Kaio Legs Out Exciting Natsu Race
Tops Injury-Lightened Field for Heya’s First Tenno-Hai
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

One rikishi previously known for his durability did not even start.  Another sumotori who’d fought back from mediocrity to earn promotion to the sport’s second-highest rank was also a no-show.  And a college champion who’d torn a 13-2 hole through the Juryo at the Haru Basho didn’t answer the bell for his shin-nyumaku tournament.

But none of those things mattered to komusubi #1-West KAIO.   He somehow got a bottle of the same ‘magic potion’ that stablemate SENTORYU had used to go 13-2 in Osaka, and drained it to the dregs.  Then, with his ‘evil twin’ safely locked away, the rikishi known as “The Human Juicer” went out and captured the 2000 Natsu Basho with a very convincing 14-1 record.  It was the first championship for a man who has shown so much promise in recent years, but whose career has been marked with unexplainable inconsistency.  He becomes the first rikishi to win the yusho from the ‘killer rank’ since WAKAHANADA (now retired yokozuna Wakanohana) did it at the 1993 Haru contest, the third first-time champion this year, and the first deshi from Tomozuna Beya to win the Emperor’s Cup in sumo’s modern era (1927-present).

For the first time since the 1988 Haru Basho, only one member of the Hanada family was listed on the banzuke.  (Aside:  newly-retired yokozuna Wakanohana (Fujishima Oyakata) was seen in Kyokai livery doing security duty on the west-side hanamichi.)  Yokozuna-West TAKANOHANA started strong with five wins, but then fell victim to KAIO’s powerful oshidashi.  Yokozuna #1-East AKEBONO looked strong and mobile with a patellar support strap on his left knee.   He gave KAIO his only loss on day 5, but his big mistake was being careless with sekiwake-west TOCHIAZUMA on day 3:  a win would have put him in superb position to win his first yusho in three years (and tenth overall).  The race for the Tenno-Hai between Tomozuna’s heyagashira and the two grand champions lasted until day 13, when TAKANOHANA was crushed out by resurgent ozeki #2-East CHIYOTAIKAI.  On senshuraku KAIO descended the dohyo after his 14th win with the Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize) and Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize) and went to the shitaku-beya expecting to be called out for a playoff with AKEBONO.  But when TAKANOHANA forced the big Hawaiian over the tawara in the final bout of the basho, the issue was settled without further action.  Both yokozuna finished at 13-2 to share the jun-yusho.

The second Tokyo tournament of the year was marked by a series of notable absences due to injury.  At the very top of the Kosho Seido list was yokozuna #2-East MUSASHIMARU.  This has not been a good year for the gargantuan Samoan:  after winning four yusho in 1999 to reach the pinnacle of the sport, a wrist injury sustained in training forced him out of the Hatsu Basho after 2 days.  He came back in Osaka to post an acceptable 11-4, but did not even answer the bell this time out.  Even more troubling was the absence of ozeki-West MUSOYAMA.  After having pulled his career out of the doldrums, with the Hatsu yusho crowning a 33-12 run over the last three tourneys, many fans were looking forward to the new ozeki’s first basho at this hard-won rank.  Exactly what effect this will have on his future quest for yokozuna promotion cannot be known at this time; but it can’t look good to the same Yokozuna Deliberation Council that was ready to cash out Wakanohana over his injuries.  The Public Injury damage continued down into the hiramaku ranks.  Sadogatake Beya’s new collegian powerhouse, maegashira #8-East KOTOMITSUKI, was not present for his first Makunouchi basho.  Veteran maegashira #9-West MINATOFUJI filled out the Public Injury shelf.

With their heyagashira sidelined, and their newly-promoted ozeki stablemate also ‘on the pines’, it fell upon the shoulders of ozeki #1-East DEJIMA and sekiwake-East MIYABIYAMA to carry the Musashigawa colors into the fight.  Theirs was a study in contrasts:  MIYABIYAMA reeled off three straight wins to start, then won two bouts for every loss and finished with an 11-4 that earned both a Kanto-Sho and a promotion to ozeki for the Nagoya Basho (see accompanying article).  Meanwhile DEJIMA ran into early trouble, with KAIO and maegashira #3-East OGINISHIKI bouncing him in the first three days of action.  He only managed two wins against sanyaku competition and those were against ozeki #2-West TAKANONAMI and komusubi #2-West TAKATORIKI, who were both having subpar performances.  His poor 8-7 will hopefully serve as a wakeup call for improvement.

