Hiro Morita’s “Sumo Prime Time”

[Kamitsuumi 384]

Did Hiro lose a bit of seniority at NHK doing this? Usually he does the day 1 commentary, but this basho he was on day 2.

[Godango 956]

41 minutes ago, Kamitsuumi said:

Did Hiro lose a bit of seniority at NHK doing this? Usually he does the day 1 commentary, but this basho he was on day 2.

My understanding is Hiro is a freelancer now, no longer employed directly by NHK. I suppose any seniority he may have had would be lost with that change, nett win for him though I reckon.

[Seiyashi 4,068]

On 13/09/2022 at 07:04, Godango said:

On 13/09/2022 at 05:09, Kamitsuumi said:

Did Hiro lose a bit of seniority at NHK doing this? Usually he does the day 1 commentary, but this basho he was on day 2.

My understanding is Hiro is a freelancer now, no longer employed directly by NHK. I suppose any seniority he may have had would be lost with that change, nett win for him though I reckon.

It's also possible he was busy on day 1 doing the day 1 video for SPT. 

Speaking of which, SPT's basho coverage seems to be limited to rikishi of interest. Day 1 covered the sanyaku; today's covered the hitherto undefeated rikishi and threw in Ura's tsutaezori as a bonus. I can see why they'd do it and it would make sense for a casual international audience, although that makes SPT a bit less attractive to us relatively more hardcore fans who know where else to go for digests or other video content.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Seiyashi

[Eikokurai 3,433]

On 16/09/2022 at 01:01, Seiyashi said:

It's also possible he was busy on day 1 doing the day 1 video for SPT. 

Speaking of which, SPT's basho coverage seems to be limited to rikishi of interest. Day 1 covered the sanyaku; today's covered the hitherto undefeated rikishi and threw in Ura's tsutaezori as a bonus. I can see why they'd do it and it would make sense for a casual international audience, although that makes SPT a bit less attractive to us relatively more hardcore fans who know where else to go for digests or other video content.

I’m wondering if Hiro, the NSK and NHK are sort of admitting defeat in the battle against the unofficial digests, so trying to do something a little different to give people a reason to watch. By focusing on just a few key players in the yusho race, it gives a little more space for some commentary. The digests just show the action; Hiro is trying to tell the stories like we do here on the forum. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but I can see a reason for doing it that way. Yet another highlights video won’t give SPT any unique IP other than maybe some different camera angles.

[Kintamayama 44,201]

NHK will not shoot themselves in the foot by doing another daily digest, as they already have a full English daily digest on NHK World, although it does go out about six hours after the bouts. Why should they do something already being done? Better for them to do something that accompanies their digest, something no one else can do, as they have access to everything. Watching the digests and then going behind the scenes for some morsels seems much more attractive to me. Now, having an official channel that broadcasts the bouts live on the Internet in English (NHK or NSK, who cares?), with Hiro or whomever commentating, for FREE globally, why THAT would be a breakthrough we've all been waiting for.  Let us not forget we already had a free live channel some 20 years ago, fuzzy wuzzy  quality but it happened. The quality of broadcasts has changed since then. I know that won't  happen since NHK won't  allow it, but one can dream.

Edited September 17, 2022 by Kintamayama

[Seiyashi 4,068]

28 minutes ago, Kintamayama said:

NHK will not shoot themselves in the foot by doing another daily digest, as they already have a full English daily digest on NHK World, although it does go out about six hours after the bouts.

The only thing I have to add on to here is that that digest is limited to makuuchi. I wonder if it is ever on the table for NHK/NSK to even consider broadcasting/giving some coverage for the lower divisions via SPT.

[sumojoann 1,254]

Not directly pertaining to Sumo Prime Time, but Chris Sumo hadn't posted for about a week and his fans were worried about him and are up in arms about the comments on his videos being turned off.  He responded that he wasn't downhearted, just exhausted and was taking a short break.  A couple of his fans speculated that Hiro's new show as being a possible source of stress, but Chris made no comment about it in his statement.

[junsan 167]

The whole 'SUMO PRIME TIME' shill to camera is lame but cracks me up. The new episode (Day 8) has Nishiiwa as the latest victim, doing it as many as 5 times!

Edited September 18, 2022 by junsan

[Flyric 94]

yeah, the catchphrase is totally working for me too. The channel's a surprisingly comfy watch!

[RabidJohn 1,629]

14 hours ago, junsan said:

The whole 'SUMO PRIME TIME' shill to camera is lame but cracks me up. The new episode (Day 8) has Nishiiwa as the latest victim, doing it as many as 5 times!

It's hit and miss for me. I really liked the one with the yobidashi singing it but didn't like the wrangled gaijin episode. 'Cringe' is the term popular with the kids, I believe.
But it's Hiro's schtick to play with and it's working well with some. I liked that they kept Nishiiwa's blooper in this one.

