Brothers in Sumo –
part one
Brian Lewin
Brothers no longer active on the dohyo come under the SFM microscope

NHK & the Ozumo
English Broadcast
Mark Buckton
A visit to NHK, years of watching the show and the opinions of our Ed-in-Chief

Hanging With the Rikishi
Barbara Ann Klein
Barbara Ann Klein recounts her experiences with the “boys” in a pictorial diary series

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
A look at a rikishi of yesteryear with Chiyonoyama – our man for December

Sumo Exhibit at the
Edo-Tokyo Museum
Barbara Ann Klein
SFM’s Editor takes in the exhibit celebrating 80 years of the Japan Sumo Association at this famous Tokyo museum

Heya Peek
John Gunning
John’s early morning trip to Hakkaku – a visit that almost didn’t happen

SFM Interview
Dave Wiggins sits down
with SFM’s Mark Buckton to discuss the broadcast scene – and maple syrup

Photo Bonanza
What a collection – All-Japan Sumo Tournament, Hakkaku-
beya visit and sumo exhibits at the Edo-Tokyo Museum

Kyushu Basho Review
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Kyushu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results, and his take on the year in brief

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila covers lower division ups and downs

Hatsu Basho Forecast
Pierre Wohlleben & Mark
Buckton
Pierre predicts the Hatsu Basho banzuke while Mark previews the ones to watch for in January

Sumo 101
Eric Blair
Eric explains all you need to know and then some about the Kokugikan building – the mecca of sumo

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko walks us through his chosen kimarite in expert fashion

Minusha
John McTague
John’s unique bimonthly view of news from outside the dohyo

Online Gaming
Eric Blair
For the lowdown on Guess the Kotomitsuki – baby of SFM’s John Gunning

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Todd’s bimonthly focus on 3 of the most interesting sumo sites today

Fan Debate
Intra heya bouts –
OK or not? See what our debaters had to say

SFM Cartoons
Stephen Thompson
In the second of our cartoon bonanzas, sit back and enjoy ST’s offerings

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan? American Todd Defoe 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.

  The real juryo excitement is likely to be found elsewhere. At the top of the division, four veteran juryo rikishi will be making another push for stardom. Daishodai, Senshuyama, Daimanazuru and Asofuji have a combined 55 juryo tournaments under their mawashi, and aged between 28 and 30, they may be running out
 
Senshuyama
 
 of time to fulfill their dreams of becoming makuuchi rikishi. This basho they find themselves in competition with a rising star in the name of Dairaido. Not particularly high on anybody’s list of big talents, the 25-year-old pusher had a breakout year 2005, going 37-21 		with no make-koshi, which has taken him from mid-makushita all the way to about J2 for Hatsu Basho. An astounding 27 of those wins came by oshidashi or oshitaoshi, but that level of predictability obviously hasn’t hurt his progress.

But, didn’t I just promise juryo excitement? Four potential Cinderella story veterans plus a 25-year-old newcomer out of nowhere may be exciting to me, but surely that’s not the whole story? It isn’t. After a quick glance across the middle juryo ranks which are mostly a wasteland of former makuuchi rikishi in the coming Hatsu Basho, we find one of the most promising bottom third of juryo in recent memory. Six promotions from makushita were announced this time, three of them debuting rikishi. The highest-ranking of them, Mokonami, is the newest foreigner to make it up to the salaried ranks. Aged 21, his sumo has been compared to Hakuho’s, and it should be interesting to see how he fares against the veteran competition offered in juryo. He is joined by former top college rikishi Homasho and Satoyama. Both are 24 years old and have taken just eleven basho to ascend to 		juryo. Satoyama follows in the footsteps of his Mihogaseki stable mates Baruto and Shiraishi who made the jump into juryo two basho before him – but, ironically enough, both find themselves back in makushita for January due to injuries, leaving Satoyama as the new top-ranked rikishi of the stable.

All three debutants will strive to leave a better impression than most other recent newcomers did. Three of these disappointing youngsters can be found along with them at the bottom of juryo. Kambayashi and Masatsukasa were accompanied by much praise when they were promoted to juryo earlier this year, but both have failed to accomplish much so far. The same was true of returning rikishi Wakakirin a year ago, before injuries forced him down into lower makushita. The two other returnees are Kotokasuga, back in the second division after a one-basho absence, and Sumanofuji who earns his 7th trip to juryo, equalling an 85-year-old record.

Photos by Barbara Ann Klein.

Predicted Banzuke Home