Mitsuharu Misawa, probing deeply into his tenacious inner self! First installment (originally published on 2022/01/21)
Original Source
Mr. Kagehiro Osano looks back at the great footsteps of pro wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa, and through testimonies reveals his resilient inner self. This time, we especially share episodes from Misawa’s youth, known only by his high school classmates.
“He showed in the ring that kind of ‘seemingly casual but in fact putting in full effort way of life.’ Last year, former editor-in-chief of *Weekly Gong*, Mr. Kagehiro Osano, published a great non-fiction work depicting him, reviewing his childhood, his amateur wrestling era, Tiger Mask II, the Super Generation Army, his Three Crown championship reign, and Four Heavenly Kings wrestling, while revealing Misawa’s resilient inner self through various testimonies. This time it is episodes of Misawa’s youth, known only by his high school classmate Mr. Yuichi Watanabe.”
Wrestling is not a sport to watch, but a sport to participate in
“After practice, Misawa lay on the bench press stand outside the dojo. He wasn’t lifting dumbbells, so I thought ‘what’s wrong?’ Looking closely, I saw that he was crying. I asked him, ‘What’s the matter, Misawa?’ He said, ‘I come from a single-parent family, and when I think about my mother, I wonder if she is okay…’.”
“When he enrolled he already said, ‘I want to become a pro wrestler.’ He liked pro wrestling, and of course also wanted to make money quickly so his mother could live well. About his father, he said, ‘If that guy comes, I’ll punch him away!’ Although he didn’t say the details, surely his childhood had many experiences.”
Yuichi Watanabe, a classmate in the Ashikaga Institute of Technology High School wrestling club, remembers this.
Amidst a complicated family environment, Mitsuharu Misawa set his sights early on becoming a wrestler. But before entering the prestigious Ashikaga Institute of Technology High School, he had no combat sports experience. In elementary school, he was a sprinter and high jumper, and in fifth and sixth grade he won the high jump championship in Koshigaya City competitions.
In addition, it is said he could somersault already in elementary school, so his jumping ability and athletic sense were naturally superior. By junior high, the club activity Misawa chose was apparatus gymnastics, including vault, horizontal bar, and floor exercises. These later proved useful in his pro wrestling career.
“As a pure fan watching matches, I liked those wrestlers who used aerial techniques, which you couldn’t see in other combat sports. Tatsumi Fujinami returned from America in March 1978 when I was in first year of high school, and he was a wrestler I admired, but in junior high I didn’t especially idolize anyone. Just when I happened to watch on TV I thought, ‘I want to do this too.’”
“Although I didn’t watch much New Japan Pro Wrestling, now when I think back, those thoughts were kind of childish (bitter laugh). At that time, when I watched TV, I often thought, ‘If it were me, I would do it like this.’ But those kinds of words, as a young person, I didn’t dare say. I couldn’t tell seniors or reporters, ‘I thought I could do it better, so I became a pro wrestler’ (laugh).”
For Misawa in second year of junior high, pro wrestling was not a “sport to watch” but a “sport to participate in.” From the beginning he viewed matches from a wrestler’s perspective.
Misawa decided to become a pro wrestler when he graduated junior high. In his career planning form in third year, he wrote “pro wrestler” in the aspiration column, but his homeroom teacher scolded him, “Don’t joke around, think seriously about your future!” His single mother also opposed him: “At least finish high school.”
In the end, persuaded by both his homeroom teacher and his mother, Misawa accepted the advice, “Enter a strong wrestling high school, learn the basics, and then it’s not too late to become a pro wrestler,” and so he entered the prestigious wrestling school Ashikaga Institute of Technology High School.
Watanabe Yuichi holding the Tiger Mask that Misawa gave to his son.
Entering Prestigious Ashikaga Institute of Technology High School as a Special Scholarship Student
The Ashikaga Institute of Technology High School wrestling club, founded in 1963 by Yamato Oshima (now Kanto region councilor of the Japan Wrestling Association), in 1973 had Yoshihiro Yatsu—later of New Japan Pro Wrestling—win the freestyle 75kg class championship at the National Sports Festival in Chiba. In 1974, Yatsu again won the national high school freestyle 75kg championship, and in 1976 and 1977 the team won consecutive national high school team championships. Misawa entered in 1978.
Joining the wrestling club with Misawa was Yuichi Watanabe, who is the father of active fighters such as Shuto Watanabe of combat sports organization RIZIN. Watanabe became the club captain in third year (with Misawa as vice-captain), and continued wrestling at Nihon University.
Later, Watanabe became a disciple of Satoru Sayama, became a professional fighter, and was active as the first Shooto Welterweight Champion (current Shooto World Lightweight). Currently, he serves as director of Seikikan of Seikikan Shin’inryu, and as Super Rider participates in Sayama’s Strong Style Pro-Wrestling (Real Japan Pro Wrestling). Although walking a different path, he always kept contact with Misawa, and was someone Misawa trusted.
“I had done a little judo in junior high, and participated in tournaments in Ashikaga. I was from Ota in Gunma, and at that time there was no internet, so I didn’t know who the opponent was. As a result, I happened to beat the champion of Tochigi Prefecture. I, a white belt, won with ippon over a very famous black belt. This news reached Professor Oshima of Ashikaga Institute of Technology, and he said, ‘Find that wrestler!’
