Kajiyanosho

Here are the latest animation and snapshot: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/26319075/

And here's the updated anymation! https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/26319075/

Thank you Randomitsuki! I made an animation here: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/26319075/

I made an appearance on Grand Sumo Breakdown to talk about the London koen. https://youtu.be/IE5GePP03YQ?t=2865&si=GHO462XmCnhblP8p Hope I made some sense!

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).