Are there any good sources to learn the different gambling mini games in Yakuza 0? I’ve been using the guide on Gamefaqs and it seems like it gives a good overview, but I was wondering if anyone had more in-depth guides for these games.
submitted by Edit: If I could get some actual answers instead of people just downvoting me, that would be great. Or is that why this sub only has 600 people ? Because ya'll are unwelcoming ?
I read on this sub that basically all the gambling games are completely rigged in the favor of the AI, but is there any definitive guides on how to accomplish the minigame milestones in KamuroGo? I'd like to 100% this game and get the plat, but it honestly seems impossible given I've just spent 7 hours on Poker and not a single hand given was a winning hand. This is basically my start with a road to 100% all the Yakuza series games (even though this is a spin-off) and I don't want it to be an entirely sour experience. Also, on the Darts mini-game, my cursor rocks up and down non-stop despite my joystick being completely still. I've tried 3 different controllers, Other people using controllers etc. Does this change with the later dart sets ?
For the record, I am only at the start of chapter 2 and I know a lot of things open up later, but I figured there was no harm in trying to knock some stuff out early. Seems that was the wrong thing to do..
submitted by Like at least a few people here, my introduction to mahjong was through the Yakuza series. I've played every western localised game since the original on PS2 but never touched any of the Japanese gambling games as I didn't understand them and didn't care about 100% completion.
That changed in November 2018 when I decided to go for 100% completion in all games as a way to replay through the series and experience it in a different way. I was also spurred on to learn mahjong by my wife who comes from a country where mahjong is quite widely played (didn't understand about different rulesets at that time yet).
So I read a guide by Barticle, watched a couple of YouTube videos and was able to win my first game against AI just over an hour later. Over 2019 I played almost nothing but Yakuza, completing 4 games from the series plus Judgment (a game that features multiple mahjong parlors with wareme and other house rules). I also downloaded an app on my phone to play riichi against AI when I wasn't at home, I'd gone from knowing nothing about the game to being almost obsessed in less than a year.
At the beginning of this year I became curious about playing online against other people, but the apps I came across either had low populations or were only partially translated. (I can read several of the key terms in mahjong in their original Japanese, I just have a much more comfortable time when things are written as romaji). I gave up for a while, until a week ago when I decided to look again and saw a bunch of positive feedback for Mahjong Soul.
I'll admit I'm not a modern anime fan (grew up with Dragon Ball, Cowboy Bebop and Trigun though) and found the whole waifu thing borderline repulsive at first. Aesthetics aside I was hooked from the start and also totally surprised, I was surprised by how little I actually knew about mahjong. My first few games were brutal, even though I actually won my second game due to sheer luck and everyone else being bad(I was dealt prevalent wind and seat wind at the start of a round and was able to go out with a closed hand which also had a three green dragons that were also Dora) I was constantly feeding into other players hands as I had never had to practically apply defensive play before when playing against computer opponents and the whole idea of defensive play had sort of deprecated in my mind.
So I went back to Youtube and back to reading guides and now within the last 3 days I've ranked up to Novice 3 and am one more 1st place win away from Adept. My ATK and DEF stats have literally swapped places and I'm getting far fewer 4ths, consistent 2nds and a nice amount of 1sts (three in my last ten games, five 2nds, one 3rd and one 4th).
This might make me look like a weirdo, but I think it's a thing of beauty when someone calls an early riichi (45+ tiles left) and the round ends in a draw or late tsumo because of all round flawless defensive play. Again, defense was something I knew very little about a week ago and now it's become my favourite part of the game.
So anyway, I've written a lot. I wish this sub was more active. My wife knows how to play a quick and dirty version of mahjong from back home, but not riichi, so it's nice to have somewhere to talk about this stuff.
submitted by Koi Koi/Hanafuda
What is Koi Koi?
Koi Koi is a Japanese card game played with traditional Hanafuda cards. One of the most famous Hanafuda card manufacturers is Nintendo, now known mainly for developing videogames, who have been producing cards since 1889
Basic Info
There are 48 cards in a deck of Hanafuda cards.
The cards represent the 12 months of the year, with each month consisting of 4 cards. Knowing what month the card belongs to isn’t required to play the game in Yakuza though.