But really, having Nishiiwa on the show is where Sumo Prime Time shows its strength - its USP. This was a great episode, concentrating on the basho's developing narrative, and an interview with a true insider.

Btw, I've no doubt our feedback is reaching Hiro. It makes sense for him to be lurking here if you think about it, but there's also the ISJ route.

[Seiyashi 4,068]

3 hours ago, RabidJohn said:

It's hit and miss for me. I really liked the one with the yobidashi singing it but didn't like the wrangled gaijin episode. 'Cringe' is the term popular with the kids, I believe.
But it's Hiro's schtick to play with and it's working well with some. I liked that they kept Nishiiwa's blooper in this one.

But really, having Nishiiwa on the show is where Sumo Prime Time shows its strength - its USP. This was a great episode, concentrating on the basho's developing narrative, and an interview with a true insider.

Btw, I've no doubt our feedback is reaching Hiro. It makes sense for him to be lurking here if you think about it, but there's also the ISJ route.

Japanese productions tend to be a bit "cringier" in their aesthetic compared to what Western sensibilities are used to, so I'll excuse that one as a stylistic/cultural choice.

Otherwise, very agreed that having such good insider access is the main strength of SPT. After seeing the tweet from the NSK official Twitter yesterday about how a gyōji dresses, I hope that's one of the episodes he will do after the basho.

[rhyen 1,799]

Hiro is introducing SPT on the oyakata channel

 

[Inside Sport Japan 760]

On 13/09/2022 at 06:09, Kamitsuumi said:

Did Hiro lose a bit of seniority at NHK doing this? Usually he does the day 1 commentary, but this basho he was on day 2.

From what we've heard in the past from the people involved NHK scheduling is mostly a matter of who is available on what day. Because of other commitments with horse racing it's rare to hear Murray Johnson on certain days for example. No one that we've spoken to has mentioned any extra prestige associated with particular days, although it's surely more exciting or stimulating to be doing the final weekend.

[Kamitsuumi 384]

Thanks. On the Japanese side though, it's always the Kitanofuji-Mainoumi combo doing days 1 and 15.

[ryafuji 806]

I was wondering if Hiro has been the NHK commentator on the days when they've had highlights on Prime Time or is he overdubbing new commentary? 

[sumojoann 1,254]

Hiro's latest, "Fall Tourney Day 14: Who's going to win it all?" was interesting because he showed the final Juryo matches leading up to Tochimusashi's Yusho, including Kotokuzan defeating Hokuseiho, and Atamifuji defeating Tochimusashi.

And of course Hiro also covered the excitement in Makuuchi leading up to Day 15.  I laughed when he said,  "Takayasu, the former Ozeki, knows he can't have any more hiccups."

One comment was very interesting.  Someone wished that Hiro had covered some of the interesting matches in the lower ranks.  He specifically mentioned the Hamasu vs Yamato match in Jonidan.  Apparently Yamato, who weighs only 78kg, attempted a tasukizori against Hamasu, who weighs 132kg.  Yamato lost.  He had the arm and the leg locked, but not the strength to follow through.  ****NOTE**** -- Does anyone have a video of the Hamasu vs Yamato Day 14 match? 

 

Edited September 24, 2022 by sumojoann

[Reonito 1,295]

25 minutes ago, sumojoann said:

****NOTE**** -- Does anyone have a video of the Hamasu vs Yamato Day 14 match? 

I think Chris Sumo showed it.

[Yarimotsu 513]

28 minutes ago, sumojoann said:

One comment was very interesting.  Someone wished that Hiro had covered some of the interesting matches in the lower ranks.  He specifically mentioned the Hamasu vs Yamato match in Jonidan.  Apparently Yamato, who weighs only 78kg, attempted a tasukizori against Hamasu, who weighs 132kg.  Yamato lost.  He had the arm and the leg locked, but not the strength to follow through.  ****NOTE**** -- Does anyone have a video of the Hamasu vs Yamato Day 14 match? 

Chris does, and that's almost certainly why it was mentioned. I was actually fairly disappointed that Chris showed that match instead of others that were more interesting and important.

Edit: Jinx, Reonito

Edited September 24, 2022 by Yarimotsu

[Old Shatterhand is dead 29]

I still belive SPT is a misunderstanding. Considering the resources they have their content is sloppy and boring for me. Today’s video of senshuraku was a… WTF was it? Asking every non asian passerby turned up around Kokugikan to shout “Sumo Prime Time” to the camera, do they think it is cool?

I need something unique that I can’t find on youtube in english, something extra, reports interviews, archive, analysis, donno but this is by far amateur approach to me.

 

 

[Seiyashi 4,068]

14 minutes ago, Old Shatterhand is dead said:

I still belive SPT is a misunderstanding. Considering the resources they have their content is sloppy and boring for me. Today’s video of senshuraku was a… WTF was it? Asking every non asian passerby turned up around Kokugikan to shout “Sumo Prime Time” to the camera, do they think it is cool?

