For many sumo fans, the January Hatsu Basho at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan is the most important tournament in a given year.
Reasons differ behind this "most important" claim and some (in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka, mainly) would disagree altogether, but there is something just a little bit special about sumo in January after the excesses of the festive season.
Preparations for the Hatsu Basho are still underway at many of the stables long after most have packed up, signed off on 2006 and gone home to enjoy the holidays with family and friends, but the year as a whole, the future of sumo, and the possibilities for each and every one of the 700 odd men on the banzuke ranking sheet is what really does it at the moment. Like every good journey, anticipation of what lies ahead plays a vital part in creating the atmosphere in which we take that first step.