"Yukikaze": the official home page of Jim Lowerre...

YOOKOSO! (Welcome!) Please consider yourselves my guests, and myself your host.

In my particular branch of the family, the name is pronounced "Lo-WAIRE". Other branches may pronounce it differently, and that is their right. If you bear the name and want to discuss it amicably, please get my E-address from one of the subsidiary pages and send me a note.

“Yukikaze” (“Snow Wind”) is my shikona or ‘performance name’:  the nom de guerre I have adopted as an amateur sumotori. (The symbol at right combines and bonds the kanji for "snow" (blue) and "wind" (red) into a single figure.) Some groups within the amateur sumo community (such as the Hawaiians) don’t believe that non-professionals should take shikona.  But it has been documented that in California, in the first half of the 20th century, strong amateur sumotori did take shikona and were known and addressed by them in their local communities.  True, this was in an era when sumo was practiced exclusively within the Japanese-American community by the "Issei" (first) and "Nisei" (second) generations.  But when the Southern California Sumo Kyokai (henceforth referred to as the “SCSK”) was founded in 1997, its mission statement was “Reviving the Tradition” that had existed in California before 1952 - and as far as we were concerned, that included the shikona and the associated kanji as well as the nofuda and the nobori.  Thus endeth the discussion as far as I am concerned. The SCSK is one of the oldest member clubs in the United States Sumo Federation (henceforth the "USSF") the official governing body for amateur sumo in the United States.

Why “Yukikaze”, you ask?  The reason tracks back to the Pacific theatre of World War II.  Of the more than 100 first-class fleet destroyers that served in the Imperial Japanese Navy (Nihon Kaigun) during the 3.5-year conflict, only three were still floating at the time of the surrender and two of those were non-operational.  The only one of the three still capable of offensive action, still ready to carry its 5.5" dual-purpose guns and deadly “Long Lance” torpedoes into battle against any enemy... was IJN Yukikaze.  To me the name symbolizes determination to win, defiance in defeat, and survival in the face of overwhelming odds – which (when I think about it) seems to sum up my amateur sumo career fairly well. I am Life Member #003 of the USSF, and editor-in-chief of the bi-monthly newsletter SUMO SHIMPO, “The Voice of California Sumo Since 1999”.  And I plan to remain heavily involved with the sport long after I have rolled up my mawashi (sumo belt) for the final time.

The "LONG LANCE" blog page

My soulmate Lorinda and I are charter members of the SCSK.  In late 1997 we donated a portion of our spacious backyard for the construction of a dohyo (sumo ring) to be available to the entire amateur sumo community worldwide.  This facility has come to be known as the "Dohyo of Dreams":  it was built, and amateur sumotori have come from as far away as Bulgaria and Mongolia to do battle on it.  It has been used as a movie location.

Photos from recent sumo events are now available for viewing:

FUN IN THE SUN (The Summer Solstice Fun Tournament): "Dohyo of Dreams", Garden Grove, CA

Click here to view the calendar of UPCOMING UNITED STATES SUMO EVENTS FOR 2007.

“It’s not how many times you’re knocked down; it’s how many times you get back up.” – Vince Lombardi

I have been an active amateur rikishi (the word translates as “gentleman of strength”) for almost 10 years now, and hold the USSF rank of Nidan (2nd degree).  I have come to grips with some of the biggest, strongest, most determined men on this planet.  And while I have definitely lost more bouts than I have won over the course of this time, I have always regained my feet and fought again much like my namesake did.  The rewards have been worth the dents, dings, bruises and sundry pains I have lived with:

• Travel to Canada, Mexico and Japan for competitions and exhibitions
• Medal finishes in numerous local, state and national competitions
• A successful defense of my Grand Masters’ Heavyweight title at the 2007 US National Championships in Los Angeles, CA
• Membership in one of the most elite fraternities on earth, with some of the greatest people one could ever hope to meet (such as former world champion Torsten Scheibler (at right in photo) and his teammate Alex Czarnowski, here guarding my back!)

So far I have gotten up every time I’ve been knocked down, shoved out or thrown.  Which is a whole lot more than can be said for all the denizens of the myspace world who use the word “sumo” as a cheap way of drawing attention to themselves in a search and have never actually set foot on a dohyo and done battle.  I have one word to describe those poseurs: bakayaro (foolish bastards).

Under more ordinary life circumstances, call me "Jim".  “James” is appropriate only if you are (a) giving me a crown and title as a noble personage or (b) giving me a “Double-0” number and a License To Kill. (And if you give me such license, I just might find use for it.)

NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT (No one touches me with impunity).  Consider this a piece of advice:  I can either be a very strong and loyal friend, or a formidable adversary. You choose which it will be.

I consider myself blessed for the following reasons:

1)    I’m still alive when medical science of the early 1950’s had written me off for dead.

2)    I found a lovely woman (all right, so she found me) who was willing to accept me and my many flaws for what they were, and decided to marry me anyway.

3)    I am currently able to earn a living by writing.

4)    I have won a national championship in the sport of my passion at 50+ years of age.

The links below will take you to some other rooms in my virtual home:

The "LONG LANCE" blog page

The Jedi Knights and my soulmate Lorinda (an intertwined story)

EX LIBRIS: favorite authors/characters & other things

My career as a documentation professional

The ground rules of street fighting

Richard Marcinko's 10 Commandments of SpecWar

Rogers' Rangers standing rules

Playlist (A-D) for Corsair Radio (K-JIM)
Playlist (E-J) for Corsair Radio (K-JIM)
Playlist (K-R) for Corsair Radio (K-JIM)
Playlist (S-Z) for Corsair Radio (K-JIM)

Advice from the DOVE side of The FORCE

21 actions for a beautiful life

A to Z

Other fun stuff

LIVIN' LAS VEGAS LOCA (w/photos) (updated 080207)

Land of the Rising Sun: our week in Japan (w/photos) (in work)

FORTUNE FAVORS THE FEARLESS