Every autumn, as the leaves change colors and temperatures drop, the Japan Sumo Association packs up and migrates south to Fukuoka for the final tournament of the year.
Accompanying that move is a question that arises without fail every November: Should the Kyushu Basho move to a different location?
Fukuoka’s relatively sluggish ticket sales are normally what animates the annual discussion, but by mid-tournament — when rows and rows of desirable-but-unoccupied seats fill TV screens — calls for change usually kick into high gear.