Why this bout matters
Every wrestler in the top division fights 15 times. Eight wins (kachi-koshi) and you rise; eight losses (make-koshi) and you fall. That single rule generates almost all the drama — a man at 7-7 on the final day is fighting for his livelihood, and you'd never know it from the broadcast.
Championship race — yusho arasoi
Storylines to hang onto
Tonight's card
Kimarite — the winning technique
The referee announces one of 82 official techniques after every bout. In practice two of them decide roughly half of all sumo. Learn the top eight and you'll follow most of a broadcast; the rest is for the night something strange happens.
The four minutes before four seconds
A top-division bout gets four minutes of preparation and usually lasts under eight seconds. Newcomers treat the ritual as filler to sit through. It isn't — it's where the psychological bout happens, and it's the only time you have to look anything up.
Banzuke — the ranking sheet
Sumo has no leagues, seasons or contracts. There is one list, redrawn after every tournament, and every wrestler in the country sits somewhere on it. Your position determines your salary, whether you have an attendant, and whether you're allowed to wear socks.
The promotion engine
What the announcers are saying
NHK's English commentary drops Japanese terms without translating them, on the reasonable assumption you already watch. This is that assumed knowledge.