Sumo Fan Magazine

Amateur Sumo – the sport as it should be Mark Buckton Sakai World Sumo Champs – not all about winning Las Vegas Koen Joe Kuroda Our man reports from the fight capital of the world Rikishi of Old Joe Kuroda A look at a rikishi of yesterday with Kotozakura – our man for October Heya Peek John Gunning John’s early morning dash to Azumazeki-beya & report on TKOTU SFM Interview Katrina Watts sits down with SFM’s Mark Buckton to discuss amateur sumo Photo Bonanza SFM’s best yet – Aki Basho/ Las Vegas / Amateur World Champs / Azumazeki-beya visit – seen nowhere else Aki Basho Review Lon Howard Lon gives us his Aki Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results, and his take on the tournament while ‘gem’ of the basho takes a break Lower Division Rikishi Mikko Mattila Mikko Mattila returns to cover lower division ups and downs Kyushu Basho Forecast Pierre Wohlleben & Mark Buckton Pierre predicts the Kyushu Basho banzuke while Mark previews the ones to watch next time out Sumo 101 Barbara Ann Klein Discovers and explains amasumo & ozumo variations Kimarite Focus Mikko Mattila Mikko once again walks us through his chosen kimarite Minusha John McTague John’s unique bimonthly view of news from outside the dohyo Online Gaming Zenjimoto of ‘game fame’ covers some of the very best sumo games around – his own! Kokugi Connections Todd Lambert Todd’s focus on 3 of the most interesting online sumo sites today Fan Debate Is the limit on foreign rikishi fair? See what our debaters had to say SFM Cartoons Benny Loh In the first of our cartoon bonanzas, sit back and chuckle at Benny Loh’s offerings Let’s Hear From You What was it that made you a sumo fan? Gernobono tells all Readers’ Letters See what SFM readers had to say since our last issue Sumo Quiz The Quizmaster Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.	Tochinoyama (left) and Ushiomaru tachiai		to see if I could get any decent shots. Azumazeki oyakata is the former sekiwake Takamiyama (Hawaiian Jesse Kuhaulua). Unfortunately, he wasn’t there that morning. For anyone who has never read his book – Takamiyama: The World of Sumo by Jesse Kuhaulua, June 1973 – or who has only taken an interest in sumo lately and thinks it’s difficult for foreign rikishi these days, I would advise you to go out and get a copy. Takamiyama was the real trailblazer when it came to foreigners in sumo. His career reached a high point when he won the Emperor’s cup in July Next Home
	will find yourself in the kitchen. In this sense, Azumazeki is laid out similarly to Chiganoura. As you may see from the pictures accompanying this piece the roof over the dohyo is divided into four sections that meet at a large square skylight in the centre. It’s quite reminiscent of the roof of the Kokugikan. This, combined with the ubiquitous street level windows and the door opening almost onto the street, means that the primary method of illumination for keiko sessions is natural sunlight. This gives the place a great atmosphere but makes it hell for anyone trying to take pictures as the rikishi are darkly silhouetted against the intense light streaming through the background windows. The	use of flash photography is, of course, a no-no so I spent the first 30 minutes playing around with the settings on my camera
		Chiganoura oyakata keeps an eye on keiko