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SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo |
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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.
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Sumo World Championships |
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Mark Buckton
Mark Buckton reports from Sakai near Osaka, site of the latest Sumo World Championships.
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Rikishi of Old |
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Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda finishes off his look at former yokozuna Minanogawa.
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Sumo 101 / Eric Evaluates |
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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.
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Age stands still for no man |
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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.
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Feel the Sumo |
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Eduardo de Paz
Read and feel the renowned Leonishiki's passion for all things sumo at his first live event.
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SFM Interview |
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Mark Buckton
Mark interviews Colin Carroll - again - Irish star of Sakai.
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Photo Bonanza |
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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.
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Aki Basho Summary |
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Lon Howard
Lon wraps the September Aki Basho and throws in some henka sighting results for good measure.
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Lower Division Rikishi |
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Mikko Mattila
The lower divisions, their members and results get the once over thanks to Mikko's eye of things 'beneath the curtain'.
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Kimarite Focus |
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Mikko Mattila
Mikko's latest clarification of several of the sport's plethora of kimarite.
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Amateur Angles |
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Howard Gilbert
Howard Gilbert - manager of New Zealand's amateur sumo team takes a look at the approaching Russians.
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Kokugi Konnections |
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Todd Lambert
Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online.
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Fan Debate |
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Facilitator - Lon Howard
Jesse Lake and Rich Pardoe hammer out their differences on a current furor - promotion criteria.
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SFM Cartoons |
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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.
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Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends |
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SFM's interactive elements including Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!
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Readers' Letters |
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See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens.
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Sumo Quiz |
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The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.
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Tokitsukaze oyakata, the Kyokai chairman, died on December 16, 1968, at 56 years of age. Tomojiro learned
of his death and of the Kyokai funeral planned for Christmas Day from
an acquaintance. Tokitsukaze oyakata had always been kind to him
and Tomojiro remembered the oyakata’s generosity, still feeling a great
deal of gratitude. The friend offered to provide condolence money
for him and Tomojiro went to the Kokugikan in a worn-out and faded
suit, the only one he owned. A magazine cameraman took a picture
of him walking with difficulty with a cane, showing no sign of his
former robust self.
In February 1969, a man came to visit Tomojiro at the
seniors’ home. He handed a business card to Tomojiro – “Yonetaro
Sakai, Owner, Murayama Sai, Wildbird Restaurant”. He had been an
ardent fan of Minanogawa and was dismayed to find him living alone and
penniless in a seniors’ home, with no family or friends. He asked
Tomojiro to join him at his restaurant in Musashimura, Tokyo’s
westernmost mountainous region. Tomojiro would be given his own
shelter and food as well as some chores to do so that he could at least
earn a stipend. He promised Tomojiro food and drink, and some
cigarettes, as well.
With the generosity of his old fan, Tomojiro was finally able to live
without worry. He was given a small apartment a few minutes walk from
the restaurant. Every day, he was at the entrance, greeting the patrons
and taking care of their belongings. No guest ever imagined that they
were being served by a former yokozuna - to them he was just a large,
plain old man. Though Tomojiro always seemed jovial - irrespective of
the woes that had befallen him - this time, he seemed genuinely happy.
Two years later, on January 20, 1971, a delivery man visiting Tomojiro’s
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apartment
found him fallen over a table, on which the only picture he ever had
witnessing his sumo success was placed - his bout against
Nayoriiwa. Tomojiro was 67 years old. The next day, as newspapers
reported the great yokozuna Taiho losing to Kotozakura on day 11 of the
January 1971 basho, a small article told of Minanogawa’s death from a
stroke.
Only thirty people attended
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rather moody rikishi; when he
was forced to train hard, he was more than capable of doing so, but most
of the time, he was just plain lazy and never really had the ambition
to train rigorously. He was always eager to try new ventures and chase
his dreams, but he soon got bored and was never able to sustain the
effort. He marched to his own drummer in his private life and was never
afraid to take chances. Losing his father so early in his
life
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Minanogawa’s
funeral at Cho-En Ji Temple in Musashimurayama City on January 25,
1971. “Even though Minanogawa was an honest man, he often had too
much wild ambition. He failed at his business ventures and was
easily coaxed into half-baked ideas by others,” former sekiwake Tenryu
told the reporters as he left the ceremony.
Minanogawa
was a gentle giant with no killer instinct on the dohyo. With his
gifted physique, he could have achieved great heights. It is quite
reasonable to say that he never fulfilled his potential. He was a
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his inability to maintain a stable family. As a result, he lost
his wife and never reconciled with his own son. In his final days, he
had neither family nor friends. Only in the end, through the generosity
of a sumo fan, Minanogawa was able to lead a somewhat normal life, but
he died penniless. It was a tragic ending for one who made it to the
pinnacle of Ozumo.
For a complete listing of Minanogawa’s makunouchi records, please click here.
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