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November 22, 2024
 

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Mark Buckton

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Mark Buckton
Mark Buckton has covered sumo for The Japan Times Online since 2006 and has long worked with broadcast media such as the BBC and CNN when things go awry in the sport. He has contributed to six books on Japanese culture, and is a columnist at entertainment magazine Eye-Ai.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Oct 23, 2009
Sumo Association bypasses Europe again in its trip to Vegas
The Nihon Sumo Kyokai — the Japanese Sumo Association — recently announced it is once again considering an overseas jaunt. Destination this time? Sin City — Las Vegas, Nevada. Again!
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 29, 2009
Life in the old dog yet: Asashoryu picks up number 24
What better way could there possibly be for a sumotori to celebrate his birthday than to be presented with the Emperor’s Cup, having earlier the same day picked up his 24th basho in a career that will, statistically, always be regarded as one of the best in sumo history?
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 8, 2009
Not even sumo can outmaneuver swine flu
No one is immune to the current swine flu pandemic, not even professional sumo.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Aug 20, 2009
How to view sumo up close and in person: asageiko
To many Japanese, the closest they will ever get to a sumotori — just one of several words employed in Japanese to describe a professional sumo wrestler, — is at one of the six annual honbasho tournaments held in Tokyo (3), Osaka (1), Nagoya (1) and Fukuoka (1).
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 28, 2009
Dejima bows out as Hakuho picks up another Emperor's Cup
In July 1999, longtime Musashigawa Beya sekitori Dejima Takeharu won his first and only career Emperor's Cup after defeating former yokozuna Akebono in a play-off victory.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 8, 2009
Nagoya the testing stage once more — just as in 2008
As the long hot summer descends on Japan, and the people of Nagoya prepare for the annual visit of the Japanese Sumo Association, this year's basho, like that held last year, looks like being make-or-break basho for at least one rikishi in terms of reaching a career high.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jun 16, 2009
Will another Mongolian yokozuna come out of the Nagoya Basho?
The Nagoya Basho 2009 is just around the corner. Several rikishi in makunouchi, notably Kakuryu of Mongolia and Aran of Russia, will be fighting at career-high ranks, yet the majority of eyes will be on one of the lightest men in the division as he strives for yokozuna promotion. That man is Harumafuji...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
May 26, 2009
The dawning of a new era for sumo?
In statistics alone, Asashoryu Akinori may go down as one of the greatest yokozuna of sumo in the modern era, but at the close of the Summer 2009 Grand Sumo Tournament, much of the talk was about when he would retire.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
May 7, 2009
Natsu beckons as Hakuho and Asashoryu prepare to go head-to-head
In the fortnight ahead of the annual Natsu Summer Basho, there is always something of a lull in the sumo world.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Apr 29, 2009
Is sumo truly the Japanese national sport?
For the 140 or so years non-Japanese have known of the existence of sumo, many have referred to it as Japan's national sport. But are they correct about the status of this ancient form of wrestling found only in these islands, misinformed entirely, or just partly right?
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 31, 2009
Hakuho remains on course to challenge the all-time greats
In the month he turned 24 years of age, Yokozuna Hakuho Sho will leave the city of Osaka, site of the March Haru Basho, an Emperor's Cup winner for the 10th time.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 11, 2009
Catwalks for the King, a shot at glory for his underlings
With the Spring Basho less than two weeks away now, sumo fans might be forgiven for thinking something is amiss given the lack of any real news coming out of Osaka.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Feb 20, 2009
Sumo, a sport of humble respect and grand entrances
Sumo is a physical sport to many, but it is very much a spiritual rite to others. The bouts commence and end with a bow, in much the same way as judo or kendo bouts start with a similar acknowledgment of the opponent. Mutual respect is forever the name of the de facto national game.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jan 27, 2009
Amazing comeback for Asashoryu at Hatsu Basho 2009
While the so-called Asashoryu era of complete dominance is a thing of the past, the Hatsu Basho saw the 28-year-old prove there is life in the not-so-old dog yet.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jan 7, 2009
Hatsu 2009 — Asa, Kaio and Harumafuji to headline?
Training is already well underway for the 2009 Hatsu Basho with one man leading the pack in terms of exertion put in, and column inches covering that effort. That man is Asashoryu.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Dec 16, 2008
A look back at sumo in 2008, before heading heading into 2009
For many sumo fans looking back at 2008, it will be a year of scandal with yaocho (match-fixing) allegations involving Yokozuna Asashoryu, and also the unfinished case surrounding the death of a young rikishi in mid-2007, still making their way through the infamously slow court system.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Nov 25, 2008
Hak chalks up another, but a rival appears on the horizon
Following an outstanding performance at the recent Kyushu Basho, the sport of sumo has a new prince named Ama. Early this week he will receive an official visit from representatives of the Nihon Sumo Kyokai notifying him of his promotion to the rank of ozeki.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Nov 4, 2008
Asa out again — but the show goes on
Intentional or not, Asashoryu has done it again. In the run-up to the Kyushu Basho, he has stolen the spotlight.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Oct 17, 2008
Why is ousted Wakanoho dishing the dirt now?
In recent weeks, sumo has been taking hits left, right and center.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 30, 2008
Rising giants and falling champs in the autumn basho
The Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament started under a cloud, with three Russian wrestlers freshly kicked out of the sport for drug use, but by the final bouts on Sunday sumo was enjoying clearer skies. With Musashigawa — former yokozuna Mienoumi — at the helm of the sport, the future looks brighter....
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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