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John Gunning
For John Gunning's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
SUMO
Sep 25, 2017
JSA offering foreign fans rare glimpse of special sumo rituals
The Japan Sumo Association will hold an Ozumo Beyond 2020 Basho at Ryogoku Kokugikan on Oct. 4 for the second straight year.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 31, 2017
More multiracial wrestlers making mark in raised ring
Sumo’s long and grueling summer regional tour came to an end last Sunday with the now yearly KITTE Basho held in the heart of Tokyo at the 38-story JP Tower. The following day, the new banzuke was released for the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament that gets underway on Sept. 10.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jul 26, 2017
Yokozuna Hakuho showing no signs of letting up anytime soon
Hakuho continued to defy time, as well as a host of up-and-coming young fighters, winning the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament with a 14-1 record. That came two months after he took the Summer Basho without a loss.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jul 21, 2017
Hakuho's place in pantheon of greats continues to grow
On Dec. 24, 2000, a skinny, dejected young Mongolian kid, near the end of his two-month stay in Japan, had seemingly failed in a bid to join sumo. Weighing just 60 kg and barely 180 cm tall Davaajargal Monkhbatyn had been unsuccessful in finding a stablemaster willing to take him in.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 28, 2017
Nagoya Basho contenders looking to stay cool in tournament known for upsetting the odds
With the release of the new banzuke rankings on Monday, thoughts turned to the upcoming Nagoya Basho.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 31, 2017
Takayasu's rise built on solid family support
When yokozuna Hakuho was interviewed ringside on Sunday, after wrapping up his first title in a year, he congratulated the people of the Philippines on the imminent promotion of Takayasu to ozeki. It was a nice nod to the Taganoura stable man's mother, who hails from an island in the south of the country.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 26, 2017
Emergence of new generation bodes well for Summer Basho
I was honored to be asked by The Japan Times to write a sumo column as part of the 120th anniversary revamp. This paper was probably the first place I read about sumo and was an invaluable source of news back in the days of dial-up internet, when I first came to Japan.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces