| Brothers in Sumo – part one Brian Lewin |
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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 |
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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 |
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| SFM Interview Dave Wiggins sits down |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 – |
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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.
What Made You A Fan?
It seemed like they posed and glared at each other forever. While all this was going on, the guys in the room started saying, “That little dude is gonna get squashed”, and things like that. The room started getting louder and louder. Then all of a sudden, it happened. The little guy lunged at the big guy, and slammed into him. Then the big guy grabbed the little guy, and started pushing. It looked like it was all over for the little guy. But in a flash, the big dude crashed face down into the dirt, HARD, and it was over.
I remember two things in particular about that moment. The first, strangely, was that the big guy had these huge fat wrinkles on the insides of his thighs, and they sort of flopped around like flabby curtains when he hit the ground. The other, was that the announcer, who sounded like James Bond, was shouting, “THE DUMP TRUCK GOES DOWN . . . THE DUMP TRUCK GOES DOWN!” Twenty years later, I still smile and remember that day every time I hear the big guy’s name.
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Enjoy.
How does a small town country boy from Minnesota become a sumo fan? The obvious answer is that he meets a Japanese girl in college, gets married and ends up in Japan without a clue how he ended up there. Then, while sitting around the old farmhouse in Japan, sumo is the only thing on television that makes the slightest bit of sense to him. This, of course, would be obvious. And completely untrue. Well, not completely. All of this happened, including the bit about Japanese TV not making any sense. But, I was actually a fan of sumo a long time before I ever met a Japanese girl and moved to Japan.
When I was 17, I joined the Navy. Being a small town country boy, I wanted to see the world, and ride the seas, and have adventures in faraway lands, and all that hokey stuff. Strangely, I didn’t see very much of the world, and I didn’t ride the seas, nor did I have adventures in faraway lands. The boat I was
So, there I was. One day I was in my bunk watching “Married with Children”, on the big TV across the room, and some jerk starts flipping the channels. Scandalized, I jumped out of my bunk to recover the remote and put Kelly Bundy back where she belonged. All of a sudden, the fattest human being I had ever seen appeared on the screen, wearing nothing but a big black diaper. I actually stopped short, and stood there with my mouth open. This was definitely not Kelly Bundy. I looked around the room, and saw everyone else looking around at each other, and then looking at the TV, then looking at each other again. Nobody said a thing. The channel didn’t change. After a moment or two, I sat down on the arm of the couch. This huge