Each month is represented by a different flora (like Cherry Blossom, Maple, and Pine). It’s more important to recognise what the pictures on the cards represent so you know which cards match, it’s pretty easy to see the 4 cards that belong to a particular month though (
see chart)
Each game of Koi-Koi has a number of rounds, the default in Yakuza games is 3 rounds
How To Play
Koi Koi is about getting the most points by the end of the game. You earn points by obtaining certain combinations of cards (we’ll call them Sets), memorising these sets is the most challenging part of Koi-Koi, however you can just reference a
cheat sheet like this Note Yakuza games include “Season” rule as default which is getting all 4 cards of a month, this is worth 4 points
The Start
At the start of the game you and your opponent have to select 1 of 2 cards that are facing down, this is to determine who starts first (the dealer) - the person who gets the earliest month wins. This is luck so don’t worry if you lose
You will receive 8 cards in your hand, and 8 cards will be placed on the table
Playing The Game
Your aim is to match cards from the same month to take those cards, digital versions of Koi Koi often make this easier by showing you which cards can be matched
If you have no cards that match you will have to place one of the cards in your hand on the table (it’s best to select a card that won’t potentially give your opponent a high score)
After you match a card or place one on the table, another card will be drawn from the pile - if it matches one or more cards on the table you can make another match, if it doesn’t match any of the cards it’ll be added to the cards on the table
Keep matching cards to try and get a set
Winning The Round
Once you or your opponent has gotten at least 1 set a choice has to be made, the round will continue if “Koi-Koi” is chosen or can be ended by not calling “Koi-Koi”. Calling Koi is risky as it means if your opponent gets a set before you get another set or improve your existing set (such as getting Four Lights after getting Three Lights) they win the round and receive 2x the points they get! However you can increase your own score by getting a better set or more sets - you will receive 2x points if you manage to get 7 or more points in a round
If you or your opponent fail to get a set the round will end as a tie, the dealer will switch to the other person in the next round
Winning The Game
At the end of 3 rounds (or more if you changed the settings), the person with the most points wins. Because the game is a gambling game in Yakuza, the more points you win the more tokens you win
Tips
- Always try and go for cards that are part of high scoring sets if you have the available cards. I always recommend going for the cards that are part of Moon Viewing, Cherry Blossom Viewing, any of the “Lights” sets, Boar-Dear-Butterfly, and Blue and Red Poetry Ribbons
- The Sake Cup, Moon and Curtain cards are probably the most important cards to get as they make up two the easiest sets to get with high points; Moon Viewing and Cherry Blossom Viewing, which are worth 5 points each
- Remember there are only 4 cards for each month, take advantage of this. For example if you have 2 cards of a certain month in your hand and the other 2 are on the table you know your opponent cannot get those cards
- If you’re in a decent winning position in points nearing the end of the game sometimes it’s best to just end the last few rounds ASAP even if they are low scoring sets
- I’d recommend turning on “hand guide” in settings if you are new to Koi Koi
Notes
- I’ve based this on the Yakuza version of Koi-Koi with default settings. Different rules can be chosen in the menu, and other rules may apply in other versions of Koi-Koi such as on mobile or Switch (such as only being able to call “Koi-Koi” once per round, and 3 cards being used to determine the dealer)
- Junk (10 junk cards), Variety (5 animal cards, aka Seeds) and Poetry Ribbons (5 ribbon cards) will earn you 1 point, however any additional card will earn you another point - so getting 12 junk cards will earn you 3 points
Video
If you’d prefer a quick visual guide
this video sums up the game pretty basically
TL;DR version
- Match cards from the same month - chart
- Get points from getting these sets
- After getting a set “Call Koi” continues the round, “Don’t Call Koi” ends the round
- Getting 7 or more points in a round will earn 2x points
- The player with the most points at end of 3 rounds wins
submitted by Hello there.
With a New Year right around the corner, perhaps you are looking at broadening your combat sport consumption and trying something new. If you are, I’m here to advocate for giving Sumo a try. I’ve been following it for about a year now regularly and wanted to write this brief guide to give you, combat sport fan, the resources to get into it if you were looking for something new to try in 2019.
The basic rundown here will be structure, general info, how to watch, and FAQs. And then, if you are interested, I’m happy to answer any questions I can after the fact. This isn’t going to be a comprehensive history and explanation behind sumo (I would recommend the Wikipedia page for that), just a basic run down, instructions on how to watch, etc.
