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.

  locations, I think it would generally be accepted by all that Tokyo is the home of sumo in Japan and I can’t foresee Tokyo losing any of its basho. Others might like to cull one but I feel Tokyo should remain with three. Tokyo is the home base of the heyas and is, of course, the home of the purpose-built sumo arena – the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Tokyo is also the economic heart of Japan and the location of one of the world’s busiest airports. Its population base and hub status alone project its dominance. My argument is some sort of rotation of the other three basho.

In response to Howard’s main point about the importance of the established connections and support bases: That may well be the biggest hurdle to overcome, but it is not an insurmountable hurdle, and without trying we will never know what potential there is. Can the existing support last in say, Fukuoka, if they only get one basho every two years? Perhaps they cannot, however if the current community supporter feels it’s not worthwhile, then I am sure there would be another player willing to step up to the plate and fill the void – a couple of weeks once a year or a couple of weeks once every two years – the difference is really quite small.
A hon-basho in Sapporo, Kyoto or Sendai would form new bonds, new supporters who would more likely than not be more than content to host a basho once every two years, than not hosting one at all. Any support you get from the new areas is a positive – expanding and growing, not diluting the support. Smaller centers are constantly losing out to their bigger brothers and would not be complaining at all.

If you don’t go you never know, and if they do go and it is a resounding failure, I doubt the old bonds and support in the existing locations of Nagoya and Fukuoka wouldn’t recover back to the standard it was before. They may feel miffed and aggrieved but they would recover just like a major city recovers from an earthquake – people just get on with it.

Moving of hon-basho to new locations has one exciting prospect, and that is the design of new seating. I have been to the Haru Basho every year for the past six years and every year the temporary scaffold used is identical down to the location of every plank. The logistics and planning are set in concrete and replicated each year. Efficient, you may say, but the current seating
arrangements are part of the reason why sumo is in decline. The younger and physically larger generation is not interested in sitting in tiny masu seats. They’re cramped, expensive and unappealing, yet every year the same horrible layout is wheeled out – unchanged.

A new location is a fantastic opportunity to try newer, more comfortable and appealing seating layouts, corporate boxes, larger and less masu seats, and modern movie theatre style seats. The options are really unlimited, and a major plus factor for moving to new locations.

I know for a fact that the current layout turns people off going – they shudder at the prospect of a masu seat. I am not saying that we eliminate all the masu seats because it is a unique experience that some people enjoy and prefer, and is a novelty for foreigners, but the status quo of the masu seats is not acceptable. If the arena and seating is comfortable and more attractive to the fans, sumo would recover some long lost fans to the arena or tempt reluctant first-timers.

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