Kajiyanosho

Well, the other host (James Richardson) works for The Athletic! It was a big success in terms of media coverage. Massive success for the BBC also on social media. And not just for "viral" moments but also many actual bouts like Takayasu's tsuppari or Aonishiki's win vs Ura. We'll see what impact this huge coverage will have on actual following.

It will take me some time to properly recover from the crazy week. I shared some thoughts in a few lines here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cy7egpe5jg1o I was there every night and interviewed a lot of people, from travelling super-fans who read this forum to showbiz VIPs who were just learning what sumo was. There were hundreds and hundreds of Japanese people every night. Thousands of sumo fans. I obviously have no idea about actual proportions, but I certainly had the impression that the majority of people in the auditorium had seen sumo before (in some form). I might be wrong, of course. All sumo fans / people with prior knowledge I spoke to (and I spoke to a lot of them) recognised the obvious difference with a 'real' basho. I appreciate that seeing it on TV would have been a completely different experience for sumo experts. But it was certainly a great experience for people there, and for the mostly completely new viewers at home. Hearing the yobidashi calling the 'London basho' on the first day, the final bow with all rikishi around the dohyo, Takayasu's tsuppari and Aonishiki's flip, and a million of other goose bumps moments were way more memorable to me than having too many tsuridashi. It's not my role to "defend" the event or the Kyokai, or wonder whether matches were scripted or not - just expressing what I imagine being the view of the majority of sumo fans who were there. If anything, they were more annoyed by the usual talk about rikishi's size as a comical thing, quantity of rice, reinforced toilets, etc. P.S. telling Hiro that I was about to do this was quite a moment too LOL https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/c62lp6835p1t?post=asset%3A05290e9c-a7d5-4069-8938-6027b2bf1007#post

Haha sorry about this! Argh. It was just me and another person from the office running everything. It was really manic. I made a mistake too, writing "kensho-mawashi". Today we have more people helping, so it should be better and more stuff should go in. I'm in the process of sharing the list of kimarite and other stuff with other BBC colleagues. It really feels surreal!

Okay, I understand the feeling everyone has about the bouts when the organisers insist with the line that it's a "real" one. But I just saw Tobizaru missing the bus to the hotel. Someone lent him a bike renting card and he whizzed away on one. Priceless.

We're LIVE! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/c98exr55dkyt I'm the one frantically texting between bouts.

BBC News feature written by my colleague (some input from me): Ritual, wrestling and Reddit: Grand Sumo meets internet fandom in London https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gw7009342o

Hello! Sorry for the slight OT! I'm co-running the BBC Live Page of the sumo tournament in London, including tonight and tomorrow. Is any Super Banzuke player attending the tournament this weekend (or has attended the last three days)? I'd love to mention sumo fantasy games, but it'd be more interesting if there's another voice other than myself! If you'd like to chat, please let me know! This is just for the Live text page and not for TV or radio - no need to take photos of use real names if you want want to, of course. Thank you! Kajiyanosho. You can find me here or at thomas.fabbri@bbc.co.uk

I'm helping to run the BBC live page tonight. Send your thoughts and messages if you want! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/c14732jplzrt

Thank you. Am I right in thinking that the last overseas trip was Jakarta in 2013?

Does anyone know whose picture this is? I'd love to ask permission to use it.

I don't know how to fight that one anymore, it even crept out in my own article (!) and quotes attributed to me. If the organisers say it, there's not too much anyone can do about it. It's just impossible to correct everyone. If anyone going tonight is happy to rant about their excitement / disappointment to the BBC, let me know in DM! I'll be there before 6pm. (I can't guarantee anything, though).

I was also expecting a middle ground, and I felt that's what I saw in the second half. I'm going again tonight, and this time I have press access. If I see someone from the Kyokai I'm happy to check how they feel about the tournament feeling a bit too 'scripted'. They seem very adamant to underline that this is an "official" tournament and not an exhibition (although, without any mention of the banzuke, of course). I think timings are quite strict, so I would expect the same types of demonstrations that we had last night. I don't think hairdressing wouldn't fit in the schedule.

This was quite the surreal experience for me, considering that I also got to work on it, and it was all a bit last minute and manic. I was one of the few journalists invited to attend the ring-blessing ceremony, and that felt quite special somehow. I have to say that for me it was really great. I interviewed many fans outside and the atmosphere of anticipation was fantastic. The rikishi seem to really have fun. [Shodai and Churanoumi were outside enjoying a cheeky cigarette together (LOL), so I was quite amused when I saw that throw]. The event overall was well presented, and Hiro was probably the person enjoying it more than anyone. Yes, many of the bouts felt very much like an exhibition, especially in the first half. But I think that's somewhat inevitable, until an event like this is actually declared a honbasho with banzuke consequences. Otherwise, I don't see how any tournament can be just like a "real" one. If anyone had the impression that this event was just a glorified show for clueless spectators, I think they'd be mistaken, at least on the second point! Maybe the cushions and VIP / corporate seats were filled with people just there for a laugh, but up in the circle (I paid for my own ticket) I was surrounded by thousands of real sumo fans (including many Japanese explats). People had banners and towels; they shouted and celebrated, brought their sumo stuff there etc. You could clearly hear the support for Ura, Takayasu, Aonishiki, etc. So - was it just like a real basho? Not quite. But I can't wait to go back tomorrow!

You can text thoughts here! Some stuff from me too. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/cdr61pdxp7dt

I spoke to the yokozuna and Hakkaku yesterday and Hoshoryu mentioned Harry Potter too! I wrote a very basic sumo explainer for the BBC - some bits have been added (like the chanko record I didn't even know about), but at least I managed to avoid 'reinforced toilets' and stuff like that. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cn51z7627gvo The rikishi seem genuinely hyped to be here, and the venue looks great. The "only second time ever a tournament is held outside Japan" line continues to creep up here and there, as the organisers insist that this is not an exhibition... I'll spare you the ridiculous picture of me between the yokozuna! Unfortunately it wasn't "my own" interview, so I didn't get to ask much of what would be interesting for us here. Hakkaku said that he doesn't know whether they'll have international tour more often, as their schedule is quite strict and (as you know) they cancelled the Autumn tour. I mentioned the growth of podcasts, Discord channels, fantasy leagues etc. to the yokozuna - they seemed surprised and amused. Unfortunately I didn't get to boast about my (almost) top 10 ranking on the Super Banzuke. More sparse info: They'll interview all rikishi after every bout throughout the tournament, but at the moment there's no immediate English translation. Only Japanese media. The next day bouts should be released before midnight UK time each day. I'm working with the BBC graphic designers and making them add head to head records (thank you sumo DB!)