SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo Chris Gould Chris sinks his teeth into how sumo can go about pulling in the younger fans - currently so noticeable by their absence. The first of a three-part series. Sumo World Championships Mark Buckton Mark Buckton reports from Sakai near Osaka, site of the latest Sumo World Championships. Rikishi of Old Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda finishes off his look at former yokozuna Minanogawa. Sumo 101 / Eric Evaluates Eric Blair Eric expains sumo fan terminology - with the inevitable twist - for those just getting into the sport and still subject to the know it alls. Age stands still for no man Joe Kuroda Former ozeki Kiyokuni will retire in November under the compulsory '65 and you are out' rule. JK takes a look at this quiet earth mover. Feel the Sumo Eduardo de Paz Read and feel the renowned Leonishiki's passion for all things sumo at his first live event. SFM Interview Mark Buckton Mark interviews Colin Carroll - again - Irish star of Sakai. Photo Bonanza See the Aki Basho bonanza as well as the largest collection of pics you are likely to see on the Sumo World Championships earlier in October. Aki Basho Summary   Lon Howard Lon wraps the September Aki Basho and throws in some henka sighting results for good measure. Lower Division Rikishi   Mikko Mattila The lower divisions, their members and results get the once over thanks to Mikko's eye of things 'beneath the curtain'. Kyushu Ones To Watch   Carolyn Todd Carolyn shares her thoughts on whom to keep an eye on in Fukuoka. Kimarite Focus Mikko Mattila Mikko's latest clarification of several of the sport's plethora of kimarite. Amateur Angles   Howard Gilbert Howard Gilbert - manager of New Zealand's amateur sumo team takes a look at the approaching Russians. Kokugi Konnections   Todd Lambert Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online. Fan Debate   Facilitator - Lon Howard Jesse Lake and Rich Pardoe hammer out their differences on a current furor - promotion criteria. SFM Cartoons    Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and enjoy Benny Loh's offerings and put a caption to Stephen Thompson's picture to win yourselves a banzuke. Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends    SFM's interactive elements including Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke! Lets Hear From You   What was it that made you a sumo fan? Kevin Murphy reveals all. Readers' Letters   See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens. Sumo Quiz    The Quizmaster Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

Aki Henka Summary by Lon Howard

two henka each – those being ozeki Hakuho and sekiwake Kotomitsuki.  It is notable that Hakuho’s two henka – both winners – occurred on days 4 and 5, which was after his reported knee injury and before he had eliminated himself from the tsunatori running.  Kotomitsuki’s two henka were also in a winning effort.    The only other rikishi who with two henka was another injury-ridden on-the-juryo-bubble rikishi, Yoshikaze, who only won one of his henka bouts.   The henka highlight of the Aki basho though was provided by the one rikishi who has been lauded for his refusal to henka.  M6 Ama was still tied with yokozuna Asashoryu for the yusho lead on day 11 when he met komusubi Kisenosato.  It shocked the audience – as well as Kisenosato – when he didn’t stay squared off at the tachiai.  His leap to the side worked just as planned, as Kise’s lunge at the air threw himself off balance, and Ama’s “gentle” following  shove quickly drove him out.  The palpable buzz floating though the crowd clearly upset the slender Mongolian, who apologized to the fans later in the day.  The 14-0 yes vote on Ama’s act was the only unanimous henka receiving at least 10 votes. The list of top ten henka perpetrators has no new members this time because so many men were tied for the bottom spots after Nagoya.  At least the new list has a clear separation, and here it is, once again, covering the eight basho studied so far, in Next

Henka movement ebbed in the Aki basho, as there were only 27 nominations, compared to the average of 33 per basho going in.  With 14 of the 27 nominations receiving the voters’ blessings as validated henka, that percentage was right with the overall average of exactly 50 per cent.  After eight basho of data now, there have been 260 henka nominations, with 130 of them receiving a majority “yes” vote.  That 50 per cent percentage has held firm for the last two basho now. Eight basho with 130 henka means that the overall henka rate is still holding steady at about five per cent.  In other words, a henka occurs in about five per cent of all matches.  It should be noted that only six rikishi are at or over this five per cent rate, so that means that if you take out the top ten perpetrators, the remaining men are usually quite pristine with their tachiai.  Actually, just taking Kyokushuzan out of the mix would decrease the overall rate to 4.5 per cent – more on him later. The major movement this time was backward – in terms of the fan voting.  For the first four basho, the overall voting was consistently around 10 votes per nominated bout.  Then, in the following three basho, it

mushroomed to over 20, and finally over 25 votes per bout in Nagoya.  This time, inexplicably, it sank right back to the 10 vote range.  There hasn’t been any change in the timing of posting the nominated bouts, either on our web site, or on the Sumo Form and Sumo Mailing List, so I really am at a loss to explain it.  But…if anyone has any ideas, opinions or suggestions on how the voting may be increased, made easier, etc., please let us know at  fan_liaison-director@sumofan mag.com. As a reminder, the henka data which follows is based only on the bouts which were validated as henka, i.e., those receiving a majority “yes” vote.  The leader of the henka parade in Aki was the ailing M11 Jumonji with three nominations – all of which were confirmed by the voting.  In the seven previous basho, Jumonji recorded only three henka, but he doubled that total in just one basho here, as he pulled out all the stops to avoid a drop to juryo.  He won two of those three matches, but it remains to be seen if his 4-11finish was good enough to stay in makuuchi – probably so.  Two struggling joi-jin followed with