Both of the other ozeki came out of the Haru Basho with serious problems.  How they dealt with those problems was yet another study in contrasts.  This writer pictures Kokonoe Oyakata riding CHIYOTAIKAI very hard and not giving him any room to slack off.  The result:  six wins over other joi-jin (including TAKANOHANA) and an 11-4 posting that will please the legendary stablemaster (for a few days, anyway).  TAKANONAMI was in his fifth kadoban only two basho after having been demoted to sekiwake and winning the 10 bouts necessary to recover his ozeki ranking.  He started out well with four wins, and after 9 days he was at 6-3.  Then the wheels came off:  six days, six losses, a 6-9 record and a second demotion to sekiwake in less than half a year.  (Will he come back yet again?  This reporter’s personal opinion:  no.)

The rest of the sanyaku performed as expected.  TOCHIAZUMA’s win over AKEBONO was a pivotal moment in the competition.  He may not have been in contention but his 9-3 mark on day 12 was an excellent building block for a double-digit performance and a run at a future ozeki slot.  It was not to be, however:  three losses on the last three days left him with a still-good (but not ozeki-helpful) 9-6.  There have been times when this reporter has believed that komusubi-East TOSANOUMI was deliberately trying to be demoted back into the maegashira ranks so he could add to his stash of kinboshi.  But his performance, though weak to begin with, got better as the tournament went on.  He also finished at 9-6; MIYABIYAMA’s promotion to ozeki leaves a sekiwake slot open for him to move into for the Nagoya Basho.  Komusubi #2-West was not unfamiliar territory to Haru winner TAKATORIKI, who had set the new record for the longest time (18 years in sumo, 870 top-division contests) to his first Tenno-Hai.  What was unfamiliar to the former sekiwake was the reduced number of stablemates in the Makunouchi, along with his inability to handle the increased power in the new generation of sanyaku.  On shonichi a familiar nemesis, AKEBONO, welcomed the Futagoyama veteran back to the joi-jin ranks.  And he did it exactly as he’d done in Osaka - rough and decisive, as he used his massive hands to piston the defending Cup holder off the dohyo.   TAKATORIKI was 2-2 after 4 days but then collapsed completely:  even comparatively-weak maegashira competition such as #1-west ASANOWAKA, #2-west HAMANOSHIMA and 3#-west DAIZEN tore strips from him.  He went ‘from the penthouse to the outhouse’ with a miserable 2‑13:  the prospect of retiring and taking over from his father-in-law might look pretty good right now.

The only rikishi ranked above maegashira #6 to finish kachi-koshi was #4-west TAMAKASUGA, who went 9-6.  In his shin-nyumaku basho, #12-East TOCHINOHANA racked up a 12-3 to lead all maegashira, and pulled in a Kanto-Sho and a Gino-Sho (Technical Prize) in the bargain.  Other strong hiramaku performances were posted by #7-West AKINOSHIMA (10-5), #9-East TOKI (9-6), #11-East HAYATEUMI (9-6), #11-West HIGONOUMI (9-6) and #14-West KOTONOWAKA (10-5).  The ageless veteran #13-West TERAO went 5-10:  the question becomes whether he will take the demotion to Juryo and keep fighting, or retire and help his older brother run Izutzu Beya.

