What Will Become of the Dynasty?
Brian Lewin
The Hanada Dynasty – past or present?

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
A look at a rikishi of yesteryear with Tenryu our man for August.

Heya Peek
John Gunning
John attends a chanko session at Chiganoura Beya.

Photo Bonanza
For a glimpse at some of the sights you won't see on TV.    

July Basho Review
Lon Howard & John Gunning
Lon gives us his Nagoya Basho summary and his take on upset of the tournament while John chips in with his ‘gem’ of the basho.

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila takes a break and Eric Blair covers the lower divisions in his own ‘unique’ way.

Aki Basho Forecast
Pierre Wohlleben & Mark Buckton
Pierre predicts the Aki Basho banzuke while Mark previews the ones to watch next time out.

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
Gyoji goings on and several things you never knew about the ones officiating.

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko walks us through his 2 chosen kimarite.

Minusha
John McTague
John's unique view of news from outside the dohyo.

Boletín de Sumo en Español
Eduardo de Paz Gútiez
An article on sumo’s very first fan mag – Boletin de Sumo en Espanol

Online Gaming
Jezz Sterling
Hear from the founder of Bench Sumo of one of sumo's most popular games.

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Todd’s focus on 3 of the most interesting online sumo sites today.

Fan Debate
Henka – good, bad or ugly? See what our debaters think.

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan – the Petros Zachos story.

Ngozi on the Road
Ngozi T. Robinson
NTR visits an amasumo event in the north-east U.S. and tells us what it was like.

Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho's banzuke.

What Will Become of the Dynasty?

by Brian Lewin

Muroko destroyed the family apple orchard in September of '34, they relocated, ultimately settling in Muroran, Hokkaido.

When his father was called away to fight in the War, responsibility for supporting the family fell on 9-year-old Katsuji's shoulders. Even after his father returned from fighting, wounded both physically and mentally, Katsuji continued to support his family.  At fourteen, he began working as a stevedore at a local port – a tough job that built him into a formidable young man, so much so that when Nishonoseki-beya came to town a few years later, Katsuji was called upon to

Next Home

When Hanada Mitsuru, Futagoyama Oyakata, died on May 30th, the impact was huge.  One of the most popular rikishi of his era, the father of two of the most popular and successful rikishi of the past two decades, and the founder of the strongest heya of the 90s, his death and the ensuing family squabble have made many question the future of both the heya and of the Hanada family line in sumo, a line which has spanned five

decades and produced three yokozuna and an ozeki.

The story of the Hanada family does not begin with Mitsuru, the former Takanohana I, however.  It begins with his elder brother, Wakanohana I.

Wakanohana I - Dohyo no Oni
Hanada Katsuji was born on March 16, 1928, in Aomori Prefecture.  After Typhoon