作家 増田俊也オフィシャルサイト
Kindness and sadness,
And with requiescats.
Deep feelings for "Seven Emperor Judoki".
Interview with Toshinari Masuda just before publication ("Gong Martial Arts" April 2013 issue)
Three years later on the bench press table where I sat as a first year student ...
——In the 250th issue of “Gong Martial Arts,” Masuda-san's serialization for about four years, “Why did Masahiko Kimura not kill Rikidoyama?” Won two awards, the Oya Award and the Shincho Nonfiction Award. That gave the martial arts world great courage. The sequels "Oni no Kimura Masahiko Gaiden" and "VTJ Eve Yuki Nakai" are currently being written as books at a small company, but before that, on February 28, "Seven Emperor Judoki" (Kadokawa). Bookstore) will be released.
Toshinari Masuda Yes. The serialization of "Monthly Secret" began at the end of 2007 (January 2008 issue), and it was serialized for three years. It's been two years since the series was over, and I thought it might have been forgotten by readers (laughs).
——No, just as Kimuramoto became an eternal bible for fighters, I think “Seven Emperor Judoki” will be like that.
Toshinari Masuda Is that so?
--yes. I read it with a galley this time, but I couldn't help but cry many times. It starts when Mr. Masuda passes in Ninami to perform the Seven Emperor Judo at Hokkaido University and comes to Sapporo. It is irresistible for martial arts fans who know Yuki Nakai just by listening to the story of the Hokkaido University Judo Club from the same period when they entered the Asahigaoka High School Judo Club earlier. And the entrance scene …….
Toshinari Masuda There will be a bench press table where I sit while observing the first time I enter the judo hall. Yuki Nakai will sit on that same bench press table three years later. I sit in the same place and tour.
--I see……. That's the famous scene from "Yuki Nakai on the eve of VTJ". A scene in which Captain Tatsuzawa keeps his juniors in check while watching and tells Deputy Captain Masuda that the first year of the tour is coming.
Toshinari Masuda That's right. A scene where I went there, shook hands with Nakai, caught another year in front of Nakai, and tried to get Nakai's interest by mastering jumping crosses and flashy joints. I also sat down on the bench where Nakai was sitting at that scene three years ago to see it. Will everything be connected?
The Kyushu University dogi on the cover belongs to Kai-kun.
--I see……. That's the part of the déjà vu that I was drawn to in "Seven Emperor Judoki" at once. "Yuki Nakai on the eve of VTJ" will be coming soon, and the completed version will be published by us (East Press). This is also a great book with lots of treasured photographs, but it all connects to that world view. I was drawn in at once.
Toshinari Masuda The seven judo garments used on the cover of this "Seven Emperor Judoki", Kyushu University's, are Kai-kun's relics.
——Is that Mr. Nakai's rival, Mr. Taisuke Kai, who appears in “VTJ Eve Yuki Nakai”?
Toshinari Masuda Yes. This is Taisuke Kai, the captain of Kyushu University who died at the age of 22. This time, when making the cover, I called on the OBs of 7 universities to collect dogi, but Kyushu University's dogi is the Kyushu University OB that is opening the seven emperor judo ground fighting dojo "Akodo" in Kobe City. Senior Hatakeyama contacted Kai's parents and borrowed them. Mr. Hatakeyama said that he would like to make a memorial service for Kai. So I also wanted to borrow a dogi from your parents and line it up with Hirohiro Yoshida (Captain of Hokkaido University, Yuki Nakai's generation, who died at the age of 24), but I couldn't find Yoshida's dogi. That's why Hokkaido University doesn't belong to Yoshida, but Kyushu University's dogi belongs to Kai.
--Is that so……. Even so, the bond and depth of thought of those who practiced Seven Emperor Judo is really wonderful. I also felt at the Oya Award winning party of Mr. Masuda hosted by the Kitadai Judo Club OB held in Nagoya last November, but as many as 100 OBs of the Seven Emperor Judo were rushing from Hokkaido and Kyushu, and that bond was formed. I was jealous. Alumni from their 20s to over 80s will come to Nagoya at their own expense.
Toshinari Masuda Yes. I was really grateful.
The depth of bond comes from the amount of practice
——Where does the depth of the bond and the depth of thought of the Seven Emperor Judo come from?
Toshinari Masuda I think it's the amount of practice. A sense of unity that both current active students and OBs in their 80s are doing the same amount of practice. I think it's a sense of unity that people from other universities are doing the same amount of practice. So at that time, he came from afar to Kyoto University, Nagoya University, and the alumni of other universities. After all it is the amount of practice. When the amount of practice goes to the limit and exceeds a certain threshold, a true bond will sprout there. You will be able to feel the feelings of your friends.
