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"Yukikaze": the official home page of Jim Lowerre... "Yukikaze": the official home page of Jim Lowerre...
YOOKOSO! (Welcome!) Please consider yourselves my guests while you are visiting.
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 upper right combines and bonds the kanji for "snow" (blue) and "wind" (red) into a single figure.)
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) sums up my amateur sumo career fairly well.
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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 (SCSK) was founded in 1997, its mission statement was “Reviving the Tradition” that had existed in California before 1952 - and as far as it was concerned, that included the shikona and the associated kanji as well as the nofuda and the nobori. End of discussion.
In late 1997 my spouse Lorinda and I 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 and MTV video location. On March 24 of this year, the Discovery Channel series TIME WARP came to do a segment on the slow-motion physics of sumo. The featured players were two-time world heavyweight sumo champion Byambajav ("Byamba") Ulanbayar and three-time United States heavyweight sumo champion Kelly Gneiting. This particular segment aired in late May, in a one-hour show which also featured fire, poisonous snakes, and "powerbocking".
The SCSK was 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. From 1998 to 2009 it staged over thirty tournaments, more than any other USSF-recognized sumo organization. However, due to some unfortunate circumstances, the SCSK no longer exists. To take its place, the Dohyo of Dreams Sumo Association (DDSA) is being constituted. Since the bi-monthly SCSK newsletter SUMO SHIMPO (“The Voice of California Sumo Since 1999”) has ceased publication, I plan to set up a page carrying the latest sumo news, to be updated whenever necessary. Watch this space!
“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 currently hold the USSF rank of Nidan (2nd degree). I have come to grips with some of the biggest, fastest, strongest and 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:
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As Life Member #003 of the USSF, I plan to remain committed to working for the sport long after I have rolled up my mawashi (sumo belt) for the final time.
Click here to view the calendar of UPCOMING UNITED STATES SUMO EVENTS FOR 2009.
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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.
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, 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 have the necessary skills and background to earn a living by writing.
4) I have won three consecutive national championships 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 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
LIVIN' LAS VEGAS LOCA (w/photos) (updated 080207).jpg)
NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT (No One Touches Me With Impunity)
FORTUNA FORTAS JUVAT (Fortune Favors the Brave)