Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
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Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
The Royal Albert Hall was the unlikely venue for the biggest Sumo wrestling tournament ever staged outside of Japan on 9th October, 1991. Around forty wrestlers, described in the press as “bouncing like fat Buddhas,” thundered across a ring on clay sourced from a field near Heathrow.
Part of the grand Japan Festival - a four-month cultural takeover marking 100 years of the Japan Society, including kabuki at the National Theatre and Buddhist sculptures at the British Museum - demand for tickets was sky-high, thanks to Channel 4’s cult Friday night sumo broadcasts.
A Shinto-style canopy was shipped over, and reinforced hotels were arranged for the athletes, complete with detachable showers, reinforced beds, and double-sized meals to help them hit their 7,000-calorie daily target. The lineup featured stars with nicknames like “The Killer Whale,” “The Plum,” and the 37-stone “Dump Truck,” Konishiki Yasokichi.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the impact the festival had on introducing Londoners to Japanese culture; reveal why the wrestlers had a pit-stop in Anchorage on their way to England; and explain why some fans didn’t tell their colleagues they were attending…
Further Reading:
• ‘Albert Hall hosts first sumo tournament held outside Japan’ (The Guardian, 1991): https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/oct/10/sumo-wrestling-royal-albert-hall
• ‘Sumo Wrestling's Solid Foundation in the UK and Europe’ (SportsLook, 2023): https://featured.japan-forward.com/sportslook/sumo-wrestlings-solid-foundation-in-the-uk-and-europe/
• ‘Sumo: Terao v Kotogaume 1991 (London)’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa0TrLXi-uk
#Japan #Sport #London #90s
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.
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Today In History with The Retrospectors
Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
