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.

  and doesn’t look like his 10-5 was a fluke, a flash in the pan or anything of the sort. Another 10-5 in March and more of the media starting to take notice.

Tosanoumi – Tosanoumi was in sumo before most of us had really settled into the armchair yokozuna role we find so comfortable. Made sekiwake a few times but never really looked like going for ozeki. Sadly, like your favorite old shoes with a hole in the sole as


Tosanoumi
 
 the rainy season approaches, it doesn’t look like he’ll be lasting much longer – at least not on the dohyo. Headed for juryo it appears, pride could well account for his retirement in the coming weeks or months, but a look at his aging counterpart Tochinonada claiming a juryo yusho after a decade in the top division may just spur him on a few more basho. 8-7 at best next month but with any worse – another mawashi packed away for the last time.
 Kyokushuzan – Another old boy who must have considered ‘when’ at some point over the past 12 months, Kyokushuzan won’t be holding on that much longer with records mirroring his last outing and, although truly one of the wizards of sumo, his bag of tricks is becoming depleted as the years go by and that extra step shrinks. A glance at his results over the past few basho will show him losing to more and more oshidashi and yorikiri, with the assumption thus being that once a foe gets inside, ’tis all over. Cue the fat lady? Who knows? For Osaka – a sad 6-9 and retirement on the 14th anniversary of his entering the sport.


Kyokushuzan
 
 Takamisakari – It has been a rough couple of years for this former komusubi. Since his last basho as a ‘K’ in late 2003, he has secured fewer kachi-koshi
than make-koshi, and his 7-8 record in January looks like sending him down into the area carrying the sign of: ‘danger of relegation if you slip up again in Osaka’. Still popular but far less so, Takamisakari’s sumo has been so reliant on his


Takamisakari
 
 lone favored grip for so long now he really has been ‘sussed’ and figured out by the majority of his opponents. Forget not – his 7 wins in the year’s first tournament included a default victory and he was only ever a single win or a single loss off a win / loss ratio. Still has plenty of talent to keep him in makunouchi but it is looking more and more like the stomach being the weak point. Prediction for Osaka – 9-6 and a puffed out chest.

Ama – One of the true gems of the Hatsu basho, Ama’s light

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