Mark Buckton 1 Posted December 30, 2003 Guess how many sumo books there are in my local town library? (Answer: one badly outdated... (Joel Sackett's Rikishi: The Men of Sumo)) Now, let's see... Amazon of Japan... Overly complicated. I'll go there to buy them physically. (Punk rocker...) Koto-san, worth a try but many nations allow for ordering of books not held in a library 'area' (city / town county etc) which means that the tax you pay locally is used in ordering the books the people (you) request. Using this method I have personally spent loads of J-tax but paid far more in ordering books I want to read that have been unavailable in the Tokyo library system. Try it - they can only say no. (and the system's existence in Tokyo is only known because it was asked for - many staff themselves being unawares till 'encouraged' to look into it). ANR (Ranting...) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kotoseiya Yuichi 3 Posted December 30, 2003 Oh, sure I'm aware of this possibility. I can see, for example, that my cousin's local library in Kallio, Helsinki has Mina Hall's Big Book of Sumo on the shelf right now. He could bring it to me or I could order it here to Turku but I already have a copy on my own shelf. The same with, say, Clyde Newton's Dynamic Sumo. Whatever they have, I already own. The real interest lies in the esoterica which most likely doesn't exist here in Finland at all. I seriously doubt anyone here has the kind of books you can use to check the kesho of rikishi active in 1920's. If I'm ever to visit Japan, I'll probably have to pay extra to airline for excess weight in the shape of sumo literature and memorabilia in the return flight. (Punk rocker...) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fujisan 533 Posted December 30, 2003 I've only ever seen two books ever on Sumo in my country and I have them both now but if I can I would buy any further copies I see anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Buckton 1 Posted December 30, 2003 (edited) Koto-san / Fujisan, watch this space in a few hours time. (Punk rocker...) ANR Edited December 30, 2003 by Adachinoryu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yubiquitoyama 4 Posted December 30, 2003 (edited) Here are the kesho-mawashi in question btw. Excuse the bad scans, but the pictures weren't that good to begin with (I have a better one of the Paramount kesho, but too lazy to go after ye olde scanner)... The penguin is definitely the same, but I'm not sure it's the same kesho-mawashi. Hard to be sure though... Ex-M04 Ichiminato Ex-Sw Shikainami Ex-Sw Oshio Edited December 30, 2003 by Yubiquitoyama Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Buckton 1 Posted December 30, 2003 Yubi-san - brilliant scan (Clapping wildly...) The penguin mawashi though - must be the same. Up close in the books (and pretty clear(ish)) the mountains follow the same outline, the kanji is the same on the left I think and the newer picture is of a more faded mawashi. ANR's investigation continues. :-D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Buckton 1 Posted December 31, 2003 Koto-san / Fujisan,watch this space in a few hours time. :-D ANR At the risk of going slightly off-topic. Dynamic Sumo by Clyde Newton, Sumo: A Pocket Guide by David Shapiro July 1995 Takamiyama: The World of Sumo by Jesse Kuhaulua Grand Sumo: The Living Sport and Tradition by Lora Sharnoff February 1993 Sumo from Rite to Sport by Patricia Lee Cuyler Mina Hall you know of of course. There are others in English and other languages too so a quick search of those above should come up with an ISBN number (found on all books) and with that your library will hopefully order them for you. This isn't a complete list but is a start. In Japanese there is an annual book of all rikishi info / stables / an almanac of sorts printed by a 'baseball magazine funny enough' that could be available in specialist shops - in Japanese but not hard to figure out as mostly facts and figures. For those buying I recommend Amazon - always worked for me. ANR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yubiquitoyama 4 Posted December 31, 2003 (edited) In Japanese there is an annual book of all rikishi info / stables / an almanac of sorts printed by a 'baseball magazine funny enough' that could be available in specialist shops - in Japanese but not hard to figure out as mostly facts and figures. Yeah, that's the one I got the scans from (an old 1993 edition, but somehow Taisho and Showa rikishi tend not to have changed much in ten years :-D ). The format is not such as to make scanning easy btw... I can especially recommend Cuyler's (for history, preferably second edition) and Sharnoff's books. And of course Grand Sumo Fully Illustrated as best reference book in English. Edited December 31, 2003 by Yubiquitoyama Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kotoseiya Yuichi 3 Posted December 31, 2003 The books listed above I either own or mostly have read otherwise. Fine books as such, no doubt, but they're still more or less introductory. The real hardcore sumo esoterica most likely has never been published in a language other than Japanese. You know, the ones with meticulous rikishi statistics, heya histories, rare photoes and wood drawings... I doubt those kind of books have much potential salability outside Japan. Before anyone asks, The Complete Finnish Sumo Book lies dormant for now. It will probably be published in 2030 at the earliest but it will include at least 3000 pages with complete statistics about everything, every sekitori bout since 1278 meticulously described by Kaikitsune-zeki etc. etc. It will be sold for 1000 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fujisan 533 Posted December 31, 2003 Thank you Adachi- I suspect that most of them books where published in America though,Right? Only I was talking about books published in England,not just in the English language. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
