It’s become a fixture of the sumo calendar for the English speaking world. With the opening day of the Kyushu basho just a few days away, NHK World brings us another preview of the tournament, along with highlights and features about sumo and rikishi. Fans are eager to see what new torture Raja is subject to, and what kind of discussion breaks out between Murray and John.
Make sure to tune in and enjoy it as its broadcast, or visit the NHK World web site to watch it via video on demand (works great on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and other streaming platforms).
Schedule (All Times US Eastern)
Thursday November 8th @ 11:30 PM
Friday November 9th @ 03:30 AM
Friday November 9th @ 11:30 AM
Friday November 9th @ 05:30 PM
that’s Friday November 9th, 2.30 PM QLD non-daylight savings time; 3.30 PM NSW/VIC daylight savings time here in Australia – WE’RE READY!!!!
3 days of live coverage! Day 1, Day 8 and Day 15. Set your alarm. Thankfully, Japan is just an hour ahead for me.
Another preview with no fun Raja-torturing segment? That just seems wrong somehow. (Seriously, though, I always enjoyed those. Sorry he’s stopped.)
It was interesting to look again at the Kisenosato/ Hakuho match from Kyushu 2010. What struck me was that the place looked almost empty! Maybe it was the betting scandal earlier that year (the much more serious match-fixing scandal came in 2011) or maybe Hak was becoming just too dominant, but the fans were staying away in droves. I wasn’t following sumo at that time so I don’t know which the bigger problem was.