In the juryo ranks, #1-West KOTONISHIKI was on Public Injury still nursing the arm injury he sustained in Osaka at the hands of AKINOSHIMA.  #4-West TAMARIKIDO and #6-West AKINOSHU were also absent.  The still-popular “Big Salt”, #7-West MITOIZUMI used a Kosho Seido break to palliate twenty years’ worth of damage accumulated in the dohyo wars; but the heir-apparent to Takasago Beya might only have postponed the inevitable by so doing.  Former maegashira #1 GANYU, who had fallen from the Makunouchi ranks and through Juryo into Makushita due to a series of injuries, announced his retirement.  Of those second-division rikishi who came to fight, former maegashira WAKANOSATO went 12-3 at #11-East to win the yusho, while #12-East TAMANONADA went 11-4 for the runner-up slot.  #9-East TOCHISAKAE posted a 9-6.  #2-East SENTORYU, coming off his 13-2 ride in Osaka, struggled early but managed to get his eighth win on senshuraku:  his prospects for promotion to the ‘bright lights’ look fair to good.  The other foreign rikishi in Juryo, #10-West HOSHITANGO, also had his problems but also gained kachi-koshi on the final day.

KAIO’s victory marks only the eighth time in modern sumo history that a rikishi ranked at komusubi has won the yusho.  The members of this rather unique fraternity are:

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Miyabiyama Earns Ozeki Promotion
Becomes Third Musashigawa Rikishi at Sumo’s Second-Highest Rank
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

As if further proof of Musashigawa Beya’s ascendancy was needed, former college champion (and Tonkatsu-defeater) MIYABIYAMA has been promoted to ozeki for the Nagoya Basho.  The promotion came on the heels of his second consecutive 11-4 posting at sekiwake, for a three-basho record of 34 wins and 11 losses.  He thus joins stablemates DEJIMA and MUSOYAMA (also collegiate yokozuna) at sumo’s next-to-final step just below their heyagashira, yokozuna MUSASHIMARU (who is not a collegian).

This might be the first time in modern sumo history that a heya has had two of its rikishi promoted to ozeki in consecutive basho.  MUSOYAMA was promoted to ozeki just after the Haru Basho, but did not compete in Tokyo due to an unspecified injury.  DEJIMA earned his promotion last year after winning the yusho in Nagoya.

By virtue of his promotion MIYABIYAMA fills the ozeki slot vacated by TAKANONAMI, who has been demoted to sekiwake for the second time this year as a result of consecutive make-koshi records.  If TAKANONAMI somehow manages to win 10 or more bouts in Nagoya he will be entitled to regain his ozeki status.  It will be interesting to see what happens if that lightning somehow manages to strike.

The last time a single heya had three deshi ranked at ozeki was the 1994 Kyushu Basho, when Futagoyama Beya had TAKANOHANA, WAKANOHANA and TAKANONAMI in that rank.  (In that tournament TAKANOHANA went 15-0 for his second consecutive zensho yusho and was promoted to yokozuna.)

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Musashigawa Rikishi Takes The Bow – And Twirls It
SUMO WORLD news service

SHINMEI, from Musashigawa Beya, is the new yumitori-shiki (bow-twirling ceremony) performer.  The 27-year old junior of MUSASHIMARU replaces Futagoyama Beya rikishi WAKAKAZE, who retired from sumo at the end of the Hatsu Basho (as reported in the February SUMO SHIMPO).  This continues the custom of the yumitori rikishi being from the heya of the currently-dominant yokozuna.

SHINMEI had performed the bow ritual at exhibitions and at the retirement ceremonies for KOTOINAZUMA and TOCHINOWAKA before being tabbed for this prominent but potentially-jinxed assignment. 

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Current World Rankings For Competitors In SCSK Events
(as of 8th World Sumo Championships in Riesa, Germany)

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 Future Champion Rikishi Enters Ranks

1998 SCSK Summer Tournament champion Joe “Rikinojo” BUTLER and his lovely wife Kelly recently became the parents of a 9-pound, 6-ounce son named Aaron Joseph.  OMEDETO GOZAIMASU!!