——There is a depiction of endless randori scenes at the dojo, but that part is also the highlight of this work. "We had no choice but to continue to hunt down the ground fighting in the dojo where the sweat became steam and drifted," he said over and over again. The repeated refrains make the story overwhelming. That reality. In the history of literature, sports have never been drawn with such reality.
Toshinari Masuda No. There is no one. There is a lot of reading material as just sports and just youth, but there is no real pain, tightness, pain, literary work or text that conveys it. So, I wrote it with that in mind how I could convey that realistic feeling.
——I think Mr. Masuda's strength as a writer is the “pain” part. Masahiko Kimura I strongly felt that in the book, but it is a part that can only be written by a writer who has actually experienced and experienced real pain.
Toshinari Masuda This time, the issue of corporal punishment for women's judo has been hit by the media. Even if I actually stand on the side of the player, I can imagine the suffering, and even if I stand on the side of the instructor, I can understand that feeling. If you do bashing easily without imagining it, the issue will be ridiculously diverted. For experienced people like us, it really gets in trouble when the general media asks for comments. I'm in trouble and think about it later. I wondered why I was in trouble when asked a question. That's because I can't explain the pain without actually trying it.
Depiction of a terrible randori scene with monster players
——In “Seven Emperor Judo”, you will be trained in the Hokkaido Prefectural Police's special training (a top group of judo that gathers selected athletes from powerful universities nationwide to aim for the Olympics), but it is too much. It's terrible ... A scene where you are slammed on concrete, or pressed against a wall while standing, squeezed with a cross and loosened for hours, and screaming. A scene in which a head butt or an elbow is hit, the knee is dropped by a ground fight, and tears are shed. It's a mixed martial art with a complete blow. I was surprised that I was doing such randori in the judo world almost 30 years ago.
Toshinari Masuda If an ordinary person sees it, it's just violence. But I could only have such an experience at that time. I was happy to be able to "feel it with my body" and "carve it into my soul" when I was young. I am grateful to the police players.
——Thank you?
Toshinari Masuda Yes. Even now, I am only grateful to the players of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police. I'm really grateful that I broke my tengu's nose, which made me feel that judo had become a little stronger at a local public high school. Because of that, I was able to live humbly and I think I was able to really grow. Therefore, I am sincerely grateful to the players of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police at that time.
--I see…….
Toshinari Masuda When I reread this work, I wondered what judo was, whether it was martial arts or sports, and I hadn't been able to answer it since I was young, but somehow I understood. Perhaps martial arts means voluntarily trying to overwork. Or maybe try putting yourself in a place you can't imagine. I think it's a martial art. I think that is the part that distinguishes sports from martial arts. I think it's something extraordinary.
——It was impressive to see the scene where you ask yourself while suffering from too much practice.
Toshinari Masuda There will be too many randori. So-called sparring. Top judoka and us seven emperor judo players do two or three hours just by randori even during normal light practice. When it comes to training camps and extended practice, I do 4 hours, 5 hours, and 6 hours. This completely ignores efficiency, isn't it? Not scientific. There is a scene where Hokkaido University judo members laugh bitterly when they hear the amount of spar of professional boxers and sumo wrestlers. Even Mike Tyson spends only 1 hour a day, about 3 minutes 20 rounds a day. It's an incredible amount of randori, judo.
--Certainly.
Toshinari Masuda Well, if it's a matter of practice efficiency or strength, it may not be scientific. But I think it's a martial art. Both Professor Masahiko Kimura and Professor Isao Okano were trying to improve the quality by entering from the quantity. All top judokas face the same problem. After that, each person draws his or her own conclusions. I thought that process was important. I thought that the process of thinking about the answer for myself was the idea of martial arts itself. That's why I think it's martial arts, not whether it's good or bad, but after actually doing it.
--I see……. The difference between martial arts and sports is that you can experience and think about extraordinary things by doing overwork and extreme practice.
The actual experience of fear and pain lived in literature
Toshinari Masuda The reason why Hemingway's series of war works received so much support is because he actually experienced the war. I served myself, experienced the fear and pain myself, chewed it, and sublimated it into literature. So I think it's similar to that war experience. There are some parts of the war that you have to actually serve. But at Hokkaido University, I was able to experience the overwork, unreasonable overwork and suffering, the fear that I could never escape, and the feeling of war. That's what I got from judo. That's why martial arts are like that.
