Here is her New York Times obituary.
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
RIP Doreen Simmons - A Great Sumo Wrestling Advocate!
Once upon a time, before the internet, English-speaking folks living outside of Japan had to rely on other English-speaking folks living in Japan for updates on sumo. The most popular medium for their writing was Sumo World magazine that came out ever other month in time for the six main tournaments. One of the first English-speaking trailblazers was Doreen Simmons. I have never met Doreen, but I am familiar with her work in Sumo World magazine from the 1980s and 1990s. She was well respected for her dedication to the sport. Unfortunately, we lost Doreen last month and with her goes decades of sumo knowledge. She was a true pioneer. There will be others after her, but none like her. RIP.
Here is her New York Times obituary.
Here is her New York Times obituary.
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Sorry to hear about her passing. It's always sad to hear about people passing away, especially when they contain a plethora of knowledge on a subject we love. I've been trying to bond with my parents as much as I can, because I know a lot of my family's history will be lost when they're gone.
ReplyDeleteThe older generation definitely has a bunch of history that we take for granted.
DeleteShe has a pretty neat story. It is cool to see how the right person at the right time can open up a whole world that was previously inaccessible.
ReplyDeleteShe does have a neat story. Her passion was what amazed me. You are absolutely right, it is all about timing.
DeleteOh that is too bad, she was still appearing on the NHK English Sumo broadcasts just a few months ago.
ReplyDeleteBack in 2000 when my 23 year old self had just arrived in Japan I remember visiting the Maruzen book store in Kobe and finding Sumo World (I was impressed by your collection of back issues in your previous post BTW) with an article by her in it on the shelf. That minor purchase was a big part of my introduction to the world of Japanese sports. We have lost a giant.
This makes me very nostalgic, I wasn't a regular reader but I remember being sad when I heard that they had stopped publishing Sumo World. Kansai Time Out, which was the other magazine I read a lot and also bought at that Maruzen and which sometimes had sumo features, went under a few years later and I think that Maruzen itself isn't there anymore......
She was....so dedicated to the sport she worked right up to the end. It seems we are losing a lot of print magazines these days. Book stores are going to be like Blockbuster someday. Sumo World still remains a mystery to me. I have seen an few magazines printed just this year, but they don't have a web presence and I can't find out any subscription or purchasing info. Good memories!
DeleteOh wow, are they still making it? I stopped seeing it in stores in the early 2000s and just assumed they had stopped publishing!
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