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The Things You Get To Do…

At a recent event in Japan, CHIYOTAIKAI and other top-division sumo wrestlers dressed as the characters from the “Sailor Moon” anime series and put on a show.  This reporter is not familiar with the series so he wasn’t exactly sure what was going on.  But it appeared as if everyone was enjoying themselves.  To study and download color photos of this curious event go to http://www.os.xaxon.ne.jp/~rini/sailor/sumo/index.htm

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WELCOME BACK (?!) – Komusubi #2-West TAKATORIKI goes flying off the dohyo under the powerful thrusting attack of yokozuna #1-East  AKEBONO on shonichi of the 2000 Natsu Basho.  The former sekiwake was promoted all the way back into the sanyaku from maegashira #14 on the strength of his yusho-winning 13-2 record in the Haru Basho, but fell to 2-13 in Tokyo.  (Photo:  Ken Coller/SUMO NOW!)

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SEKITORI BIRTHDAYS for June and July

Data from SUMO WORLD magazine.

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Vierra Takes Night of Giants 2000
by "Tonkatsu" and Ernie Hunt
from ESPN broadcast and first-hand report

Looking decidedly leaner and meaner, North American heavyweight and open champion Wayne Vierra added "Night of the Giants 2000" to his growing list of credits.  Sub-titled "World Super Heavyweight Sumo Championship", the second night of giants was held at Caesars Tahoe on Saturday April 22nd.  Like the first tournament  at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City in November of 98, this was an invitational event, basically tailored for ESPN.  The expert commentator was moto-ozeki KONISHIKI, who had a chance to promote his new career as a rapper.

In addition to Vierra, returning faces included: Manny Yarbrough and James Perry, U.S.A.; Levan Ebanoidze, Georgia; Fred Craig, New Zealand; Torsten Schiebler and Jorg Brummer, Germany; and B. Bat-Erdene, Mongolia.  Missing were defending champion Mark Robinson of South Africa and anyone from Japan.

Ernie Hunt filed the following report: "I got up there just in time to see the last two matches of the evening.  I was shocked at the attendance.  It was held in the main show room and it was standing room only as far as I could see.  The crowd was on the stage, also behind the ring.  I guess they were the 76 bucks tickets.  It looked like a first class operation, well promoted by the attendance.  When I checked into the Reno Hilton at three in the morning the clerk saw my sumo shirt and asked if I had been to Tahoe to see the sumo, so it was well promoted.”

Ernie also submitted data from the tournament brackets, which went into the following matrix.  There were nineteen competitors divided into six three or four man pools.  Each pool fought a round robin with the winner and in some cases the runner-up advancing to the top eight.

*  no weight announced on ESPN:  editor’s estimate

Quarter final:   Goloubovski d. Ebanoidze; Filianga d. Hopkins; Vierra d. Paczkow; Allman d. Kekauoha.
Semi-final: Goloubovski d. Filianga; Vierra d. Allman.
Third Place: Allman d. Filianga.
Final: Vierra d. Goloubovski.

Editorial comment: The sumo was very good and it was a great win for Wayne Vierra.  It was also a win for those of us who are fighting the stereotype of sumo as a sport just for big naked fat men. A stereotype that, unfortunately, ESPN and the rest of the American media love to perpetuate.  For the second time in a row this so-called "Super heavyweight" tournament was won by someone who didn't fit the definition and worse yet, second place went to a middleweight.

We say ‘so-called’ because, the International Sumo Federation has no such weight class (although perhaps they should).  So what is a "Super heavyweight"?  According to Mr. Yonezuka, it is someone who weighs over 150kg/330lbs.  Of the nineteen competitors in this tournament, only eight weighed over 330lbs.  Only two of those (Filianga & Hopkins) advanced to the quarter finals, and only Filianga made the semi-finals.  At 300lbs. Wayne Vierra is 30lbs. under his weight at last year’s North Americans.  Mark Robinson also weighed 300lbs. when he won this event the last time it was held.  In addition to Mr. Goloubovski, the World’s #4 ranked middleweight, and Mr. Kekauoha, Craig Montgomery, who figured prominently in the first tournament is also a middleweight.  What these tournaments really are, are open competitions and not so-called super heavyweight contests.

An interesting footnote to all this:  the average weight of the nineteen competitors in this event was 379lbs.  By comparison, the average weight of the forty members of the Makunouchi division listed on the Natsu Basho banzuke was 346lbs.

