Introduction

Welcome fellow fans to my attempt at sharing the happenings of sumo with a wider audience. I have never written anything substantial on the internet before, let alone a "blog," so you'll all just have to bear with me!

This first post was intended to be a quick test of my layout, but I figured it would be nice to give a little introduction as well. Obviously, a lot is going on in the sumo world that merits a great deal of discussion, so hopefully my following posts will have a bit more substance (but they'll have to wait until at least after lunch).

As an academic, writing has always been a passion of mine, so I figured "why not start sharing my ramblings with others?" Of course, there are already a number of good online groups and sources that a fan of sumo can tap into, including sumoforum.net, sumotalk.com, and Sumo Fan Magazine, but I figured one more fan voicing his opinion on the sport wouldn't hurt.

In true Japanese fasion, I suppose a bit of a self-introduction is prudent regarding my experience and interest in sumo. "Why should I care what this guy has to say about sumo anyways?!" Yes, this thought came to mind when deciding to create some sort of blog, and the truth is, I am just like any other sumo fan -- or any other sports fan for that matter. In fact, prior to my coming to Japan 2 years ago, I considered myself more of a baseball fan.

After seeing a late night broadcast of sumo on ESPN 2 (or 3 or 4 or some other ridiculous number) during junior high school, my interest in this seemingly strange sport was sparked. Yet, without ample means to nurture this interest, it was passing at most. However, sumo quickly took a vice-like hold over my interest after more videos and information about the sport became available via the internet, and soon after arriving in Japan, I decided to pursue my master's thesis on the topic of foreigners in sumo. While I won't bore you all with the details of this, rest assured that for the next two years I lived and breathed everything that is sumo as best I could, even participating in a college sumo club during a 6 month exchange.

As for my near future posts, I am hoping to at least briefly address the current baseball gambling scandal (likely after the July 4 rijikai meeting) as well as a long post about revising the kadoban system.