Sumo Fan Magazine

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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.

Lower Division Rikishi

text by Mikko Mattila
photos by Carolyn Todd

morozashi and controlling the bout. A wide variety of kimarite in each of his bouts showed versatility but also highlighted the fact that he really had to work hard for his wins. As a relatively lightweight Mongolian with good technique and also power moves, he will make an interesting newcomer in juryo.

The borderline between the makushita and juryo divisions is the most significant threshold rikishi can cross. The salary increase is significant as is the clear jump in status. As a juryo rikishi, one earns a good salary, has personal assistants, and has many more privileges in the heya and in the world of professional sumo as a whole. In the Kyushu basho there were four makushita rikishi who earned their first promotion to juryo, and one more that is returning after a long stint in makushita. The line between makushita and sandanme is less conspicuous and doesn’t draw that much attention, as there isn’t that much difference between low makushita and high sandanme. However, the makushita division is usually the place where many fast ascending newcomers are fully tested for the first time, so new makushita debutants are sometimes as interesting to watch as the new sekitori. In this issue, we’ll take a look at both groups.

The makushita yusho winner was Mongolian Hakuba (23), who has

Hakuba

already been in makushita for a long time. He didn’t advance for some while but finally broke into high makushita and earned his promotion to juryo with a 7-0 record at ms2. His sumo wasn’t overly astonishing and at times he was pushed back easily, only surviving with fast reflexes and last ditch turn-arounds. He did dominate Wakanoho by seizing

Russian Wakanoho broke the record as the youngest foreigner ever to reach juryo. He had perfect conditions to decide his own fate at ms1, but he certainly didn’t have a very strong basho, despite the 4-3 result and promotion to juryo. He beat Yakigaya on day 1 after

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