Sumo Books written in English

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Well, I will grant that there is one glaring error in The Joy of Sumo: A Fan's Notes...

I remember when I met Doreen Simmons, the reigning queen of gaijin sumo experts in Tokyo. I told her I was writing a sumo book and she fixed on me a suspicious and proprietary squint. What sort of book? she wanted to know.

"Well, from the point of view of the sports fan."

Doreen smiled with relief and lowered her deflector shields. "Well," she said, "I don't care about that."

It seems he misunderstood.

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Actually, the best commentary I've seen on the book came from Josh Reyer back in 2005, over on the SML:

http://www.banzuke.com/05-2/msg00012.html

[Orion 431]

Very nice, Doreen. My quotes were to show that there were some, however few, positive reviews. And your quote shows? Does his website, not meeting with your approval, detract from his book in some way you'd care to express?

I was simply using his own words to show that he is a minor player, and that on his own admission he is always attacking an institution or a person with snide remarks. I did meet the man a number of times; at the last of these he mentioned that he was writing a popular book on sumo. I smiled and said that was a risky business as one of the other sumo writers was going for the jugular whenever anybody else published anything on the subject. Knowing that Benjamin was no expert, I offered to take a look at his manuscript and check for any major mistakes. He declined the offer, and the next thing I heard was that his publisher (forget who) had held a book launching party in his honour. My informant said he was surprised I was not at the party, and said I had been mentioned in the book. (Big deal...) A couple of weeks later I picked up a copy at a free book exchange; a glance through showed that he had treated sumo in the same snide way as he treated everything else; and that our short conversation had been twisted out of recognition. I put the book back in the exchange pile, which eventually had three copies.

Doreen

[Jejima 1,488]

I agree with Nishi on this topic.

My favourite sumo book (out of the several that I own) is Grand Sumo Fully Illustrated (although there are a few errors in it - and some of the information, such as the pay scales, is now out-of-date.)

I would also put Benjamin's book near (or perhaps on) the bottom of my list - but probably wouldn't burn it.

I would give the Grand Sumo Fully Illustrated to someone just coming into sumo as their starting book. It tells a lot about what is going on in the world of sumo (gyoji, yobidashi etc) in addition to the rikishi, without the feeling that you are being 'bombarded' - and the illustrations are fun too. (Sign of approval...)

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Just for fun...

Sumo [bARGAIN PRICE] (Paperback)

by Makoto Kubota (Author)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,495,010 in Books

Amazon.co.jp Sales Rank (books): #335,321

Sumo a Pocket Guide (Paperback)

by David Shapiro (Author)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,229,733 in Books

Amazon.co.jp Sales Rank (books): #231,350

The Essential Guide to Sumo (Paperback)

by Dorothea M. Buckingham (Author)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #957,030 in Books

Amazon.co.jp Sales Rank (Foreign books): #344,147

Grand Sumo: The Living Sport And Tradition (Paperback)

by Lora Sharnoff (Author)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #847,491 in Books

Amazon.co.jp Sales Rank (foreign books): #1,222,486

Gaijin Yokozuna: A Biography of Chad Rowan (A Latitude 20 Book) (Hardcover)

by Mark Panek (Author)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #833,932 in Books

Amazon.co.jp Sales Rank (books): #193,973

Dynamic Sumo (Hardcover)

by Clyde Newton (Author), Gerald J. Toff (Author, Photographer)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #689,457 in Books

Amazon.co.jp Sales Rank (books): #711,806

Joy of Sumo (Paperback)

by David Benjamin (Author)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #613,977 in Books

Amazon.co.jp Sales Rank (books): #193,142

Edited August 25, 2009 by Otokonoyama

[Sotonokuni 8]

And of course there are two new sumo books to add to this list: :-)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006C1I5K8

and

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0061BMG0O

[Pandaazuma 1,310]

Now I have the answer to the age-old question. And it is as disappointing as expected.

[Dr.Radical 16]

I got the Kindle edition of Sumo Through the Wrestler's Eyes and enjoyed it quite a bit. The only thing I didn't like was that the Kindle Edition didn't have any pictures. Well, there were pictures, but they always showed up as broken image icons. Otherwise, it was good and had plenty of interesting tidbits about wrestlers.

[Sasanishiki 57]

Self-publishing can be quite interesting, especially if the writing is good. I had a quick scan through the free-view pieces of the first book. Interesting inside content but it wanders in a "and then...and then... and then..." kind of way. It would have been good to see an editor really pare this back to make it punchier. You can tell also from the very elongated contents pages in both books that it needs to be tightened, or at least would be if released by a publishing house.

[Sotonokuni 8]

Dr Radical - my apologies. My Kindle Previewer and the real Kindle supported different versions of Microsoft word, meaning pictures showed up on one but not on the other. I corrected the problem about three months ago, so the pics will show up now. If we meet in the Kokugikan, I'll print you a free copy!

[Orion 431]

Sasanishiki - give me your sumo book and I'll gladly edit it for you! For a small fee!

Did I miss something here? I thought it was Sasanishiki who was complaining about lack of editing in someone else's book.

Orion

[Sasanishiki 57]

Sasanishiki - give me your sumo book and I'll gladly edit it for you! For a small fee!

Did I miss something here? I thought it was Sasanishiki who was complaining about lack of editing in someone else's book.

Orion

Yes, you are correct. I was referring to the parts of Chris' books that I read through the preview function. Interesting material but needs tightening.

I have no plans to write a book just at the moment - once bitten, twice shy with the PhD thesis! Family, my regular employment, and a side business are not conducive to finding enough quality time to write. I'm pinching time from all quarters as it is to get through what's on my plate. I'm plodding through co-writing (with Katrina) a book chapter that is to be part of a volume of examples of Japan and internationalisation. This stemmed from a conference we presented at last year. That's the only thing related to sumo that I'm working on.

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

And the snark-fest will end, or...

You may continue in the off-topic thread.

Edited April 29, 2012 by Otokonoyama

[Orion 431]

..... I'm plodding through co-writing (with Katrina) a book chapter that is to be part of a volume of examples of Japan and internationalisation. This stemmed from a conference we presented at last year. That's the only thing related to sumo that I'm working on.

I look forward to reading the chapter (and the whole book) when it comes out. Aspects of internationalisation, especially with regard to Japan, occupy most of my own time, one way or another, paid and unpaid.

Orion

[sumonesejapanese 3]

I just self published my sumo book Sumonese Japanese. Take a look here and let me know your thoughts.

http://www.sumonesejapanese.com

The theme of the book is that it's a language book, sumo guide, and textbook In one.

[Naganoyama 6,024]

The cover looks very attractive and I would like to follow it up but the link appears to be broken. Please could you check it.

[Manekineko 200]

The cover looks very attractive and I would like to follow it up but the link appears to be broken. Please could you check it.

The link http://www.sumonesejapanese.com/ worked for me...

[Naganoyama 6,024]

Ah, works now, thanks!