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.
After two days’ “experience”, KONISHIKI sounded far more comfortable, smoothing out his delivery and determining the right button to push to get the crowd going. A contingent of 1,300 Mongolian fans from San Francisco gave tremendous cheers and support to the Mongolian rikishi, particularly Ama. The Japanese fans appeared to be overtaken in enthusiasm by the Mongolians’ obviously wholehearted cheers, that I overheard one wondering if Ozumo had become the national sport of Mongolia.
On this last day, Asashoryu had a determined look as he cleared his preliminary bouts quickly, then easily set aside Hakuho in the final to win the day 3 yusho. Then, to decide the overall tournament champion, the winners from Friday and Saturday, ozeki Tochiazuma and Chiyotaikai, faced off first. Tochiazuma, stepping on the dohyo from east, defeated Chiyotaikai by tsukiotoshi. Then, Asashoryu stepped onto the dohyo from the west side to face Tochiazuma. The yokozuna won by yorikiri, then went on to beat Chiyotaikai by uwatenage
Summary
In three days, the Las Vegas Grand Sumo Tournament attracted almost 25,000 spectators. The rikishi were received enthusiastically everywhere. The U.S. media spent considerable amount of time and resources to report on both the event and the rikishis’ activities in Las Vegas. Additionally, the Kyokai and the promoters certainly succeeded in gaining more awareness of sumo as a sporting event, while earning the goodwill of American fans. Although the ticket prices were rather steep, the tournament proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience for those who paid to see the rikishi compete in a casual, environment. The veteran rikishi, Kotonowaka, thought that Las Vegas had the most exciting crowd compared to all the other foreign tournaments in which he participated. Overall, the promoters succeeded in staging an exciting, entertaining event, equaling any of the other attractions going around about town.
Post-basho rikishi talk
Chiyotaikai – Asked if it was tiring to go through multiple
Tochiazuma – “I also feel happy that it is finished now. Certainly, if there is another opportunity for us to come back [to Las Vegas], I’d love to return. There is a great difference here – everything is grand and huge. I will be talking about this place a lot once I get home, and will be letting everyone know about Las Vegas. A lot of stories to tell the folks back in Japan.”
Asasekiryu – On having many Mongolian fans came to see them compete: “I am really happy and appreciated having their support. These fans know all the Mongolian rikishi and support us with such passion. It certainly does motivate us.”
Asashoryu: “I am happy that I won the yusho as I had a bit of a cold and felt lethargic initially, partially due to jet lag. I enjoyed my stay here, but one more week would be much nicer (laughs). I feel that the American people understood what sumo is about.” Asked how he enjoyed Las Vegas, e.g., the casinos, shows and girls: “Well let me say I am a family man, so obviously there were no girls. I
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