Brothers in Sumo –
part two
Brian Lewin
Brothers still active on the dohyo get their turn

Yokozuna Comparisons
Joe Kuroda
SFM’s most eminent historian, JK, has a crack at the impossible and tries to see who was the greatest of the tsuna wearers

Rikishi of Old
John Gunning
Takanobori – former sekiwake, former NHK man and all ’round gent

Heya Peek
Barbara Ann Klein
Kitanoumi-beya, Kitazakura, mirrors & photo bonanza

SFM Interview
John Gunning
Kazuyoshi Yoshikawa (son of the late sekiwake Takanobori) on life in sumo way back when

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
Behind every good man there stands a good woman – read and ye shall see. A departure from our regular 101 feature

Photo Bonanza
See the Hatsu Basho
plus much more through the lens of our photographers

Hatsu Basho Review
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Hatsu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila covers lower division goings on in detail

Haru Basho Forecast
Pierre Wohlleben & Mark Buckton
Pierre predicts the Haru Basho banzuke while Mark highlights the ones to look out for in Osaka

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko takes us on a tour of his chosen kimarite

Minusha
John McTague
John’s unique bimonthly view of sumo news from outside the dohyo and in the restaurants!

Online Gaming
Alexander Nitschke
SFM’s own Alexander Nitschke covers the long running Hoshitori Game

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

Fan Debate
Feb's debate sees
a pair of Kiwis exchanging opinions on the honbasho going on the road

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In the third of our cartoon bonanzas, sit back and enjoy BL’s offerings and put a caption to ST’s pic to win yourselves a banzuke

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that
made you a sumo fan? A unique perspective from a sightless reader.

Readers’ Letters
See what some SFM
readers had to say since our last issue

Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

  no match to him by going 11-4 and jumping straight into the promotion zone for only his second basho. Japanese hopes will likely be pinned to former college star Homasho, whose 10-5 will not get him promoted quite as far, but who should still have an outside shot at makuuchi with another double-
digit record. Powerful pusher Dairaido struggled through the Hatsu Basho with arm injuries, but still managed to get 7 wins, which will enable him to stay within shouting distance of the top division, as well. Current
juryo mainstays Daimanazuru and Asofuji will be in the mix again, too.

Further down, a struggling trio of recent demotees from makuuchi will try to turn their fortunes around. Takanowaka, Kaiho and Shimotori were all expected to get a kachi-koshi in January, but seemingly were unable to recover sufficiently from their injuries to do so. Things do not get any easier in the bottom half of juryo, though, as guys like Daishodai and
 
Harunoyama
 
 Senshuyama renew their push for an eventual promotion to makuuchi; former maegashira such as Toki, Harunoyama and
Takanotsuru attempt to rise back to their former heights; and Estonian giant Baruto and speedy Mongolian Kakuryu make their return to the second division. If Baruto shows the same strength he did before his appendectomy sent him back to
makushita, he could be a leading candidate for the juryo yusho and even a dark horse for promotion to makuuchi, despite competing at a double-digit rank. Along with the two foreigners, we will also see the return of ex-maegashira
Tamarikido (who, some say, has elevated nondescript sumo to an art form) and Hokutoiwa from Hakkaku-beya, whose first juryo stint ended almost four years ago. Finally, there will also be a debut that had been a long time
in the making; 24-year-old Hochiyama from Sakaigawa-
beya, who managed to have almost ten near-misses until he finally gets promoted this time.

Saying bye-bye to the paid ranks after January are Tamaasuka, who went kyujo with no wins for the second straight basho and now finds himself two divisions lower than in November; Kotokasuga, Kambayashi, and Masatsukasa, all of whom have struggled throughout their relatively brief juryo careers; and Wakakirin, whose return from an injury suffered a year ago came to a screeching halt. Sumanofuji got his customary make-koshi in juryo but barely avoided the immediate trip back to makushita.

Predicted Banzuke