John Gunning

Yes and yes.

Shipping to the US via regular airmail is now an option so anyone there looking for the 2021 calandar can just DM me or ISJ. Thanks

Technically yes, but he lost a playoff in his 17th bout so the best start including maezumo and with no absences is still Itai. 29 straight before his first loss.

Kinda the way many felt about the forum hammer ©

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2020/11/11/sumo/universities-foreign-wrestlers-sumo/ A Mongolian high school wrestling champion will be switching to sumo when joining Nittaidai next year. The college to pro route for foreigners looks like becoming a more mainstream one in the near future.

Well that didn’t take long Excellent. Thank you.

Well. It’s just something that popped into my head while out walking. I was thinking about how F1 may be the most elite sport in terms of numbers and how that contrasts with the number of professional soccer players. I’m guessing the latter is the sport with the greatest number of athletes that have ever reached pro level. Then I started wondering where sumo fell in that range. Being single country and (currently) organization it should be near the low end. My question essentially is how many men have ever strapped on a mawashi and competed in professional sumo or its equivalents throughout history. I have no idea even to what degree an accurate estimate could be made.

Maezumo guys that never came back, pre banzuke era rikishi etc.

Simple question for those with more time and better research skills than I. How many men have ever set foot on an ozumo dohyo in total? Very difficult to estimate with any kind of accuracy given the various stages sumo went through over the centuries. How many have ever been on the banzuke is relatively easy to answer but I’m wondering if anyone can estimate how many in total (including rikishi from the various governing bodies) If someone wants to have a crack at getting a figure I’ll send them some sumo item as a thank you.

Does claiming Hakuho looks fit and ready to take the title in a national newspaper and on TV - less than 24 hours before he withdrew from the tournament - count as a ridiculous prediction? On the bright side it might be enough to land me a lucrative gig at FiveThirtyEight

Asashoryu's reaction. 笑 = LOL

Yeah I think we might still have a few left at the company office. Just contact Inside Sport: Japan through any of their social media channels and someone will get back to you quickly. Thanks

I did a bite-sized series called Sumo 101 and Rikishi Files in the Japan Times for those relatively new to the sport. I tried to fit in at least one interesting piece of information for more experienced fans in each piece. Our show Grand Sumo Preview airs on NHK World on the Friday before each basho (and is available on demand online for few weeks thereafter). Welcome back.