We have some questions about these events.  Do they help or hurt amateur sumo?  Why isn't anyone from Canada ever invited?  If Mr. Yonezuka can get someone to sponsor this kind of event, why not any other amateur sumo?  Why will ESPN pay for this, but not for the North Americans?  Is ESPN only interested in exploiting amateur sumo?  Is it a coincidence that only two of the competitors in this event wore shorts?  Finally, how does Mr. Yonezuka get away with billing a small, made-for-TV tournament with only nine countries represented as a "World Championship"?

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More About Manny
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

We had the following reaction from our web mistress Alexa, to the Bad Taste article in the last issue.

"Am dismayed at news of darling Waka's retirement, and utterly horrified at article re commercial.  I saw the Jay Leno clip on network teasers and thought it dubious at best, but it seems to have gone considerably downhill from there.  One would think that a practicing sumotori (am using term loosely, of course) would be one of the first to try to dispel the "fat guys in diapers" image, but apparently even that minor dignity was too much to hope for (sigh).

Sumoest regards, Shirabara"

“Yukikaze” replies, "Why should Manny Yarbrough do or say anything to dispel the sumo stereotype?  He derives a great deal of advantage for himself playing to that stereotype."

At a recent judo practice, Goltz black belt John Moe asked me the standard "Have you seen E.T.."  John said that the commercial was all over the INTERNET, someone had e-mailed it to him.  He didn't see any reason why "The fit would hit the Shan" " they like they sort of thing over there".

On another topic, we picked up a copy recently of a magazine called "GIANT ROBOT".  Its subject is "ASIAN POP CULTURE AND BEYOND".  GIANT ROBOT has an advice columnist, none other than Manny himself.  It's hard to say whether the questions are real or made up or whether Manny actually writes the "snappy" answers.  We wouldn't care to reprint any of it in this publication but if you're curious you can go to www.giantrobot.com.  If you need advice, you can send your questions to Manny at grobot@deltanet.com.

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To Shikona, or not to Shikona?
Editorial by "Tonkatsu' for SUMO SHIMPO

As we all know, professional sumotori have fighting names called shikona.  In the SoCal Beya, predecessor to the Southern California Sumo Kyokai, it has been popular for members to adopt shikona; the best-known being Greg Wheeler as "Kaminishiki" and Jim Lowerre as "Yukikaze".  Our webmistress Alexa calls herself "Shirabara".  Another member calls himself "Tofunoyama" (mountain of tofu) and of course your editor goes by the tongue-in-cheek shikona of "Tonkatsu".  On the other hand, John Jacques tells me that in Japan and Hawaii they consider the use of shikona by amateurs to be unlucky.  I don't know about that myself, I suppose it's a matter of personal taste.  Anyway, “Yukikaze” and I like our shikona and we're going to keep them, bad luck or not.  Besides, it's fun making them up.  I know that the Japanese enjoy doing play on word games with their own language.  Why should they have all the fun?  Here are some of the shikona we have come up with, and ideas for others:

"Tonkatsu" is a breaded pork cutlet, one of my favorite Japanese dishes.  It is almost always good for a laugh from Japanese people.  Another example is Canadian heavyweight Elmer Gale, who looks like "Grizzly Adams".  With some help from a gentleman at Japan Expo, we came up with "Kumamitai" (looks like a bear).  A Japanese friend of Joe Butler gave him the shikona "Rikinojo" (power of Joe):  we have given Joe's new son Aaron the provisional shikona "Jonoko" (son of Joe).  Andrew Freund uses “Amanoyama” (mountain of Ama) and Arizona amateur Mike Peru has the kanji for his shikona “Hanakaze” (flower wind) tattooed on his arm.