——In addition to the reality of judo and fighting, another thing that is rooted in Mr. Masuda's work is that the scenery of the times and the atmosphere of the place are transmitted. It has been sublimated as a literary work. The scenery of the city of Sapporo where the snow falls from the sky, the scenery where the snow gets deeper, and the scene where the rime on the branches of a big tree is entwined and the snow goes to the dojo every day. Even when other students are playing with their lovers, the despair of young people who have no choice but to repeat the ground fighting is transmitted.
Toshinari Masuda We are experiencing that too. I feel the tingling air in my body. After all, because I did the extreme amount of practice, I think that the skin sensation and sensibility were all always sensitive antennas, and I felt the same scenery and the coldness of the snow, and that kind of thing delicately. Therefore, I don't think ordinary Hokkaido University students feel the season so delicately. I think the sensitivity to snow is also different from that of our judo members. I think I saw Sapporo that we felt, the snowy landscape that we felt, and something different from the starry sky that we saw. In that sense, we were happy.
I think there is abundant soil in the sport of judo
——Now, the judo world is shaking due to problems such as corporal punishment for women's judo.
Toshinari Masuda Yes. However, if you read this "Seven Emperor Judoki", you will be able to forgive all kinds of things. As I said in an interview with Gon when I received the Oya Award in Kimura-sensei's book, it is not "forgiveness" but amnesty, the kanji for "forgiveness". We all need forgiveness to reflect and move forward. I think this "Seven Emperor Judoki" is also a work that can get that forgiveness. Readers who read this will be aware of the rich world of judo. A fertile world in many ways. There is also judo that middle-aged and older people do for their health. There is also judo that women do for dieting. There is also a light judo that elementary school students do to make a lot of friends. There are also club activities that are fun to do in junior high school and high school. There is also a full-fledged judo that works hard for the team in college club activities. There is also judo where top-level judokas aim for the Olympics to sharpen the ho. Going one step further, Judo, which Professor Jigoro Kano dreamed of, "keeping up with other martial arts," that is, mixed martial arts, is possible. Judo is a very fertile field. The soil is full of nutrients. Therefore, no matter what kind of crop you sow, it will grow big and produce fruits.
——Isn't there a soil in judo that nurtures such diverse fruits?
Toshinari Masuda Actually, in the two years from the end of the serialization to the book, the fatal accident just became a problem, the problem of corporal punishment of female judo strengthening players came out, and the judo world shook. I was thinking of cutting down some parts in a book. I thought the description in my work might be misunderstood. But the editor stopped me. This is the life of this work. I also think about various things ...
——It's certainly a series of awesome scenes. I thought it was the origin of "Why did Masahiko Kimura not kill Rikidozan?"
Toshinari Masuda The randori scene is so terrifying that even if I read it, I would think "I used to do this kind of thing". Randori with a senior, a randori with a special trainer of the Hokkaido Police, and a judo accident part ... I really wanted to cut it. But since they are true, I can't help but scrape them off and cover them, even if they weren't there. For example, without the Pacific War, we wouldn't be able to think of what peace is and what history is. That's why I left it because I thought it would be a necessary work when discussing what judo is.
--I see.
There is also a way to divide into sports judo and command judo
Toshinari Masuda I'm a little worried that the problem of judo accidents will become a problem due to the compulsory martial arts, and the rough and practical parts of judo will be removed. So, just as there are command sambo and sports sambo in sambo, I think it's better to divide judo. For light judo for classes and judo for competitions. Perhaps it would be better to make command judo as a mixed martial art with a blow on it.
——Is it command judo?
Toshinari Masuda Created the research facility in the Kodokan. In fact, the judo practiced by police training classes all over the country was close to that. They also perform arrests (similar to Nippon Kempo, where they are allowed to wear armor and be hit. At the end, they aim to suppress and arrest), and when they think about it later, they join the so-called SAT (Special Assault Corps). There must have been a lot of players at that time. I think I was hiding and training that too. At that time, the existence of SAT was hidden from the world, and I learned only after becoming a member of society. It was the time of the 1995 Hakodate Airport hijacking incident. At that time, the Prefectural Police was a riot police firearms countermeasures unit, and the Metropolitan Police Department's SAT supported and the Prefectural Police rushed in, but I think that there were many people who ransacked with me.
——If you think about it, police organizations and the military are called MMA (Mixed Martial Arts, mixed martial arts in Japanese) in the world. In addition to judo and wrestling throwing and sleeping skills, karate and boxing striking skills are also allowed. I had to train assuming such a thing even before the beginning of (the ancestor of Brazilian Gracie Jiu-Jitsu).