Rundown
- What is Sumo? a. Sumo Wrestling is the national sport of Japan, and their homegrown folk wrestling tradition, similar to collar and elbow, catch as catch can, bakh, judo, etc. The wrestlers compete on an elevated platform made of clay (dohyo), and inside a circular ring with straw indicating its outer limit, wearing only a wrapped linen belt (mawashi) around their waist and groin, plus or minus bandages or wrappings for injuries.
- What is the basic structure of a Sumo Match? a. Sumo, much like Japan itself, is steeped in Shinto traditions. The salt throwing, stomping, clapping, are all derived from Shinto beliefs and rituals. But, essentially, two wrestlers are scheduled to face each other. After 4 or so minutes of mind games, breathing, stomping, stretching, and salt throwing, they are told by the referee (gyoji) it’s time to fight. The match begins when both wrestlers touch their fists to the clay, indicating mutual consent for the bout to start. If there is not mutual consent, it is a matta (false start) and they step back, breathe, and try again.
- How do you win a Sumo Match? a. The win condition for the match is to get any part of your opponent’s body (except their feet) to touch the clay inside the ring, or to get any part of their body, including their feet, to touch outside the ring. To accomplish this you may push, thrust, shove, throw, slap, lift, grab and trip your opponent. You may not throw closed fist strikes or pull hair. When a win condition is met, the referee will point his fan toward the starting position of the winning wrestler to indicate the victory. (Note: there are four judges and a timekeeper sitting around the ring. If they believe there is sufficient cause, they can call for a monoii, or judge’s conference, in which they discuss the decision, with the help of video instant replay. They then can either confirm or reverse the referees call. If it is determined to be too close, they can also call for a do over.)
- How many matches are there and how do you win a tournament? a. Since 1958, the structure of the honbasho (the official tournaments) are 6 per year during every odd numbered month. 3 are held in Tokyo, and the other three are held in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. The tournament is 15 days long, with each wrestler competing once per day. The tournament structure is a modified round robin competition (you do not face every competitor, but you do only face a person once) scheduled two days out at a time. The wrestler at the end of the tournament with the most wins is the tournament champion. If two wrestlers end Day 15 with a tied record, they have an immediate sudden death playoff. If more than 2 wrestlers end Day 15 with a tied record, then they draw straws and have a King of the Hill Playoff (first wrestler to win twice in a row.)
- What do the wrestlers win? a. Each match has the potential to be sponsored by companies, who can buy banners that are paraded around the ring before a match. The winner of each match receives white envelopes filled with the sponsorship money. Half goes to them, the other half goes into a pension and upkeep fund. The yusho (tournament championship) winner receives money, a number of different prizes, trophies, food, gasoline, and all sorts of other things that are shared with his stable (heya). All wrestlers in the top two divisions - makuuchi and juryo (think major league and AAA in baseball terms) also receive an undisclosed salary.
- What’s the motivation to win, besides just money? a. Sumo is defined by its strict promotion and demotion rules. Each wrestler, except the yokozuna, are subject to clear promotion and demotion protocols within the ranking of the divisions depending on how they do each tournament. The top two divisions are fixed in the number of wrestlers in a given tournament, with rankings (banzuke) being released the Sunday before the tournament month begins. As there are fifteen days, go 8-7 or better (kachi koshi) and you move up next tournament. 7-8 or worse (make koshi) and you go down. How good/bad you do determines how high you rise and fall. The exception to this is the top 4 named ranks, which have special promotion demotion rules.
- So, what’s the major league of Sumo? a. The makuuchi division is the top 42 wrestlers in professional Sumo. There are 5 different ranks.
