateur Angles |
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Howard Gilbert
Howard looks at makushita tsukedashi and what it means in real terms.
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Kokugi Konnections |
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Todd Lambert
Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online.
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Fan Debate |
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Facilitators - Lon Howard / Carolyn Todd
Two SFMers talk over the yokozuna benefiting from weak opposition - or not as the case may be.
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SFM Cartoons |
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Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Stephen's artistic offerings.
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Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends |
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SFM's interactive elements including Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!
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Lets Hear From You |
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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.
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Readers' Letters |
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See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens.
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Sumo Quiz |
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The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.
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cooking
in the kitchen we saw yesterday, and the 13+ rikishi practicing in hot,
humid morning air. Practice concluded at 8:32 and we headed to the
tatami mats next to the kitchen for breakfast. Three long tables were
prepared with chopsticks, water, scrambled egg squares (like sushi
tamago without rice - tamago sashimi?), and beer. The nabe pot was
simmering at the back of the room, tended by one of the rikishi.
Unfortunately, I get seated right next to the pot. I didn’t mind at
first since there was a large fan on the other side of the room pointed
in our general direction. We ate our first helping of nabe - heavy with
cabbage, sausage, and tofu. As the second serving was ladled out, I
notice that it was suddenly much
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hotter. At first I contributed the rise in temperature to having
ingested a bowl of hot nabe, then I noticed that Takamisakari and
Ushiomaru had arrived and were seated at their own table with a teshoku
set breakfast, and the fan was pointed at them. We suffered through
another 15 minutes of sitting next to the nabe pot without any sort of
cooling before the news circulated that the two makunouchi were going
to take their nap soon so we should get any photos taken as soon as
possible. I abandoned my fourth helping of nabe and got a photo with
both Ushiomaru and Takamisakari. By the time I got away from the photo
op chaos, the tables of food were cleared and the crowd of people, some
30-40 in all for breakfast,
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had dissipated.
Although the oyakata was long gone, I could feel his positive influence
on the scene around me as we walked away from the morning keiko. The
rikishi of Azumazeki beya were all friendly and well-mannered and the
vibe of the place was generally positive. Compared with other heya
visits I’ve had the honor of making in the past, I felt most at ease in
the company of Jesse and his wards. When Azumazeki finally turns 65 and
gets his much-deserved retirement, the sumo world will have lost a true
gentleman of the sport. He changed sumo for the better and his
contributions to the sport shall not be forgotten.
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