Toshinari Masuda Judo has a system of training for a long time, and such a system has become a daily scene for top judoka. I think it was only in the judo world in the past that you could experience that primitive MMA sensation. I was able to experience it even though I was a player of the Seven Emperor Judo, Hokkaido University, who is not a top judoka. This is really thankful. After all, I was able to experience it because we, who are overwhelmingly inferior in physicality, face the top with the spirit of the Seven Emperor Judo, "I do not make the ceiling myself. I do not assume the limit. I break through the limit." ..
--I see.
Yuki Nakai was born because of the judo world at that time.
Toshinari Masuda That's it. Returning to the story, it was only in the judo world that you could experience the primitive MMA sensation in the past, and this part can be seen in the history of martial arts in the world. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was derived from Kodokan Judo. Vale Tudo and MMA were born from Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Boxing and wrestling did not derive the idea of MMA. Judo contained the idea of MMA. With that in mind, I think we must not forget the global position of judo, the idea of MMA that was not found in indigenous martial arts of other countries, and this in the history of martial arts.
——It's true that its value should be recognized. I think that ancient wrestling and ancient Muay Thai also had their sprout, but I have systematized how to survive in "anything" for both the weak and the strong, and I have been telling it until now. I think it's rare. Yuki Nakai was also born from the Kitadai Judo Club.
Toshinari Masuda Yes. Yuki Nakai was not born from wrestling, karate, and boxing. Yuki Nakai was born from a chemical reaction at the intersection of the rough top-level judo world and the heady imperial judo. From there, one of Japan's MMA was born. The place was the Kitadai Judo Club.
——It became one of the headwaters.
Toshinari Masuda Top-level judoka is shaving the hoes aiming for the Olympics, so the idea of "to other martial arts" is not born from that. I think it's because I'm a player of the Seven Emperor Judo who is physically inferior, various things. Why do we only do ground fighting? I wonder if the ground fighting is practical. How to deal with karateka and how to deal with boxers. I was doing judo with such flexibility and ideology. That's why I think that the top judoka and the seven emperor judo, which is centered on ground fighting, caused a chemical reaction and gave birth to Yuki Nakai.
--I see.
I want to build a magnificent view of the world like "Phoenix"
Toshinari Masuda Actually, "Yuki Nakai on the eve of VTJ" is a prologue in the big sense of the "Seven Emperor Judoki" series, and then this "Seven Emperor Judoki", and the sequel "Monthly Secret" that is still serialized. Hokkaido University Judo Club 2887 days ”, followed by sequels and series, which are all manuscripts, but how about 3 to 5 books? The final piece of the series is "Why did Masahiko Kimura not kill Rikidozan?"
——Mr. Masuda always said that.
Toshinari Masuda Yes. So only people who are close to me are aware of it. The editorial department of Gon, the editorial department of Kadokawa Shoten, and my friends are aware of it.
——It's going to be a really big story. Readers can't imagine what kind of shock they will get when they get there ...
Toshinari Masuda Yes. It's not just about martial arts. This is a group of works that consider the meaning of living itself. Write hard to tell it to your readers, that's it. Like Masahiko Kimura's book, I wrote this "Seven Emperor Judoki" while crying. If I don't read them all, I don't know what I really want to say. I don't understand the philosophy. I don't think I can get a real impression. That's why I want people who read Masahiko Kimura's book to read "Seven Emperor Judoki" as well. It's all a series, including "Oni Kimura Masahiko Gaiden" that will be released from East Press soon. If you read everything, it is designed to connect all the world views like Osamu Tezuka's "Firebird". Therefore, I want you to read the whole series, including Kimuramoto, and cry with the readers. It is my work world that all the souls and thoughts are connected. To put it the other way around, I can only write the soul part. I'm not good at skills or talented.
——No, that's the talent.
Toshinari Masuda Other writers rely on it because they are all talented, but I only believe in effort ...
——But you often say that you learned the importance of that effort from this Seven Emperor Judo. Masao Kosuge said the same thing in an interview with Gon, and Nakai (Yuki) also said the same thing.
Toshinari Masuda That's right. Before I entered Hokkaido University, I used to make a fool of my efforts. There was a place where I was making a fool of facing something hard. However, in those four years of experiencing the Seven Emperor Judo, that way of life changed radically. Mr. Kosuge recently said the same thing in a dialogue with Mr. