VIEW FROM THE RISING SUN
by Masanori Horie

Yoshihiro Tajiri

Yoshihiro Tajiri at ECW Arena

Yoshihiro Tajiri challenged Taz for the ECW World Heavyweight title on the "ECW Heat Wave '99" PPV in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, July 18, 1999 (9:52 Taz beat Tajiri by referee stop). Tajiri's wrestling career never sailed before fair wind. He arrived in ECW after much meandering. This week's View From The Rising Sun will look at the career of Tajiri.

He was born in Tamana City, Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday, September 29, 1970. He will be 29 years old this fall. Tamana City is centrally located in Kyushu island in Japan and has a Kumamoto Prefectural National Park, the well-known Tamana Hot Spring Spa, which boasts a 1,300 year history, and Rengei-In, a temple widely known for the largest bell in the world, as well as Mitsui Greenland, the largest theme park in western Japan. Tamana City also concluded a sister-city relationship with Clarinda, Iowa (the birthplace of Big Band-leader Glenn Miller).

Tamana City Festival

Tajiri is a master of Lucha Libre techniques

Tajiri learned kick-boxing in high school. When he was a college student, he was captivated by Lucha Libre style pro wrestling. He went abroad to Mexico to learn Lucha Libre so that he could become a Super Estrella (super star). He joined IWA Japan Pro Wrestling and debuted as a professional wrestler against Takashi Okano (W*inger in Big Japan Pro) at Gamagori City Gym in Aichi Prefecture on Monday, September 19, 1994. His serious efforts were recognized by the IWA's booker, Victor Quinones. He challenged for Dan Severn's NWA World Heavyweight title in Toms River, New Jersey on Friday, June 9, 1995, and in Williamstown, New Jersey on Saturday, June 24, 1995. However, he couldn't stand the business style of the IWA's money backer, the infamous Mr. Asano, who had owned Japanese style restaurants, and whose "Asano Office" had bought and run wrestling shows from various Japanese offices. He quit the IWA and went to the EMLL in Mexico again in the fall in 1995.

Tajiri hid his face and returned as the masked "Aquarius" in Big Japan Pro in March 1996. Aquarius beat Dr. Wagner Jr. to win the CMLL World Light Heavyweight title (12:28) at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Friday, July 19, 1996 (the result was dropped from the official CMLL record). Big Japan Pro brought in some ECW wrestlers such as Sabu, Jason Knight, Bull Pain, Axl Rotten, DWD, Hack Myers, and Ian Rotten in 1996. He got really improved in this period, but he could appeal only to independent wrestling fans.

Tajiri was recognized by wrestling fans nationwide when he faced Shinjiro Ohtani on New Japan Pro's "Wrestling World '97" at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday, January 4, 1997 (8:30 Ohtani beat Tajiri). Ohtani carried him very well, and he showed his good potential. Tajiri lost to Taka Michinoku on WWF Raw is War in San Antonio, Texas on Monday, July 14. He and Ryuji Yamakawa won Big Japan's Tag Team title at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Wednesday, July 23, 1997, and he also won Big Japan's Junior Heavyweight title at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Tuesday, February 3, 1998. But he suddenly quit Big Japan Pro after he split with Big Japan's president, Great Kojika, and went to the EMLL in Mexico again in April, 1998. He may be different from other young indie wrestlers who have no choice except bearing small salary and blood baths in front of small crowds. He always has a big respect for Lucha Libre style and very serious motivation about his future as a pro wrestler. He debuted in ECW this past January and beat Super Crazy on the "ECW Guilty As Charged" PPV in Kissimmee, Florida on Sunday, January 10. He could open the door by himself. It's very interesting to see how he will produce himself as one of the ECW characters.

Tajiri, Minoru Fujita (of Michinoku Pro), and Masanori

It isn't so easy to get success in foreign countries. However, "professional wrestler" is a very unique occupation to be able to get success rather than ours, if there is aspiration, ability (speed, stamina, technique), individuality, charisma, being in the right place at the right time, and, of course, tights and shoes.

In days of old, a lot of Japanese wrestlers had taken thorough experiences and training in the United States. They traditionally had to express typical Japanese images. Even the father of Japanese wrestling, Mitsuhiro Momota (Rikidozan), had to be managed by evil The Great Togo in West Coast territories in the 1950s. Shohei "Giant" Baba had to wear a kimono and wooden clogs, and he was named "Baba the Giant" in the 1960s. Baba challenged the Big Three World Heavyweight champions in those days---NWA (Lou Thesz), WWWF (Bruno Sammartino), and WWA (Freddie Blassie) in February, 1964. Haruka Eigen ("Great Togo") and Katsuji Adachi ("Tokyo Joe" and "Mr. Hito") were managed by Percival A. Friend in the Central States area in 1973. Akihisa Takachiho had to paint his face and breathe green mist to be "The Great Kabuki" in Dallas, Texas in the early 1980s.

The other names are too numerous to mention---Kokichi Endo ("Ko Togo" in West Coast territories), Kintaro Oki ("Kim ILL" in Los Angeles and Houston), Hiro Matsuda (Florida), Kanji "Antonio" Inoki ("Tokyo Tom" in Los Angeles, Dallas, Tennessee, and Central States), Seiji Sakaguchi ("Big Saka" in Los Angeles and Detroit), Thunder Sugiyama ("Tokyo Joe" in Detroit), Umanosuke Ueda ("Professor Ito" in Los Angeles, Tennessee, Alabama / "Tengu" in Dallas), Kotetsu Yamamoto & Kantaro Hoshino ("Yamaha Brothers" in Tennessee), Shinya Kojika ("Great Kojika" in Los Angeles and "Kung Fu Lee" in Amarillo), Motoshi Ohkuma ("Big Kuma" in Los Angeles, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida), Shozo Kobayashi (AWA and WWWF), Animal Hamaguchi ("Higo Hamaguchi" in the WWA in Indianapolis), Tetsunosuke Daigo ("Tokyo Joe" in Montreal), Masanori Toguchi ("Kim Duk" in the AWA and NWA / "Tiger Chang Lee" in the WWF), Kazuo Sakurada ("Chang Chun", "Kendo Nagasaki", "Rising Sun #1", "Dragon Master"), Masashi Ozawa ("Killer Khan"), Kazuharu Sonoda ("Magic Dragon"), Tetsuo Sekigawa ("Ninja"/"Mr. Pogo"), Hiroshi Hase & Fumihiro Niikura ("Viet Cong Express" in Calgary), Tatsutoshi Goto (Rising Sun #2 in Mid Atlantic area), Toshiaki Kawada ("Kio Kawata" in Calgary), Kensuke "Jinsei" Shinzaki ("Hakushi" in the WWF), Keiji Muto ("Ninja" in Florida, Puerto Rico, Dallas, and "The Great Muta" in the WCW), Manabu Nakanishi ("Kurosawa" in the WCW), Kaientai (Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, Sho Funaki, Men's Teioh), and many more.

Note: A lot of Japanese wrestlers who wrestled in Tennessee territory were managed by Tojo Yamamoto (P.Y. Chang), real name Harold Watanabe, a Japanese-American from Hawaii ("Tojo" was from Hideki Tojo, who was the Army general and prime minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944 and indicted as a class A war criminal; he was hanged in 1948. "Yamamoto" was from Isoroku Yamamoto, who was the naval officer who proposed the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor). He managed Mr. Chin, Masanobu Fuchi & Atsushi Onita, "Hiro & Shima" (Akio Sato [Shinja in the WWF] and Tarzan Goto), Shinya Hashimoto & Shinji Sasazaki, and many more.

The man who has a firm resolution, can attain his aim.