"Yukikaze" (snow wind) was a "Kagero" (heat haze) -class destroyer  in the Imperial Japanese Navy:  it was the only one of the eighteen ships in the class to survive World War II.  Japanese first-class destroyers were named after weather phenomena, a rich source of potential shikona:  there was an "Akebono" (dawn), an “Asashio” (morning high tide) and a "Tokitsukaze" (favorable wind).   Battleships were named after the ancient provinces of Japan such as “Yamato” and “Musashi(maru)” (which literally means ‘return to Musashi’ – Ed.).  Battlecruisers and heavy cruisers were named for Japan’s prominent mountains (such as “Kongo” and "Kirishima") while light cruisers were named for rivers.  Aircraft carriers were named after mythical flying creatures such as “Great Phoenix” (which, in Japanese, translates as “Taiho”).

In coming up with a shikona we frequently do something with the person’s name.  For instance, we gave new member David Knight the shikona "Akumu" (nightmare).  Probably the longest shikona on record is the one we gave to Doug Ballard of Bloomington, Indiana.  Doug is a power-lifter and he also does Highland games.  So we gave him the shikona "Socotorandonohana" (Flower of Scotland).

Do you have a shikona?  Would you like us to help you make one up for yourself?  Let us know.

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Technique Corner:  Attacking the Judoka
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

A very high percentage of the people doing amateur sumo around the World come to the sport from some other form of grappling.  This is especially true of Judo.  Of the one hundred twenty competitors listed in the program for the seventh World Championship, forty-four listed judo in their bio.  For many of those, judo is their first sport.  Obviously, anyone who comes to sumo from judo is going to have a strong nage game.  Granted, the difference in attire makes a big difference in the way throws are executed.  In judo, the competitors wear pants and a heavy long sleeve jacket called a gi.  In most judo techniques you grip your opponent’s lapel with one hand and his sleeve with the other.  In sumo there is only the mawashi.  Still, a good judoka can make the adjustment.

This writer is a brown belt in judo, but sumo is my first love:  it fits my aggresive personality better.  Like many sumotori, my favorite technique is yorikiri.  A good example of what can happen against a judoka happened in my match with Allen Johnson at the Goltz tournament last January.  Allen is a third degree black belt, the same age as me, who was doing sumo for the first time. I got into his belt early and drove him to the edge but couldn't quite get him over the edge.  We waltzed across the ring and once again I had him with his back to the edge when he turned into me and threw me with a judo throw called "uchi mata".  In thinking about this something came back to me that one of the black belts at the first judo dojo I went to told me.  I was still new to both sumo and judo at the time.  I hadn't yet had an official competition in either.  One evening when we were alone before class, he said let’s do some sumo.  We just tied our obis around our waist and did a series of matches.  At that time I didn't know much sumo other than pushing.  In every match I pushed him to the edge only to be thrown.  Afterwards, he told me that he had first done judo in Japan, when he was in the Marines.  He said that some sumo people used to come into the dojo and practice from time to time.  He had done some sumo with them.  He said that what he hated the most in sumo was the chest slapping (tsuppari).  A technique that is not allowed in judo.

So, if you are a pure sumo type so to speak,  especially one from a non-grappling background such as football, we strongly recommend not tying up with a judoka if you don't have to.  Instead, attack them.  Come in with a hard oshi or tsuppari and see what happens.  I think I would have been better served against Allen Johnson if I had done so.

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North American Amateur Championships:  An Update
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

As we go to press, the status of the North American Sumo Championships is still up in the air.  As previously reported, we are told that Hollywood Park Casino still wants to host the tournament.  They are prepared to pay for everything they have paid for in the past except transportation, the biggest expense the first three years.  On the other hand, we are told that they don't want to do it unless "Japan and the top competitors come".  Another way it has been put is that they don't feel they will get what they want "If only fifteen people show up.

At the present time John Jacques is trying to get an airline he has worked with in the past to sponsor the tournament.  We are waiting for the outcome of those negotiations. 

In any case, the tournament will not be in June as in the past.  The working date we have been given at the moment is the 5th and 6th of August.  The Southern California Sumo Kyokai's plans for a California State Championship this summer are on hold waiting for a decision.

Hollywood Park Casino's main goal is to garner publicity.  They derive the most benefit from the local coverage.  They have figured out that it doesn't do them any good for someone in Kansas to see it on ESPN.  No one is going to come to Inglewood because they saw sumo, or anything else for that matter.

