Before getting started, Happy New Year! I want to express my sincere appreciation to all who have been reading this blog and following me on social media throughout 2020. I wish all readers a joyful, prosperous and blessed year in 2021.
After the conclusion of the All Japan Open Weight Championships (Dec. 26), I made my way down to my friend’s dojo to visit a former student, who will be graduating from high school and transitioning into working life. He finished his high school judo career with achievements that put him in a category that few people in Japan ever match. He was 5th in Japan as a junior high school student and the top high school athlete in the -73kg division in his prefecture.
As we were talking, he lamented the fact that he never had the chance to compete in the Nippon Budokan. It had been his dream of his to compete there since he first saw the All Japan Open Weight Judo Championships as a child. He said he was fascinated by the judo, but also by the lighting, and taiko drums, and the ceremonial atmosphere of the tournament. This tournament has an appeal that is unrivaled. It truly is one of a kind and though I don’t believe it is the toughest tournament in the world as I once did, it is still the tournament I look forward to more than any other. I believe it brings out the best that judo has to offer.
This year’s tournament was no different, though highly unusual. Aside from being held in the Kodokan without an audience, rather than the usual venue, there were a number of other peculiarities. For starters, the day began with a report in the morning that the athletes competing for Park 24 would be withdrawing from the tournament due to “poor physical condition”. Two hours later, a follow-up announcement was made that the team was withdrawing due to a positive coronavirus test, though it was unclear whether that meant it was one of their athletes, or simply someone present at the venue. Nevertheless, Yusei Ogawa, Masashi Ebinuma, and Kenta Nagasawa all withdrew abruptly from the event. With the withdrawal of defending champion Aaron Wolf due to injury, and the non-participation of Hisayoshi Harasawa, the tournament was not only wide open but also void of several favorites for the title.
Luckily for us, this ended up not mattering a great deal because viewers were still treated to some top-class judo and all the drama that one could hope for. One of the other abnormalities of this tournament was the number of athletes 90kg and below. This year, Olympic team members, alternates, and world champions were all invited to compete through a special wild card invitation, rather than having to qualify in their home region. This created a number of highly anticipated matchups between athletes with huge weight disparities, but none more intriguing than those involving the 156cm, -60kg lightweight, Ryuju Nagayama. By far the smallest athlete in the tournament, I honestly didn’t think his participation would amount to much more than some good PR for the tournament, but he put on a clinic for how smaller athletes can deal with the heavyweights. His former teammate at Tokai University and current national team member Daigo Kagawa told us that Nagayama holds his own against heavyweights in practice but it is still hard to believe how well he competed.
Unlike other lightweights who have entered the open weight tournament before him, namely Masato Uchishiba and Naohisa Takato, Nagayama’s strategy was not to overwhelm opponents with his speed and a refusal to engage for long periods of time when coming to grips. Rather, Nagayama was at ease being gripped and didn’t seem to be as rushed as his predecessors did. He looked much more assured of himself. He went on to lose a long and drawn out match against Kentaro Iida, who was my pick to win the entire tournament, but he put in a performance that proved he was in every way deserving of his invitation to compete at this tournament. He said his purpose in entering the tournament was to set an example for smaller children that they could compete against larger children. Mission accomplished.
All that said, as a former world champion, Nagayama was still not the day’s biggest underdog. That title belonged to Ryusuke Ishihara (28), a journeyman making his debut in this tournament, that would also serve as his retirement tournament, which he announced back in November. Competing for the tiny corporate team, TOEI, located in Asahikawa City, he brought with him the least amount of credentials out of the entire field of competitors but ended the day with the most viral throw of the tournament.
With an apparently dislocated shoulder and gash in his head from his previous match, as well as giving up 55kg to Takeshi Ojitani (three-time winner of this event), he produced a throw that will be remembered for a very long time. He can retire with his head held high and be able to tell his grandchildren about the time he went toe-to-toe with the best in the world. It is precisely moments like these make this tournament unlike any other.
I would give my vote to Ishihara for tournament MVP, except he was outdone by -81kg international, Takeshi Sasaki. Injuries and inconsistency have plagued Sasaki’s career for a number of years now, but when he is going well, I believe he is the best -81kg athlete in Japan, and he showed why at the tournament. It was unfortunate he was injured in his semi-final match against his arch-rival, Hyoga Ota in a rematch of their nail-biting final in the All Japan University Championships, but he showed the best judo of the day, in my opinion, beating two former champions (Hirotaka Kato and Takeshi Ojitani) as well as perennial contender, Kyohei Kakita.
I think that if there is anyone in Japan in the -81kg category that can win this tournament someday, it is him. Hopefully, he can stay injury-free between now and next April when he will have the chance to give it another shot.
Speaking of next April, while it is exciting that the tournament will be held again so soon from now, it is disappointing that the police officers won’t have more time to prepare. It was repeatedly discussed during the broadcast that the police officers were at a huge disadvantage at this tournament as they weren’t able to practice much, if hardly at all in the past year due to the coronavirus. Though many had anticipated Hirotaka Kato making another run at the title, he seemed to be a lot heavier than he usually is, probably due to the fact that he wasn’t able to train regularly. Since most police teams have committed to not practicing until at least the end of March, it is unlikely that we will see any improvements in his performance at the next tournament in April. Unfortunately for Kato, he is now 35 and one has to wonder how many more times we will get to see him compete.
Ryu Shichinohe, another top contender just a few years ago lost in the first round to a -81kg athlete, Sedai Sato and has publicly stated that he is contemplating whether or not he will continue his judo career. For Shichinohe, it is almost inconceivable that he hasn’t been able to win this tournament given his achievements internationally. Unfortunately for him, it seems time has passed him by.
It was also inconceivable that the winner of this tournament, Ryunosuke Haga hadn’t won a title until this year. Luckily for him, time certainly has not passed him by. The 29-year-old narrowly missed making his second Olympic team last year after battling back from injuries. Though he didn’t look particularly spectacular throughout the day, he always seemed in control of his matches, gauging his efforts and never running out of gas. He competed like a veteran and true master of judo. At 29 years of age, he may not be able to stick around until Paris in 2024, but one more world championship seems like it could well be within reach. Congratulations to Ryunosoke Haga and thank you to all of the athletes who made this tournament so enjoyable!
Though it is unlikely we will get to see the Olympic athletes compete at the next All Japan Championships, such is the nature of this event that we can be assured of another great spectacle as it never ceases to disappoint. I’m already looking forward to April 29th, when it will happen all over again.