I need something unique that I can’t find on youtube in english, something extra, reports interviews, archive, analysis, donno but this is by far amateur approach to me.

 

 

You might want to look at their pre-basho content, which was quite informative and had a lot of behind the scenes at heya and in the Kokugikan itself. There was kimarite, interviews with Ichinojō, mailing of the banzuke, construction of the dohyō, etcetc. Might sound basic to us fans but it's foundation content for the channel that needs to be there for archival reasons - stuff they can put in a playlist like "Sumo Basics" and redirect newcomers to.

That said, I agree their basho coverage is very weak relative to what they've done previously, and that "Sumo Prime Time" gimmick to camera is cringe at best, but they had to do something during the basho and there's only so many ways to do live coverage of a sporting event. I was hoping for hanamichi/shitakubeya access but I also see how it would be weird to jump straight into it for their first basho.

As for archive basho, NSK's Twitter and YT channel do bring those up from time to time, so it's probably just a matter of time before historical stuff comes up. It's definitely very easy material to pad out the downtime between basho. They're new, so let's see what their content cycle is going to be between basho once they get all the basic stuff out of the way.

Edited September 25, 2022 by Seiyashi

[sumojoann 1,254]

Hiro's latest installment of Sumo Prime Time, "Fall Tourney Sum Up - Tamawashi goes all the way!" was pretty basic and would appeal to newbies only, with the exception of one scene.  He showed snippets of each of Tamawashi's 15 bouts, describing the action and giving the English name of the kimarite.  Both the Japanese and English names of the kimarite were posted on screen at the end of each bout.  Really nothing exceptional for those of us who have been sumo fans for a number of years.  Typical of what's already available on Youtube.  But one scene made it all worthwhile.  It was already mentioned on SF (from Twitter, which I have been having issues accessing), but I don't know if what was shown on SF was a still photo or a video since I could not access it.  Anyway, in Hiro's video, he showed a video of Takayasu warmly greeting Tamawashi and shaking his hand after having been defeated by him, which resulted in Tamawashi winning the Yusho.  Hiro mentions Takayasu's good sportsmanship, but to me it went way beyond that -- a lot of respect, kindness and even affection.  This video was worth watching solely for that scene.   It starts at 5:25.

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by sumojoann

[Sakura 1,461]

"Tourney" is one of the words I hate the most. It's probably just below "winningest". 

Edited September 29, 2022 by Sakura

[RabidJohn 1,629]

21 hours ago, Sakura said:

"Tourney" is one of the words I hate the most. It's probably just below "winningest". 

I could understand your antipathy if tourney was a recently made-up abbreviation of tournament, but it isn't; it's archaic. 
I first came across it when I read Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur, which was written in the 15th century.
Tourney is also a verb meaning to take part in a tournament, though Hiro never uses it that way.

I'm with you on 'winningest', though...

Edited September 30, 2022 by RabidJohn

[Seiyashi 4,068]

1 hour ago, RabidJohn said:

I could understand your antipathy if tourney was a recently made-up abbreviation of tournament, but it isn't; it's archaic. 
I first came across it when I read Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur, which was written in the 15th century.
Tourney is also a verb meaning to take part in a tournament, though Hiro never uses it that way.

I'm with you on 'winningest', though...

It's true the word feels a lot more medieval independently, but that sort of a) takes for granted a linear evolution of the use of a word (it's much more likely it's being used as a "casual" abbreviation of tournament than in its archaic sense, so a new form of the word just happens to be the same as an older variant in a temporal variant of false friends) and b) doesn't account for the context in which the word is used. "Let's take a look at the winningest front-runners of the tourney" has a very different tone from "The knights for the fair lady's favour did joust/ upon the tourney field of glory and dust" (I made that up; I have a copy of the AMA somewhere although I can't be arsed to dig it up now to quote from it.)

Edited September 30, 2022 by Seiyashi

[Yamanashi 3,675]

1 hour ago, Seiyashi said:

It's true the word feels a lot more medieval independently, but that sort of a) takes for granted a linear evolution of the use of a word (it's much more likely it's being used as a "casual" abbreviation of tournament than in its archaic sense, so a new form of the word just happens to be the same as an older variant in a temporal variant of false friends) and b) doesn't account for the context in which the word is used. "Let's take a look at the winningest front-runners of the tourney" has a very different tone from "The knights for the fair lady's favour did joust/ upon the tourney field of glory and dust" (I made that up; I have a copy of the AMA somewhere although I can't be arsed to dig it up now to quote from it.)

The usage "tourney" is earlier, I believe.  From the Latin tornare "to turn", representing the jousters turn at the end of a pass.  Tournament adds the French -ment to represent the act of tourneying (if you get my point).