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Brothers no longer active on the dohyo come under the SFM microscope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.

  Dewanohana (then Musashigawa oyakata and later the Kyokai Chairman) and Chiyonoyama about who would succeed and inherit Dewanoumi-beya. Chiyonoyama not only lost the battle, but when former yokozuna Sadanoyama (later the Kyokai Chairman as Sakaigawa oyakata) married Dewanohana’s daughter, it was no longer possible for him to inherit the heya. He realized that the only way to head his own heya was to establish his own, but there was a strict Dewanoumi Ichimon group edict not to allow any secession from the member heya.

As Kokonoe oyakata, Chiyonoyama received special permission from the new Dewanoumi oyakata to take his own recruits under his control and establish his own heya; however, by breaking the code, he and his recruits were to be thrown out of the Ichimon. Kokonoe oyakata then took his own 10 recruits, including Kitanofuji and Kitaseumi, to the Takasago Ichimon and founded Kokonoe-beya just prior to the March 1967 basho.

At that March basho, his recruit Kitanofuji won the makuuchi 		yusho while another, Matsumaeyama, won the juryo yusho. All of Japan witnessed Kokonoe oyakata openly crying with so much joy. Subsequently, he saw Kitanofuji promoted to yokozuna, but Kitanofuji did not turn out to be the only yokozuna scouted by Kokonoe oyakata. There was another, an athletically gifted young boy from his home town, but this boy expressed no interest whatsoever when the oyakata visited him. Nevertheless, the oyakata persisted and told the young man to fly with him to Tokyo. This was a time when air travel was not yet common. The boy was quite intrigued as he had not flown before, so he decided to take up the offer. He stayed in Tokyo and trained hard. That boy became the 58th yokozuna, yokozuna Chiyonofuji, the current Kokonoe oyakata.

Unfortunately, Chiyonoyama was never able to see Chiyonofuji promoted to yokozuna. Chiyonoyama Masanobu passed away on May 23, 1977 at the Japan Red Cross Medical Center in Shibuya-ward, Tokyo, of liver cancer. He was 51 years old.

Some view Chiyonoyama’s life to be a tragic one. But he was 		the fifth son of a squid fisherman, poor, and saw almost no future in the midst of World War II. By coming to Tokyo and joining Ozumo, through his perseverance and hard training, he went on to become a yokozuna and won six makuuchi yushos. While he did get jeers and taunting when he was having a bad spell, Chiyonoyama also received tremendous adulation from the Japanese people, who were still suffering from the devastation of the war. As Kokonoe oyakata, he founded his own heya and saw one of his recruits rise to yokozuna, and developed another who inherited his legacy. While it’s true that Chiyonoyama could have won more yushos and may have been promoted to yokozuna sooner had it not been for his mae-zumo knee injury, one can also surmise that perhaps due to this handicap, he trained himself much harder than any other rikishi and persevered to explore and discover new ways to win. A true hero is one who overcomes all obstacles and triumphs in the end. Yokozuna Chiyonoyama was definitely such a man.

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