Nagoya Nears
Eric Blair
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

Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
The 42nd yokozuna Kagamisato falls under the JK microscope

Heya Peek
Barbara Ann Klein
Kokonoe-beya and the Chiyo Boys

SFM Interview
Mark Buckton
SFM's Ed-in-Chief interviews Estonian up and comer Baruto

Sumo 101
Barbara Ann Klein
SFM's Editor looks at all the twists and turns involved in the tsunauchi-shiki and adds a photo bonanza to boot

Photo Bonanza
See the Natsu
Basho and Kokonoe-beya photo bonanzas

Natsu Basho Summary
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Natsu Basho summary, along with the henka sightings results

Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila lets you know what is going on down below the curtain

Nagoya Ones to Watch
Mark Buckton
MB's mixed bag of things to look out for in Nagoya

Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Our man Mikko takes us on a tour of several defensive oriented kimarite

Amateur Angles
Howard Gilbert
The first of our regular column pieces on the amateur sumo scene from a man who knows more than most

Sumo Game
Bruce Rae
For a look at his very own: PTYW (Pick The Yusho Winners)

Sumo in Print
Barbara Ann Klein
SFM's Editor reviews the newly published biography of Akebono, Gaijin Yokozuna – but sees it as more than just a biography

Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Check out Todd's bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites around

Fan Debate
Facilitator – Lon Howard
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

SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson		  
Sit back and enjoy the offerings of sumo's premier artists

Let’s Hear From You
What was it that
made you a sumo fan? James Vath in rural Japan lets us in on his gateway to the sport

Readers’ Letters
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.

out from the corner to cover about half the practice area. Shortly, a number of rikishi, both junior and sekitori walked in, all of the Takasago-beya boys, but rikishi from Hakkaku as well – some wearing white aprons (actually looking as though they had left a restaurant table with the napkins still tucked in their mawashi) and a few wearing towels over their practice mawashi. Then, three lengths of brilliant white cotton were brought out by the white-gloved Minanosato. The rikishi, after donning their own white gloves, took the ends of these lengths of cotton and tied them to the cloth-covered teppo pole, letting the cotton lie on the tarp. What followed was an exercise in precision, discipline, and exceptionally hard work as the group proceeded to twist and braid the cloth into what you see the yokozuna wearing during his dohyo-iri.

First, a little history – the tsuna replicates the sacred ropes, or, shimenewa, which are situated to indicate a sacred Shinto place. It is almost always hung horizontally, and you will find it in shrines, around sacred trees said to embody kami (gods), and hanging from torii – the gates indicating a sacred place ahead and found on the approach to
shrines. As such an indicator, it is usually made from straw. In the Edo era, the tsuna came into use by the highest ranked rikishi during rituals performed at Shinto shrines – dohyo-iri. In fact, yoko-zuna means horizontal belt, or hawser, which is the more-widely used English translation. It is said that the wearer of the tsuna is thought of by the gods as a man of spirit, high morality, and pure of heart.

Back to the process – the tsuna cloth (subsequent to the straw construction) used to be linen or hemp, but now seems to be a fine woven cotton. The lengths are a good 460 cm.each – about
15 ft. – and stretches of it near the ends of the strips are reinforced with heavy white-
colored wire. The wire used today did not appear to be copper, as it had been in the past. After a portion of the cloth was wrapped around the teppo, the lowest ranked rikishi had the chore of keeping one end of the material taut while the other rikishi were aided and spurred on by oyakata from Takasago and Hakkaku, Jinmaku from the latter.

The thickest part was braided first and was “padded” with

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