Sumo Fans Watch 1st Open Training Session in 4 Years

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:41 JST, September 2, 2023

The yokozuna judging committee held a practice session on the main ring at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Saturday, in preparation for the upcoming Autumn grand tournament that starts on Sept. 10.

The session was the first to open to the public in four years due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Many fans came to watch and applaud the training of new ozeki Toyoshoryu, ozeki Takakeisho and ozeki Kirishima. Yokozuna Terunofuji, who was absent from the Nagoya tournament due to a back injury, moved his body by rubbing his feet under the ring.

A woman in her 30s said, “The sound is different from watching on TV. It was like before the coronavirus.”