Basho Designer Diary 1 - Origins

About Basho, from BoardGameGeek:

A love letter to the fascinating sport of Sumo, Basho is a push and throw trick-taking card game for two players. It mixes traditional trick-taking gameplay with modern card powers and position control. You and your opponent collide with the simultaneous reveal of a single card to determine who takes the lead. From that point on, each trick's winner pushes the token closer to its loser. Use power cards to change the trump suit or dodge the trick completely to dominate within the arena. There are three ways to win the round: keep the token in your opponent's area for 1 point, push the token out for two points, or win by throw for 3 points. Go for the throw with caution! Failing the throw means a big loss in positional control. Multiple rounds are played, and the first person to earn 5 points or more wins the game. -description from designer