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.

  tourism point of view. Situated in Kansai, it is the cultural home of Japan, and some kind of cultural tie-in with the Japan tourism board and other parties could result from a basho there. Sumo in Kyoto just creates an alluring image of old Japan and geishas. In conclusion, I think there is something to be gained from taking the hon-basho to other cities in Japan, and it may well be the spark to reinvigorate sumo. In the end there are many possibilities and options available and the powers to be in Tokyo need to start thinking seriously about them.

HG: Well thank you Dean (and Lon) for an interesting exchange of views. I’ve outlined above the reasons why I think the hon-basho should remain where they are. Keeping the status quo could be seen as the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality. I agree with Dean that something needs to be done to improve attendance at hon-basho, both from a financial point of view and to breathe life into the sport. It would be fabulous to
get more people into the venues, especially younger audience members. However, moving hon-basho to new locations, especially ones with smaller populations than the current host cities, would not be the answer. While a bigger population does not guarantee a large attendance it certainly gives a bigger pool from which to draw an audience. Likewise, without changes to the planning and vision of hon-basho, a new venue would likely only deliver the same type of audience enjoying the same kind of environment in a new location. What is needed to get more bums in seats is to improve the experience for spectators. The costs involved for a day’s entertainment, the seating design and comfort level, the package of sumo entertainment in addition to the bouts, and the marketing and promoting of sumo as an exciting spectator sport are all things that need to be considered and improved to get new blood into the crowds at sumo tournaments. These would breathe new life into the current
hon-basho host cities, and would invigorate the sport as a whole. I believe that this would benefit the sport more than shifting to smaller population areas, which would ultimately break or neuter the support networks and goodwill that currently exist in Nagoya and Fukuoka.

LH: I am sure our readers will agree with me in saying this has been a most entertaining examination of an issue that has some knotty elements to it, to be sure. I, for one, am sure I’ll be reading it again. Both Dean and Howard had to work around some personal events in getting this done, and their efforts are very much appreciated. I would also like to remind our readers that we’d like to hear from you regarding the Fan Debates – any suggestions or comments are fair game – about the format, topics, length… whatever. See you in April as two more fans tackle another hot topic.

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