By chance my father had taught judo in Ashikaga when he was young, so one of his judo acquaintances introduced me to Professor Oshima, and thus I joined the wrestling club,” Watanabe recounted.
At that time, Coach Oshima was looking for promising athletes who as third years could compete in the 1980 National Sports Festival to be held locally in Tochigi. Therefore, he recruited Watanabe, who had judo experience, as a scholarship student, but even Misawa, who had no combat experience, was also recruited as a scholarship student. Watanabe explained:
“At that time, unlike now with kids’ wrestling, most people did judo in junior high, and only started wrestling in high school. Misawa moving from gymnastics to wrestling was an exception, but there were also quite a few who switched from being well-known in junior high baseball or volleyball to wrestling.”
“The first time I saw Misawa was at the wrestling dojo, and he said he had practiced gymnastics. I asked why he switched from gymnastics to wrestling, and he said: ‘I don’t really have any interest in wrestling, but I want to become a pro wrestler, so I take amateur wrestling as training for becoming a pro wrestler.’ He had absolutely no interest in wrestling itself,” Watanabe said with a laugh.
Even without knowing the rules, Misawa participated in practice matches right after joining, and though a beginner, he won matches, delighting the coaches and raising expectations.
“From the beginning the teachers said, ‘This guy will become strong!’ Misawa’s strength was tremendous, maybe because of gymnastics, his arm strength was particularly strong. Also his reach was long, so when he learned single-leg takedowns, once his arm hooked the opponent’s leg, he could pull them down quickly. From first year, the teachers paid special attention to him.
Afterwards, Misawa became a wrestler good at single-leg takedowns and quickly turning to pin his opponent. Or when the opponent attacked, he would swiftly turn and pin them. Because of his arm strength and the longest reach in the 70kg class, he could pin opponents quickly. Even so, he himself always kept a nonchalant attitude (laugh),” said Watanabe.
Dormitory Life Cultivated Misawa’s Endless Stamina
Scholarship wrestling club members had to live in the dormitory. Watanabe recalls that dormitory life:
“The dormitory was a house on campus, about six tatami mats in size. We laid futons and four to five people slept together. I slept on the lower part of the closet. Breakfast was boxed meals delivered from the cafeteria, lunch was the same large-portion meals at the staff cafeteria, dinner was food already prepared at a nearby eatery.
At that time there was no nutrition science like now, what we ate was not refined, and we were always hungry. Although snacks and drinks were forbidden, at night after the teachers went home, we often went to the shop behind the school to buy bread, snacks, and drinks. That shop was open until 10pm. We called it the ‘back shop.’”
Watanabe recalled: “Although it was amateur wrestling, we students were almost like professional athletes who went to high school for wrestling. The daily routine was running on campus from around 6am to 8am, then classes. After lunch, we did weight training in the weightlifting area beside the dojo. From 4pm to 8pm was practice.
We would do continuous sparring, 20 minutes per round, at least two rounds. During that, teacher Kazuo Urano would constantly supervise. Now that I think of it, I am amazed he could maintain such high-pressure supervision for so long (bitter laugh).
We only had two days off, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Oh, also Sunday morning practice was off, but from 9am to 12pm there were still sparring and practice. Only after that was free time, so Sundays we could relax a little.” (Watanabe)
Morning practice was basically running at 6am. Sometimes when we woke up, buses were already idling in front of the dormitory, and without any notice we would be taken to Mt. Nagusa. After descending the mountain, we were dropped off and told to run back to school. The distance was just 20 kilometers, very tough.
“We would arrive around 6:30, then be told, ‘If you don’t make it back within two hours, you’ll be late for class!’ At that time we didn’t have cell phones, only a 10-yen coin for emergencies to call the teachers from a public phone. The teachers rode the bus back (bitter laugh). Early in the morning we were taken away like that, and while running some people would have stomachaches, go to the riverbank toilet, then wash their butts with river water, it was miserable (laugh).
So in class we mostly slept. If it was too obvious we were scolded, but the teachers were lenient—for example, the day before a match, a teacher would say: ‘Watanabe, you have a match tomorrow right? Take a rest. If you lose, I’ll be blamed, so rest properly (laugh).’ At that time really besides practice and eating, we used every moment to sleep.” (Watanabe)
This kind of “guts running” was also remembered by Misawa’s junior, Toshiaki Kawada. Kawada later followed Misawa into All Japan Pro Wrestling. Kawada recalled: “We were dropped deep in the mountains, and those without geographical knowledge couldn’t get back. Seniors with geographical knowledge could find the way, but those without would run the wrong direction and not be able to return.
Also you had to run fast to drink juice. Even just cheap drinks with 10% juice content would be placed there, for the first arrivals to drink. If you ran slowly, you got nothing.”
Misawa’s powerful stamina was undoubtedly laid by the foundation of this harsh training during high school days. (To be continued)
※ This article is excerpted from Kagehiro Osano’s work *The Supreme Three Crown Champion Mitsuharu Misawa* (published by Wani Books).
