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A sit-in by visa violators and their families entered its second day Tuesday in front of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau with protesters seeking government good will. The action at the bureau in Minato Ward is being organized by the Asian People’s Friendship Society, ...
Kazuhiro Shiraishi, 66, is a guest-house manager in the Izu-kogen Highlands, a famous resort area on the Izu Peninsula of Shizuoka Prefecture. Looking out onto the Pacific Ocean, and just 90 minutes by train from Tokyo, Izu has a warm climate all year round ...
“I was stopped by two men in a government-registered vehicle, blindfolded and dragged off the street. They took me away to a house in a place I did not know. I was forced into a room with blood all over the walls and floor, ...
When speaking of Japanese art, people use words such as wabi and sabi, words that speak of a delicate sensibility and an ephemeral existence. Viewing the retrospective show of painter Toko Shinoda, the first word that comes to mind is "power."
Have you ever given your best effort while striving to achieve something but felt like what you were doing was futile? That’s the feeling I’m getting about Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics. With just over three months to go until the IOC ...
There are several topics of note coming out of the upcoming Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya. One is the need for reflection on the tragedy of the young Tokitsukaze wrestler, Tokitaiza, who died ‘ter a severe beating before last year’s basho. The case against ...
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times carried a very brief article on the sport of sumo. Unfortunately, the LA Times’ editors didn’t associate the visit by the Japanese Sumo Association’s top-ranking fighters with sport, and relegated mention of the June 7-8 tournament to ...
In a shade over 250 years of recorded sumo history, no European has ever been crowned king of the ring. No European has ever held aloft the Emperor’s Cup. No European has ever won a Grand Sumo Tournament. Until now. At the latest basho, ...
If asked to name a favorite to win the May 11-25 Natsu Basho at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, not many sumo fans will be looking beyond the obvious yokozuna duo of Hakuho and Asashoryu. And why should they? Over the past fortnight of practice sessions, ...
Earlier this year, Kokonoe Oyakata, former yokozuna Chiyonofuji, was appointed head of the Nihon Sumo Kyokai’s (NSK) Public Relations Department. At the time, many in the sumo following world likely breathed a collective sigh of relief as the second most successful yokozuna in sumo ...
In the run-up to the Osaka Haru Basho, all eyes were on the “Hakusho” pair; a combination of the names of yokozuna Hakuho and Asashoryu that is increasingly being using to describe the recent era of sumo titans. During the sport’s annual sojourn to ...
A little over a week ago, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai announced its rankings for the upcoming Haru Basho in Osaka. As expected, Hakuho retained his slot on the slightly more prestigious eastern side of the banzuke, while fellow Mongolian Asashoryu headed the western rankings. ...
The sport of sumo has been going through some rough times recently. Big case in point: the recent arrests of former Tokitsukaze Oyakata, (Junichi Yamamoto) and three of his rikishi. The four are currently being held by police in relation to the mid-2007 hazing ...
The 2007 sumo season has drawn to a close, and no sumo fan in his or her right right mind would want to see a repeat of it. Allegations of bout-fixing surfaced early in the year, first in Japanese tabloids and later in Japanese ...
This year’s Kyushu Basho, which ended Sunday, saw Hakuho stride through the muck and grime to claim the fifth title of his career with a 12-win, 3-loss record. When push came to shove, his class shined through. Hakuho, who is looking more and more ...
As the Kyushu Basho, running Nov. 11-25, rumbles around once again, so does the regular talk of ozeki retirement. In sumo there is nothing more depressing than seeing a one-time ozeki powerhouse hobbled by injuries and struggling to stretch their careers through a few ...
That any life should be lost during sport is tragic, and sumo is no exception. Had Takashi Saito decided not to enter the world of professional sumo, he probably would still be alive today. Instead, in late June, after a particularly brutal period of ...