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SFM’s historian, JK, wraps his two-part article on the greatest of the tsuna wearers
What exactly is it and furthermore, what does it do? The ISF explain themselves and their purpose in existing
Man or myth? Sumo's first yokozuna comes under the spotlight
Tokitsukaze-beya and its famous find themselves the target of Barbara's peek into life inside the heya
Featuring interviews with amateur sumo's European Sumo Union General Secretary and the President of the newly founded Irish Sumo Federation
Would chanko exist without sumo? What is chanko anyway? Find out in Sumo 101
Basho through the eyes of the fans in the seats as SFM gives the mantle of photographer(s) for this basho to Barbara & Gerald Patten. And don't miss our all-Mongolian Bonanza supplied by our Editor, Barbara Ann Klein
Lon gives us his Haru Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results
Mikko Mattila covers the lower division goings on like nobody else around
Mark Buckton glances back to look forward in his ones to look out for come May
Our man Mikko takes us on a tour of his chosen kimarite
Our gaming thread takes a break for April so we can look at the Spanish language book on the sport not long since released
Todd’s bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites today
April's man VS monkey debate covers the issue of reducing the number of honbasho
Sit back and enjoy the offerings
made you a sumo fan? Thierry Perran lets us in on his reasons for loving this sport
See what our featured letter is for this issue
Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.
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Kokugi Connections
by Todd Lambert
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Japan was just opening up to the West. A bygone era of professional sumo which was documented in old black and white, sepia, and early color photos. And a sumo-themed commercial, comedic video clip and cartoon thrown in, to boot. The featured articles have been culled from several Japanese newspapers, as well as foreign media sources, starting from the mid-nineteenth century, up to a mere decade ago. The illustrated reports from the mid- to late- 1800s are particularly intriguing, not only for the Western artists' drawings, but also for the differences seen in the foreigners' perceptions of sumo, not to mention the performance and rituals of sumo. The majority of the photos are sorted by shikona, in alphabetical order. The assortment of photos grouped under the heading ‘Help needed’ are also notable. The final section on the main page seems to be a bit of an afterthought, departing from the more classic theme conveyed in the rest of the content. The ‘Historic Matches’ area of the NSK homepage fits in much better with the overall tone and subject matter of age and tradition. That said, the
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Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia – Sumo (http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Sumo)
Wikipedia's Sumo entry is your one-stop guide to all things sumo – a fantastic starting point on your journey to accessing, learning about, and loving the Japanese national sport. Focusing upon Ozumo, or Grand Sumo, the professional side of the sport, the contents are divided into twelve sections. Also touched upon are amateur sumo, souvenirs, and a comparison of sumo and combat sports in the rest of Asia. Impressive for its extensive set of hyperlinks throughout the text, allowing users to check up on unfamiliar people, places, and things, and the entry's availability in over twenty languages (the amount of content varies), this sumo entry could be organized a little more
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logically. The first two sections would be better after the fourth or fifth section, and though much of the sumo terminology is given in both Roman and Japanese script, it would be nice to see that feature extended to include all of the sumo vocabulary. Still, as an ongoing collaborative effort where anyone on the Internet can contribute, edit, correct, or improve information, the Wikipedia sumo entry stands out as a model of the volunteer spirit and community effort.
Sumo – An Historical Perspective (www.juryo.net)
Right from the first loading of the main page, you get a sense of what this web-page is all about. Three sections on a classic background. The dated yet incredulous tone of old book, magazine and newspaper articles from the time when
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