Sumo Souvenirs   Mark Buckton Second of a two parter on sumo souvenirs - some hints on avoiding the fluff. Konishiki Chris Gould Takamiyama's 60s / 70s successes notwithstanding Konishiki was sumo's first full-on mover and shaker from lands afar leaving Chris G to take an in-depth look at the ripples the big guy left behind when exiting the sumo pool. Rikishi of Old Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda's looks back at the life and times of former yokozuna Shiranui. Eric Evaluates Eric Blair Eric IDs the true winners of the henkafest that was the Haru Basho senshuraku. Rikishi Diary Mark Kent Mark Kent - English pro-wrestler and amateur heavyweight sumotori - takes his training a step further on his road to European and World sumo glory. Heya Peek Mark Buckton Oitekaze Beya just to the north of Tokyo and not far from the abode of SFM's Ed-i-C falls under the microscope. SFM Interview Carolyn Todd Carolyn interviews Riho Rannikmaa during his recent trip to Osaka - head of all things sumo in Estonia, friend and mentor of Baruto, this is a man with something to announce. Sumo à la LA Alisdair Davey SFM's man in the shadows reports on his recent jaunt in LA, as guest of the Californian Sumo Association and SFM reporter at large. Photo Bonanzas Hot on the heels of the recent Ise bonanza - Haru up close and very very personal - some of our best pics to date. Haru Basho Summary Lon Howard Lon wraps the Haru Basho and chucks in a few bits on the henka issues the top dogs are suffering from at present. Sumo Menko Ryan Laughton Sumo cards of old brought to life once again by expert collector Ryan Laughton. None of your BBM offerings here - Pt II of III. Natsu Ones To Watch Carolyn Todd Carolyn ponders the ones to watch come May and Natsu when sumo comes home to Tokyo. Kimarite Focus Mikko Mattila Mikko's latest look at sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations. Amateur Angles Howard Gilbert On your marks, get set, go - Howard Gilbert walks us through the months ahead on the amateur calendar. Kokugi Konnections Todd Lambert Click on Todd's latest selection of the best sumo sites the WWW has to offer. Fan Debate Facilitator - Carolyn Todd Should it or shouldn't it? Honbasho go on the overseas road that is. See what SFM's Chris Gould and James Hawkins have to say. SFM Cartoons Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample ST's latest artistic offerings. Sumo Odds & Ends SFM's interactive elements - as always includes Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke! Let's Hear From You What was it that made you a sumo fan - A. S. - the face in the crowd reveals almost all - to see everything you'll have to close your eyes. 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 a genuine banzuke.

worldwide? RR: Oh yes, of course. It was always intended to be a spectator sport and, compared to other wrestling styles, it’s very visual. And the rules are so simple compared to other sports that anyone can understand instantly what is going on. They keep suggesting that the rules for other wrestling styles should be simplified to make them more understandable for spectators, but if they simplify them too much, they’ll have sumo! CT: On the professional side of the sport, how do you feel about the limited opportunities for non-Japanese entering the sport nowadays? RR: Well, amasumo is a greenhouse for professional sumo, but sumo is Japan’s national sport and it’s natural for them to want to have Japanese rikishi as opposed to foreigners. They could afford to have more than one gaijin per heya but I definitely think there should be a limit. The Japanese people will eventually lose interest if their sport is only made up of foreigners, and the NSK needs local support as much as any sporting association. CT: How difficult do you think it is for foreigners to fit into traditional Japanese heya life? RR: I think it must be very difficult. They’re young, they’re away from their family, friends, language, culture, and it’s a hard life. I think foreign rikishi have to be very determined to stick it out through the homesickness and the general difficulties of living in a society where they initially don’t understand anything that’s going on.

Sumo is very difficult, like a vocation. When you’re a judo athlete, you can try out other wrestling styles, no problem, but sumo is sumo, nothing else is allowed to interrupt the focus. CT: When Baruto joined professional sumo, he came to Japan with another Estonian wrestler who unfortunately left after a short time. Is he still involved in sumo back in Estonia? RR: Ah, Ott Juurikas. (SFM note: Kitaoji – retired August 2004). When he first came back he won the Estonian openweight division in amasumo, but then he gave sumo up completely due to his health and he now has a regular job. CT: Do you have any other good Estonians coming up who could make it in professional sumo? RR: Hmm, physically yes, mentally no. Kaido’s brother is actually very good but I don’t think he’d be happy with heya life. Actually, his sister does shinsumo (women’s amateur sumo) and she’s pretty good too. CT: On the subject of shinsumo, here in Osaka the Governor is a woman and she sponsors an award at the basho, but as a woman, she’s not allowed on the dohyo so a deputy always has to make the presentation. Given that amasumo welcomes women as enthusiastically as men, how do you feel about that? RR: Actually we came up against that problem in Tokyo with amasumo because we couldn’t hold the shinsumo competition on the dohyo at the Kokugikan. I suppose from an outsider’s point of view it might seem outdated, but if it’s the tradition in Japan, what are you going to do? It’s not that the

Japanese have a negative view of women’s sumo: the Estonian women’s team was invited to compete in the World Games in Akita back in 2001 so there was an active effort to include women, and they’re held in high regard. Professional sumo is different, with ancient traditions. CT: After the success of the Junior World Sumo Championships in Rakvere in 2006, I understand that you have some exciting news? RR: Yes, Rakvere will be hosting the 2008 World Amasumo Championships! CT: You must be delighted. RR: Yes, it’s a great achievement for Rakvere, which is a town of only 18,000 people. We don’t have a firm date but we expect that it’ll be sometime in October, and we hope that Kaido and his oyakata will be guests of honor. Rakvere has a new sports hall for 3000 people and now we’re building a hotel and spa. Of course, the main problem as always is sponsorship, as companies allocate funds a year in advance so we need to start work on that now. We don’t receive any state support, although the Estonian Olympic Committee sponsored the doping control at the Championships in 2006 and hopefully will support us in 2008, although there will be a lot more competitors. If anyone out there is interested in getting involved, we would be happy to talk to them. CT: And how about the future of sumo in Estonia? How would you like to see it develop? RR: I would like to see all the Next