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.

  tournament more lost by the yokozuna than won by the ozeki (things people forget with time – fortunately for Kaio). More recently, an awful thigh injury in Tokyo last time out, coupled with the everyday pains of being the last of the class of yesteryear – Kaio joined sumo in the same era as Takanohana, Wakanohana and Akebono – and things are adding up. Kaio should not be making the pathetic headlines he is. It’s time. Time to go while he can still walk out the door himself instead of being wheeled out in a chair. Prediction: who knows?
Wish in absence of prediction – that I didn’t get caught up in the will / won’t /when / why game.

Asashoryu

Strange choice perhaps considering Asashoryu is firmly established atop sumo’s tree, is a dai-yokozuna with 14 Emperor’s Cups and still, in my opinion, hasn’t reached his peak. That said, now it is all about records. It is about Taiho’s 6 in a row, Kitanoumi’s wins in a calendar year perhaps, Takanohana’s modern era yusho count to a lesser extent. All are
 existing record holders with records in Asashoryu’s reach and he will start with a bid to take seven consecutive basho, 6 in one year in Fukuoka. Will he do it? My prediction is yes – with a 14-1 record, lots of style and the humanity his (aforementioned) predecessors never chose to display – the humanity that will make him a name future rikishi look up to and aspire to be.

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