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As Nagoya nears, EB gets a head start on the pack by focussing on points of interest, past and present surrounding sumo's hottest basho
The 42nd yokozuna Kagamisato falls under the JK microscope
Kokonoe-beya and the Chiyo Boys
SFM's Ed-in-Chief interviews Estonian up and comer Baruto
SFM's Editor looks at all the twists and turns involved in the tsunauchi-shiki and adds a photo bonanza to boot
Basho and Kokonoe-beya photo bonanzas
Lon gives us his Natsu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results
Mikko Mattila lets you know what is going on down below the curtain
MB's mixed bag of things to look out for in Nagoya
Our man Mikko takes us on a tour of several defensive oriented kimarite
The first of our regular column pieces on the amateur sumo scene from a man who knows more than most
For a look at his very own: PTYW (Pick The Yusho Winners)
SFM's Editor reviews the newly published biography of Akebono, Gaijin Yokozuna – but sees it as more than just a biography
Check out Todd's bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites around
Sumo author Mina Hall and long long time fan Jim Bitgood discuss how to make sumo more entertaining – if such a concept is even necessary
Sit back and enjoy the offerings of sumo's premier artists
made you a sumo fan? James Vath in rural Japan lets us in on his gateway to the sport
See what our readers had to say since we last went out
Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.
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koshi. Kadomoto was a victim of slapdowns and pulldowns, but nevertheless demonstrated his signature bull-charging sumo on his way to 4-3 at Ms17. Sawai was unceremoniously slapped down by Sugita on day 1, but defeated Yoshiazuma with tsuridashi and Tamaasuka with a strong shitatenage – flipping over the recovering former makuuchi grappler. Much better sumo than shown in the Haru basho, for sure, and finally a winning record at high makushita; however, he needs to get more comfortable in fighting oshi-rikishi. He did say he has been working on that at keiko, so his weak points are being remedied. His belt sumo already seems to be beyond makushita level, but the other unknown in Sawai's progress may be the condition of his lower back which may have been a darker cloud than thought.
One of the most interesting new Japanese hopes is 19-year old Ikioi who made his makushita debut at Ms56. Height, weight and build are close to optimal for a rikishi his age and experience. At 193cm and a bit over 130kg, he appears to be without excessive muscle yet, but with a frame upon which building up bulk should be very rewarding. In the last two basho, Ikioi relied on throws
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so much that one could have diagnosed him as a compulsive thrower. Indeed, he hadn't won with any other techniques in 2006 before the Natsu basho. He, himself, was well aware of this trait (and even joked that his stablemates constantly tease him on that) so he earnestly aimed at executing yorikiri and forward-going sumo in the Natsu basho. The outcome? A 5-2 in his makushita debut with three yorikiri, one oshidashi and one hatakikomi. His sumo looked well-balanced and he showed no problem adjusting to the more forward going styles. Ikioi's throwing skills won't soon vanish, so as his repertoire expands, so do high expectations for his future in sumo, as well.
Whereas Ikioi revised his excessive throwing mode to more forward-going sumo, Onomatsu-beya's Nakanishi still utilizes his main weapon almost all the time. Nakanishi had a 6-1 makushita debut in the Haru basho and wasn't unequipped to succeed at Ms24, either. He produced a 5-2 record with two uwatenage wins from the left hand outside grip, and one yorikiri which was basically a forced uwatenage. Nakanishi has tremendously good ability when he gets his left-hand outside grip, but surely needs to
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work on other areas, too, in order to maintain his streak of strong basho performances since the beginning of the year. His record in 2006 is now 17-4. It must be said, though, that he did beat Wakanami with oshitaoshi and vanquished
Wakanami
Shiraishi with kotenage even after yielding morozashi. Yakigaya, 22, is Nakanishi's stablemate and also has a 17-4 record in 2006 after a strong 5-2 at Ms18. He has been as high as Ms9 previously, so he is taking giant steps towards his former level.
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