But then, sumo isn't the only thing that the casino has done to attract attention.  For instance:  several months after last year’s North American Championships, they had someone wrestle a bear.  One would think that any kind of sumo tournament would be better publicity than bear wrestling!  Come to think of it…since a grizzly bear is our mascot, maybe we could make the bear a member of our Kyokai!  Stay tuned.

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World Amateur Champion Joins SCSK
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

We are pleased to announce that two-time World Amateur lightweight champion Svetoslav Binev has registered with the United States Sumo Federation as a member of the Southern California Sumo Kyokai.

Svetoslav is working on obtaining permanent resident status in this country.  We were pleased to be able to write a letter to the INS on his behalf.

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Foreign Rikishi Line-Up:  The Junior Divisions
(From the AP via Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

Makushita: 
HOSHIANDESU (Jose Antonio Juarez, Argentina), No. 9
ASASHORYU (Dolgorsvren Dagvadrj, Mongolia), No. 9
WAKAAZUMA (Yoshinobu Kuroda, Brazil), No. 17
KUNIAZUMA (Vander Ramos, Brazil), No. 22
KASUGAOH (Kim Son-tek, S. Korea), No. 47
KYOKUTENZAN (Enkhbat Batmunkha, Mongolia), No. 51  

Sandanme:
KAIHAKUSAN (Baeg Yun-gi, S. Korea), No. 49
AZUMAOH (Yasuto Morita, Brazil), No. 82
RYUO (Wang Yu, China), No. 93

Jonidan:
ASASEKIRYU (Badaarch Dashunyam, Mongolia), No. 80
DAIBANJAKU (Batsukh Khaidavmunkh, Mongolia), No.  93
FUDOYAMA (Nyamjuv Luvsandorj, Mongolia), No. 112
HAKUBA (Ariunbayar Unurjargal, Mongolia), No. 130
KITAKASUGA (Tsolmonbayar Munkhbat, Mongolia), No. 133

Jonokuchi:
RYUO (Erkhem Ochirsanchirbold, Mongolia), No. 13
ORORA (Mikhakhanov Anatolivaleryevich, Russia), No. 20

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CALENDAR OF SUMO EVENTS 
(compiled by SUMO SHIMPO staff)

Nagoya Basho:  Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya
Banzuke:  June 26, 2000
Shonichi:  July 9, 2000 (Sunday)
SUMO DIGEST coverage begins July 10 (Monday) on KRCA (Channel 62) at 11:30 PM
Senshuraku:  July 23, 2000 (Sunday)

Black Ships (Kurofune) Festival, Newport, RI July 20-23, 2000

Tonkatsu’s 60th Birthday July 22, 2000

Nagoya Post-basho Bash (PBB)   July 29, 2000:  6:30PM
Sakura of Tokyo, Vincent St. (south of I-10) West Covina (contact “Yukikaze” for directions)

North American Amateur Sumo Championships   
Time and place TO BE ANNOUNCED (watch this space)

California State Sumo Championships
Police Athletic League Gymnasium, Long Beach
Time TO BE ANNOUNCED (watch this space)

Aki Basho:  Kokugikan, Tokyo
Banzuke:  August 21, 2000
Shonichi:  September 3, 2000 (Sunday)
SUMO DIGEST coverage begins September 4 (Monday) on KRCA (Channel 62) at 11:30 PM
Senshuraku:  September 17, 2000 (Sunday)

Aki Post-basho Bash (PBB)   Sept. 30, 2000:  6:30PM
Sakura of Tokyo, Vincent St. (south of I-10) West Covina (contact “Yukikaze” for directions)

Kyushu Basho:  Kokusai Center, Fukuoka
Banzuke:  October 23, 2000
Shonichi:  November 5, 2000 (Sunday)
SUMO DIGEST coverage begins November 6 (Monday) on KRCA (Channel 62) at 11:30 PM
Senshuraku:  November 19, 2000 (Sunday)

NOTE:  all times, dates and channels for SUMO DIGEST are assumptions based on the present schedule.

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