LITMIR.BIZ

      _Foreword

      In the surprisingly long history of English-language writing on sumo, two volumes stand out as truly seminal works in the field. One is a volume called A Guide to Sumo written by the late J.A. Sargent, first published in 1959 by the Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company. Although there was much talk about revising this proud part of the Tuttle catalogue, it was finally decided to allow the book to go out of print several years ago. The book you are now holding in your hands was originally designed to take the place of that respected volume. What it lacked in its first incarnation, though, was the depth of research required to fill that bill.

      When it came time to revise Sumo: A Pocket Guide, Tuttle approached me with the idea of a return to the original book design in mind. I think the changes and revisions we have made over the course of this project have brought us as close as possible to achieving that aim. In working on the book, I kept two goals in mind. The first was to stay as true to the spirit of the original author's work as humanly possible. The second goal was to add, wherever possible, information that would increase the quality of the presentation of this marvelous aspect of Japanese culture that is ever so much more than just another sport. You will notice that I maintained the original format, which was actually based on the Sargent book. Chapters 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,11, and 12 were updated and corrected to bring them more in line with contemporary sumo writing and research. Chapters 1, 9, and 13 were substantially rewritten. Chapter 1, retitled "As Old as the Nation," was rewritten to reflect a more mainstream view of sumo history research. Chapter 9, "The Grand Champions," was rewritten in order to give the readers an even better understanding of just how remarkable this rank is, through a more organized approach to the subject matter and a more substantial introduction to some of the men who have held the rank. Finally, Chapter 13, "The Lure of Sumo," was rewritten not only to enhance the reader's understanding of sumo's fascination to foreigners but to help them understand its unique position in Japanese society. The three addenda, "Chankonabe Restaurants," "Addresses and Phone Numbers of Sumo Stables," and the "Glossary of Sumo Terms" have also been updated and revised to make them even more useful than before.

      Along with the author's original sources, I turned to several Japanese-language references that I have found to be invaluable tools in pursuing my work in sumo. The first, Osumo jiten, published by Sanseido Co., Ltd., was produced under the supervision of Yoshitaka Takahashi, a former chairman of the Yokozuna Promotion Council. This is an excellent all-around guide and I used it heavily as a reference source related to sumo history. Ozumo Kansen Gaido (1994 edition), published by Nihon Spotsu Shuppansha and edited by Kinjiro Kagaya, was used as a reference in the examination of overall records as well as of more contemporary topics like income and prize money.

      I relied on four sources for information related to individual careers and records. The first is

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