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Brothers still active on the dohyo get their turn
SFM’s most eminent historian, JK, has a crack at the impossible and tries to see who was the greatest of the tsuna wearers
Takanobori – former sekiwake, former NHK man and all ’round gent
Kitanoumi-beya, Kitazakura, mirrors & photo bonanza
Kazuyoshi Yoshikawa (son of the late sekiwake Takanobori) on life in sumo way back when
Behind every good man there stands a good woman – read and ye shall see. A departure from our regular 101 feature
plus much more through the lens of our photographers
Lon gives us his Hatsu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results
Mikko Mattila covers lower division goings on in detail
Pierre predicts the Haru Basho banzuke while Mark highlights the ones to look out for in Osaka
Mikko takes us on a tour of his chosen kimarite
John’s unique bimonthly view of sumo news from outside the dohyo and in the restaurants!
SFM’s own Alexander Nitschke covers the long running Hoshitori Game
Todd’s bimonthly focus on 3 of the most interesting sumo sites today
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
made you a sumo fan? A unique perspective from a sightless reader.
readers had to say since our last issue
Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.
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HG: I like Dean’s last point about the need to innovate or adapt to make the sumo experience a better one for the fans. Redesigning the seating arrangements would probably provide spectators with a more comfortable and enjoyable time at the hon-basho. Hon-basho at the Kokugikan might have difficulty implementing this, but there is nothing stopping the current hon-basho outside of Tokyo following this idea. Again, as I’ve said earlier, it is a question of a better vision in terms of promoting and selling sumo as a whole that is needed, rather than necessarily changing the venues of hon-basho. Indeed, there has been some movement on this front at the Kokugikan, with some masu seat tickets being sold as pairs rather than the more cramped fours. Something like this could be incorporated to improve spectator comfort in Tokyo, while the temporary seating in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka could be reorganized as Dean suggests.
I’d like to return to something more specific in terms of moving the hon-basho: which one(s) would be moved? From Dean’s comments so far I see him as supporting the shift from Fukuoka and/or Nagoya to one or two or Sapporo, Sendai or
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Kyoto. I doubt that he is advocating the shift of his “home” basho of Osaka for personal reasons! Luckily, also, Osaka probably justifies its inclusion by way of the large population base, its powerful position as the hub of the Kinki region and the historical precedent of the Osaka Sumo Association that existed until 1927. Unfortunately, because of these reasons, Kyoto will in all likelihood never be granted a hon-basho. It is too close to Osaka and the rest of Japan would be unlikely to look favourably on two basho in such geographical proximity. Perhaps if Kyoto and Osaka shared the hon-basho in the region that would work, but might it be too destabilizing on the success of the Haru basho?
This suggests that we are left with Sapporo and Sendai as the logical successors to at least one of the hon-basho currently held in Nagoya or Fukuoka. Dean’s argument for relocating a tournament to Tohoku or Hokkaido was partly based on the strong sumo legacy of these regions. The northern provinces of Japan have indeed provided some fine rikishi. Hokkaido lays claim to no less than eight yokozuna since the beginning of the twentieth century. In the same time, the prefectures of
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Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwate, Yamagata, Akita and Aomori, those from which crowds would most likely attend a Sendai basho would be drawn, have produced ten yokozuna. This is but one measure of the strength and importance to sumo of the northeast and Hokkaido. Many other rikishi of all ranks have come from these predominantly rural areas. Honouring their contribution to sumo is indeed warranted, but should it be done with awarding them a hon-basho? Might not a regular summer jungyo be a good way of taking ozumo back to one of its roots? Also, as for the same reason that Kyoto would be dismissed, only one hon-basho would come to the north of Japan. The Nihon Sumo Kyokai could not justify, nor would it be economically viable, having two basho north of Tokyo. In this case, which would get the nod? My bet would be for Sapporo as it might draw spectators from all over Hokkaido as well as those from Aomori, which really is the stronghold of Tohoku sumo. Indeed, of the ten Tohoku yokozuna, six have come from Aomori.
However, I am yet to be convinced that Sapporo should get a hon-basho. The argument
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