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.

additional cotton material. It was difficult to see, close up, exactly what that process was, but, before I knew it, the center section of the tsuna was done, and was the part now closest to the teppo pole. Three long thinner strips of cloth were then being individually rolled very tightly while one rikishi held each strand. After the rolling was done almost to the end of the cloth strips, juryo sekitori Oga and makushita rikishi Asahimaru lay on a tatami mat placed on the tarp, with Oga supporting his feet on Asahimaru's shoulders. These two would guide the “braiding” of the tsuna from beneath as the rest of the party stood in two parallel lines handing the rolled strips over each other to form the rope-like product.

Each time I watched the ceremony, it was Jinmaku Oyakata from Hakkaku – nicely slim, but incredibly buff – who led the action with a booming: “hi, hu, mei” while the rikishi responded with “soo, ichi, ni, san!”, each chant meaning one, two, three. In times gone by, there had been a taiko drummer accompanying the chant, but, although a drum still resides in a corner of the viewing area of the heya, it was not used the times I was there. As the tsuna twisting approached the ends of the cloth, and the strips were rolled tighter and tighter, the
“hi, hu, mei” chants became faster and faster until the braiding was done. The completed length was given to another rikishi close to the teppo pole, and the twisting and chanting began anew for the other end of the tsuna after Jinmaku Oyakata and sandanme rikishi Kumago quickly rolled the three strips. Occasionally, during the process, superfluous pieces of cotton were snipped from the tsuna as the rope was required to be a bit thinner.

When all the braiding and twisting was done, the rikishi held the entire tsuna from end-
to-end while Jinmaku and two other oyakata inspected the tsuna for consistency in width and gradation. Occasionally, one rikishi would be told to stretch the tsuna out a bit more (to even out the bumps, I suppose).

Then, the moment everyone was waiting for came and Asashoryu walked in and stood in the center of the dohyo. After the tsuna was placed around his waist (atop his kesho-mawashi, of course), he held on to his tsukebito, Minanosato, leveraging himself on the young rikishi's shoulders while the other men maneuvered and fitted the tsuna to the yokozuna's torso. After the sizing was completed, Minanosato placed the tsuna in
a white cotton sheet and carried it away from the dohyo.

There are two manners of “tying” the tsuna in the back – one is the Shiranui style, which has two loops (and, unfortunately, Macbeth-like bad luck lore), and the very popular Unryu style, with just one loop. The latter is favored by Asashoryu. Before a yokozuna dohyo-iri, five zig-zag paper strips called gohei, symbolizing a good luck talisman warding off evil, are attached to the front of the tsuna.

With the five paper gohei attached









By the way, in case you're wondering what they do with the pieces that are cut off (you can see them in the photo bonanza), they are given to friends and supporters as a good luck token. If you have any more questions, just ask editor@sumofanmag.
com. I have left out a good deal, but the bonanza will speak for itself, and I hope to post some stills from the video I made in the next issue.

Enough. On to the photos now!

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