|
Rikishi of Old |
|
Joe Kuroda
Tamanoumi - a man taken well before his time - whilst still an active yokozuna, comes into focus. A rough diamond just starting to shine or a flash in the pan? You decide having read through JK's excellent analysis of one of sumo's less well known yokozuna of modern times.
|
|
SFM Interview |
|
Nagoya and TV filming has delayed the recording and release of the latest SFM sekitori interview - our highest ranker to date. Keep checking back in the days / weeks following the basho to see just what this multi-yusho winner has to say when confronted with SFM's interview team.
|
|
Eric Evaluates |
|
Eric Blair
EB lets rip on sumo groupies - those camera toting 'friends' of the rikishi more often than not known for turning chance encounters into deep and meaningful relationships that make it tricky for the rest of us to watch up close and personal at asageiko.
|
|
Natsu Basho Summary |
|
Lon Howard
Lon runs us through the events at last month's Natsu Basho - and of course includes his take on things Bulgarian and Kotooshu's first yusho - to date?!
|
|
Nagoya Basho - Ones To Watch |
|
Alexander Herrmann
Nagoya - hottest basho of the year is often said to be the site of strange events à la sumo - and this year we have our very own Alex Herrmann trying to figure out what we can expect to see in Japan's sweltering Aichi Gymnasium.
|
|
Heya Peek #1 |
|
Chris Gould
There's something special about making it to the changing rooms of your sport's heroes - and in the case of sumo that is of course the 'shitakubeya'. There are two - the east and west. Chris G reports from one.
|
|
Heya Peek #2 |
|
Enatsu Watanabe / Mark Buckton
Been there before, but Kokonoe is always worth a second visit as the heya has a couple of interesting young lads to keep an eye on.
|
|
Heya Rivals |
|
Mark Buckton
Rivalry is supposedly discouraged in sumo but is never too far away, bubbling below the surface - something MB looks at in this first in a run of pieces on an emerging, as of yet unnoticed rivalry developing in Kokonoe.
|
|
Photo Bonanzas |
|
Chris Gould / Mark Buckton
MB and CG throw in a few from the Natsu Basho in Tokyo.
|
|
Sumo Menko |
|
Ryan Laughton
Back with menko of old, the detective work of RL hits a brief bump in the road in IDing some of the oldies - but nothing capable of derailing his infectious interest in this aspect of the sport.
|
|
Amateur Angles |
|
Howard Gilbert
University sumo and the earliest known origins of amateur sumo fall under HG's gaze this issue with the set up in Japan covered in more detail than most will have ever imagined possible.
|
|
Kokugi Konnections |
|
Todd Lambert
SFM's TL scours the WWW and introduces us to three more of the lesser known sumo sites out there - again à la Nihongo as this is truly where the gems lie. Time to dust off those dictionaries if you didn't last time.
|
|
I was there - I remember |
|
SA
From fishmonger to sushi chef, all the time an avid fan of sumo, SA in northern Tokyo tells it how it is / was / always has been in his septuagenarian eyes.
|
|
Morph Corner |
|
Olivia Nagioff
Morphing part VII - unique to SFM - and thanks to the imagination of our own Olivia Nagioff - some weird changing images of several of sumo's finest.
|
|
SFM Cartoons |
|
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
Sit back and enjoy this issue's cartoon bonanza courtesy of the SFM men in Thailand and Malaysia.
|
|
Sumo Odds & Ends |
|
SFM's interactive elements, as always including Henka Sightings and Elevator Rikishi - Lon and Ben do their stuff.
|
|
|