Rank | Description |
Maegashira | the rank and file. These are regular competitors who have performed well enough to make it into the top division. They are subject to standard promotion and demotion rules. |
Komusubi | the first of the named ranks. These two slots are for wrestlers who had a strong performance from the rank and file, or are being demoted from higher up. |
Sekiwake | the second of the named ranks. Given to a strong komosubi wrestler, or a demoted ozeki. |
Ozeki | “champion”. To be promoted to this rank, a wrestler must have 33 wins over three tournaments with the rank of sekiwake as their most recent rank. They are also subject to special demotion rules: they are allowed to have one losing tournament record before they are demoted out of the rank. Two in a row, and they are demoted automatically to sekiwake, with the guarantee of re-promotion if they can achieve ten wins from that rank. |
Yokozuna | the highest honor and rank in sumo. Originally, yokozuna was a special license given to particular sumo wrestlers permitting them the honor of entering alone during the opening of the day’s matches. Later, it was formalized as an official life-time appointed rank. Promotion to yokozuna is dependent on two back to back championship wins or playoff appearances (called win-equivalents) from the rank of ozeki, along with displaying the “grace, dignity, and eloquence” (hinkaku) befitting the rank. (Side note: this wasn’t originally a requirement but was used as a xenophobic justification to not allow American sumo wrestler Konishiki to be promoted to Yokozuna, despite achieving the 2 consecutive yusho. However the YDC was essentially forced to admit foreigners could have hinkaku, and compete at Yokozuna levels, when Akebono qualified for promotion.) Cannot be demoted, only recommended for retirement by the Yokozuna Deliberation Council. There are currently 3 active Yokozuna: Hakuho (Mongolian), Kakuryu (Mongolian), and Kisenosato (Japanese)). There have been 72 yokozuna to date. |
That’s the basics of sumo, or what you would need to see/understand to just start watching matches. Obviously there’s a lot more information and history behind this centuries old sport, but the stuff above is the basics.
Fun Facts/FAQS/Common Questions
- Isn’t sumo fixed? Like boxing or PRIDE was? I remember some big thing about match fixing. a. In 2011, while investigating rumors of baseball gambling amongst the wrestlers, the Japan Sumo Association discovered text messages that definitely proved what had long been rumored which was that wrestlers were intentionally throwing bouts to eachother. Called “the Yaocho Scandal” 23 wrestlers were eventually expelled from the sport for match fixing. Motivation for the match fixing ranged from willing acceptance of monetary prizes, promises of quid pro quo in order for a desperate wrestler to get their winning record, as well as Japanese societal pressure to “assist” ones elders by throwing matches to them, sometimes in exchange for paltry monetary rewards, but not always. Since that time the JSA has instituted policies to try to combat match fixing amongst the wrestlers.
- Does sumo have weight classes? a. No. There is however a minimum height requirement for the upper divisions of 1.73m (5ft8in)
- What’s with the names? Hakuho, Tochinoshin, Endo, Abi, Kisenosato? a. Sumo wrestlers take ring names (shikona) when they enter the sport. Their names are displayed in kanji (which leads to names like Crane Dragon, White Phoenix, Honorable Boulder, Morning Mountain and, my personal favorite, Mythical Fire Bird of Pine Tree Mountain) as well as typically having some sort of significance to them in regards to their stable, with the prefix or suffix usually following a stable tradition (ie. Everyone from Kokonoe heya starts with Chiyo in honor of their late coach Chiyonofuji oyakata, formerly Yokozuna Chiyonofuji.)
- So the best wrestlers are just whoever is fattest, right? a. No. While size is important and weight is obviously a focus of a sumo wrestler’s development and training, being the heaviest doesn’t automatically make you the best. Skill, technique, and actual strength are all just as, if not more important.
- I saw some sumo once. But there were weight classes and it was on white tarp and the guys were wearing shorts and there was girls division and… a. Stop. That’s not sumo. That’s amateuinternational/USA sumo. It’s a halfcocked bullshit version of sumo that’s trying to be an internationally recognized sport. It’s got watered down rules, is completely disconnected from the sports traditions, and is dominated by failed professional sumo wrestlers or guys who got expelled from sumo (one in particular was a Yaocho expulsion.) It’s a joke, don’t waste your time. The only real sumo is honbasho sumo from japan.
- Is there a yakuza influence in Sumo? a. Officially, no. Unofficially, it’s the yakuza and an organization in Japan so probably?
- So, who is the Pound for Pound GOAT sumo wrestler? a. The greatest sumo wrestler of all time, objectively, is Hakuho, one of the current active yokozuna who is nearing the end of his career. Since the modern era of sumo (1958, when the tournament schedule was set at 6 per year) the greatest sumo wrestler of all time is Hakuho by any definition of “greatest”. It doesn’t matter by what metric you measure it, by what criteria you use, whatever. He holds every record (except Futabayama’s 69 match undefeated streak), he’s the most skilled, most winningest, most championships, most wins, most dominant wins, most playoff wins, most whatever. It’s Hakuho. He recently had his 1000th upper division win and 41st makuuchi yusho, a record that will most likely never be beaten. He’s the greatest of all time by literally any definition. Every other wrestler is in a conversation for second place.
- Ok, fine. Hakuho is the GOAT. Who’s the Mt Rushmore of Sumo? a. That’s debatable, but if your Mt Rushmore is structured based on a combination of the wrestler’s skill, cultural importance, work as a draw, legacy and record, all that, it’s hard to pick just 4. But the best Mt Rushmore I could give would be Taiho, Chiyonofuji, Takanohana, and Hakuho.
- I know Akebono. He had a match against Big Show once at Wrestlemania and did a bunch of shitty MMA fights. Was he important? a. Extremely. Despite his somewhat embarrassing post retirement career, Akebono is hugely important in the history of Sumo. He was the first foreign born Yokozuna ever and his rivalry with Takanohana lead to a resurgence in interest in the sport in the 90’s after public interest waned when Chiyonofuji began his downward trend in his late career. Akebono and Takanohana are probably one of, if not the, most famous rivalry in modern era sumo, and they both retired with their head to head record at, no joke, 25-25. Forever tied. Akebono as a rikishi was well known for using the fact that he was top heavy to establish an almost immovable forward lean which, when combined with really strong forward palm strikes (tsuppari) leading him to a very dominating career performance.
- Hey, speaking of Rikishi, what’s up with Rikishi and Yokozuna in WWE? Did they have anything to do with sumo? a. No. There have been sumo wrestlers turned pro wrestlers (Haku, Rikidozan, Tenta, and many more), but Rikishi and Yokozuna were not related to actual sumo in any way. Yokozuna obviously mimicked the salt throwing ritual, among other things, and took his name from the highest rank. Rikishi (who takes his name for the Japanese name for sumo wrestlers which is rikishi) had gear that looked like a mawashi and the front cords, but again, no official connection.
- Are there many foreigners in Sumo? a. Since the early 2000’s, thanks to an influx of dominant Hawaiians and, later, Mongolians, the JSA instituted a “one foreigner per stable” rule. They have since clarified that foreigner now means “foreign born” after wrestlers began taking Japanese citizenship to skirt the rule, but, much like independent contractor status in pro wrestling and MMA, this has yet to be challenged and “foreign born” probably wouldn’t hold up if it was seriously contested by a powerful enough coach. (As of the November 2018 tournament, two (Mongolian) of the three current Yokozuna, one (Georgian) of the three current Ozeki, one (Mongolian) of the two sekiwake, one (Brazilian) of the two komusubi, and 4 (3 Mongolians and one Bulgarian) of the remaining Maegashira rikishi are foreigners. Of the 72 Yokozuna in history, 6 have been foreign born: 2 from the USA (Hawaii) and 4 from Mongolia (3 from Ulaanbaatar, one from Sükhbaatar.)
- “Okay, so I saw a Sumo match once where…
Thing | Reason |
One guy won, and then everyone started throwing pillows at the ring | That’s called a kinboshi (gold star victory) and is a tradition for when a rank and file wrestler beats a yokozuna. It’s considered an enormous upset and the rank and file wrestler is awarded a cash prize of approx. 400 dollars every tournament until he retires. |
One guy pushed the other guy out of the ring, but then grabbed his belt/arms. | It is a common courtesy amongst some of the wrestlers that, if possible, they will prevent the other wrestlers from falling off the dohyo, if they can, when they win by push out or force out. Former Yokozuna Harumafuji was well known for the “Harumafuji Hug” he would use to stop rikishi from falling off. However, it’s not required, and some, either because of their own personality or because of how they feel about the other wrestler or the bout, will push to send the guy into the cheap seats. |
Right at the start one guy slapped the other guy really hard in the face. | That opening slap is a tactic used to disorient the opponent at the charge (tachiai). It’s legal, but frowned upon. (Hakuho is notorious for these slaps and has even received reprimands for them in the past.) |
After the match, the winner shoved the loser, and kind of hard too! | Dame-osh, or a post-match shove. Rikishi are supposed to maintain the stoicism and quiet respect expected of a professional athlete in Japan, however some, typically elder wrestlers or highly ranked wrestlers, will use the dame-osh, or post-match shove, as a way of communicating with the other wrestler on the ring. It’s meaning depends on the context as it can either be done as a sign of respect (Goeido after a good bout will usually give a little chest pat as an “oh ho, you almost got me but I got you in the end”), a sign of annoyance (Kisenosato shoved someone two tournaments ago after they caused 5 consecutive mattas), or a sign of disrespect (Hakuho, a Mongolian, shoved Ichinojo, another Mongolian, after Hakuho beat him when Ichinojo gave up and just stepped out when he got to the edge, a sign from Hakuho that he was disappointed in his countryman.) |
One guy just jumped out of the way of the other guy. | That’s called a henka, or dodge at the charge. It is a legal move but is widely considered to be bad sumo as well as being considered unacceptable from higher ranked wrestlers. The fact is that there are tactical advantages to it, but it is much the same as a free ride walk in baseball. There is an appropriate strategy and opportunity to use it (smaller guys like Ishiura or lighter guys will use it if they are facing someone hundreds of pounds heavier than them. Some wrestlers will also use it to stunt on someone who is charging in every match with their head down.) Using it in this way, while it usually gets an eye roll form the crowd, is much the same as walking a batter to first with no outs and men on second and third. However, pulling a henka if you’re a higher ranked wrestler, for really any reason, or doing it just to be a dick (a guy is having a really good tournament and fighting well, so you henka him just to ruin his streak) is frowned upon and generally will receive audible boos from the crowd. |
One guy went flying into the crowd and landed on the people in the front row! | That happens when you have an elevated ring, and is actually a selling point for the people crazy enough to buy floor seats. There are special rules for floor seats as well (you aren’t allowed to have concessions if you’re sitting on the floor so that Takayasu doesn’t end up with octopus ball skewers in his ass if he goes flying out) but the prospect of having a wrestler end up in your lap is exciting for them. |
HOW TO WATCH:
Okay, so you’ve read that little write up so far and you’re thinking “I’m in. I’m gonna give this a try. How do I watch Sumo?”
The answer is, if you’re not living in Japan, with some amount of effort.
The reality is that Sumo wrestling is broadcast on the NHK, which is Japan’s version of the BBC and is unavailable outside of Japan. So, everything past that is going to take a little work. It airs in the afternoons, usually from about 2:30PM or 3PM Tokyo time to 6PM depending on how long the matches are. Now, NHK does have an international version of their station called NHK World. NHK World does not carry the live sumo feed, or feature the full length matches. However, NHK World does produce a highlight video, about 22 minutes in length, and uploads it to their website for free the day after that days matches, which features a more concise post production of the English language commentary (NHK has an English commentary board for each days coverage on their native feed as well, which is usually one of two English fluent Japanese commentators doing play-by-play accompanied by one of about 6 or 7 different foreigner commentators doing color.) The NHK World highlight package is a great way to casually follow just the results of the day without getting too involved in the sport.
But you, dear reader, gotta have more. So, what’s the best way to get more? Well, if you really want to watch the full, uninterrupted live feed, there is typically one or two people on Twitch that livestream the Japanese commentary feed of the NHK tournaments. With that said, the NHK does not like this and typically once per tournament, the channel will get taken down. They are resilient and are usually up by the next day, but such is the risk. Also, since they stream the live feed, you are at the mercy of Tokyo Time for being able to watch it from wherever you are.
With that said…
YouTube is really the best and most reliable way to watch the most amount of Sumo coverage every tournament. Theres a small but very consistent and welcoming Sumo community on YouTube that all have different styles of uploading, editing, and what not to choose from, so you can find the way you want to watch the tournaments the most, pick a style, and watch just that or a combination of them. (All of these uploaders have a sort of ‘turn the other way’ relationship with NHK. They all know they could, at any point, have a video taken down, but all of them, in one way or another, have gotten some sort of wink from NHK that they are ok for now.)
Kintamaya https://www.youtube.com/useKintamayama Kintamaya uploads edited version of the NHK stream each day, cutting down the entire upper division bout set into one cohesive 15-20 min package. He puts English language subtitles to indicate winners and losers, and occasionally throws in his own brief pieces of commentary or jokes/quips as well. Uploads a few hours after the days matches have concluded.
Jason’s All Sumo Channel https://www.youtube.com/useJasonsinJapan Jason is an English teacher that has been living in Japan for a number of years and has been following professional sumo since 2010. Jason uploads each of the named ranked matches (typically 5 or 6) each day as their own individual videos. So unlike the collection vids that start at the charge, Jason’s will show you the salt throwing, the stomping, the stare downs, etc. Jason’s channel is also much more talk heavy and personality oriented: Jason will talk during each of the videos, give his opinion, give his own sort of commentary, do history and run downs, make jokes, etc. Very much like watching Sumo on the couch with your friend.
NattoSumo https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzZ8v5JF3IyxLWOCGKpcP0g Natto is more similar to Kintamaya, the major difference being that Natto pulls his footage from Abeyma (an iTV station that just recently acquired the right to broadcast Sumo with NHK) so there are different graphics, different stats, and a different camera feel. Natto does not include personal commentary or annotated opinions, typically just showing the stats and using an indicator for victories.
Honorable mentions:
Robert Mensing https://www.youtube.com/userobm999 Re-uploads the Grand Sumo Highlights package from the NHK on YouTube if you would rather watch it that way.
MiseletPLUS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl21R2SHvvjYqvsuuXxeNAg Miselet picks and chooses what he uploads. Sometimes it’s the full live feed, sometimes it’s one or two matches, sometimes it’s the juryo division. Sometimes it’s matches day by day from years ago. Interesting uploads, but inconsistent.
Those are the three big sumo channels and the two smaller ones. There are many other smaller ones that pop up and go down every tournament, or are very inconsistent, but the top three are the most consistent in both their uploads, their quality and what they deliver. Check out each channel, see how you like to watch (for example, I watch Kintamayamas video up until the match that Jason starts his coverage at, and then switch over to Jason’s channel for the rest of the bouts.) and go from there!
READING/SUPPLEMENTAL
Tachiai Blog https://tachiai.org/ Named after the Japanese term for the initial charge in a sumo match, tachiai blog is the main source for ongoing and up to date English language news for Sumo. They do daily recaps with explanations and predictions which can make understanding the narrative of the tournament a lot easier when you’re just starting out. @sumofollower on twitter is one of the writers and her feed has a lot of good Sumo information as well as coverage of the jungyo (sumo’s equivalent of the house show tour they go on during even numbered months.) @sumokyokai is the official JSA account as well and, while in Japanese, has an abundance of pictures throughout the tournament and in between as well.
Grand Sumo Breakdown (Podcast) https://grandsumobreakdown.wordpress.com/ A relatively new podcast, it’s a group of American followers of the sport discussing it, usually with a beginning, middle, and wrap up episode every tournament, as well as bonus supplemental episodes that cover things like the match fixing scandal, Americans in sumo, pre modern era sumo and traditions, etc. They are learning as well but passionate, so if you ever have that “hear someone talk about this thing I like” itch, they are a good way to spend your time.
Sumopedia https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3gh8X4dSmUB72HKrQldb4ziq4rlWyLRk A few years ago the NHK put out the Sumopedia video series, which are 2 minute videos that explain all of the “what is that?” questions new viewers to the sport might have. (What’s with the salt throwing, what’s with the three hand slices over the envelopes, why does the yokozuna have a white belt, why is the referee dressed like that, what is the referee yelling at the wrestlers, etc.) Excellent video series if you want to watch all of them, or if theres just one thing in particular you want to know about.
**Useful Links and other Websites:**
NHK World’s English Language Sumo News Page
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/ English language Japan Sumo Association Page
http://www.sumo.or.jp/En/ Daily Match Schedule (updates during tournament)
http://www.sumo.or.jp/EnHonbashoMain/torikumi/1/1/ Picture Banzuke (rankings)
http://sumo.or.jp/EnHonbashoBanzuke/index/ Sumo DB (the ProFightDB for Sumo) sumodb.sumogames.de
Glossary of Sumo Terms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_sumo_terms *Final Thoughts:*
The next tournament begins on January 13th, 2019. If you’re looking for something new to get into, something exciting to follow, something with tradition and unique rules and culture and history, consider giving Sumo a try. One of the reasons I love following sumo is that while there is stuff to look at and follow and read about in between tournaments, you basically have 15 days of action once every other month. There isn’t an event every week, or 5 hours you have to follow twice a week or 162 games over the course of 4 months. 15 Days every other month. One complete story. Give it a try. Watch some old matches on YouTube. Read about current wrestlers, past wrestlers, whatever. It’s worth your time to be sure. I hope you enjoy.
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