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.	Letters to the Editor		as he perceived that Chiyonofuji was growing and developing to be a great rikishi. Yokozuna Chiyonofuji’s last basho was in May 1991. He was west yokozuna (Haridashi). He faced then-Takahanada on day 1 and lost. However, he did not announce his retirement until after day 3, when he lost to Takatoriki. Losing to a young turk like Takahanada, he had already resolved to retire, but he did not decide to actually do it until he lost to Takatoriki. In a way, it was fitting as there was no other rikishi, including yokozuna Takanohana and Wakanohana, that admired ozeki Takanohana more than Takatoriki did. Here was Chiyonofuji’s record at the May 1991 basho: Day 1 loss to Takahanada Day 2 win over Itai Day 3 loss to Takatoriki Day 4 loss (Fusenpai) to Daishoyama As a bonus, here’s a fact you may find interesting: Yokozuna Chiyonofuji retired in 1991. Ten years before, in 1981, ozeki Takanohana retired. Ten years previous to that, in 1971 Yokozuna Taiho retired. Next Home
	Each issue, we will feature a letter from one of our readers. The sender will receive a sumo-related prize of our choosing – this month being a banzuke from the Aki Basho bearing the stamp of Dewanoumi’s Futeno. Congratulations, Graz-zeki – your banzuke is on its way!
	FEATURED LETTER Enjoyed your article “What Will Become of the Dynasty?” (Aug. issue. -ed.) However, believe the last bout Takanohana I lost was against Chiyonofuji not Zaonishiki as stated in your article, and Chiyo’s last loss was against Takanohana II. I was here in Japan then and it was touted in the Japanese press. I started watching Sumo early ’70’s when I first got to Japan, Takanohana I was one of my favorites, never cared for his sons. Enjoy your webpage, keep up the good work. later----graz Dear “Graz” – Thank you for your letter and your close attention to our column. One of our staff writers has researched the original comments, and it appears that the original author, Brian Lewin, is correct. We often seek balance and harmony in the	universe, and the stuff that legends are made of quite often supersedes the pure facts. This is the actual sequence of events: Ozeki Takanohana Kenshi’s last basho was the 1981 January tournament. He was east ozeki then and announced his retirement on Day 7. His torikumi record for this basho is as follows: Day 1 loss vs. Masudayama by oshidashi Day 2 win vs. Houhou by yorikiri Day 3 win vs. Kuruohimeyama by yorikiri Day 4 loss vs. Kaiki by oshidashi Day 5 loss vs. Kirinji by oshidashi Day 6 loss vs. Zaonishiki by oshidashi Day 7 loss (Fusenpai) by Asashio So, in his last basho, ozeki Takanohana did not face Chiyonofuji. However, he did state he could confidently retire,