Kyushu Venue Manners Back in Focus as Sellouts Bring Fans Closer
Weekly Josei PRIME flags a recurring Kyushu worry as Fukuoka Kokusai Center opens another sold-out basho: the multi-purpose hall's temporary seating puts spectator walkways closer to parts of the hanamichi than Kokugikan does, shrinking the buffer between fans and rikishi.
Oyakata on the Kyokai's official YouTube channel have pleaded against pre-bout "iri-machi" clustering for photos and signatures, loud tachiai shouts and whistles, heavy heckling, and zabuton throwing when a yokozuna loses. Regional fans get only one home honbasho a year, a sumo writer notes, so excitement is understandable — but last Kyushu already drew sharp fan criticism of tachiai yaji. The piece hopes manners bend the right way this time without sanding off local flavor.
Source: Yahoo! Japan Sports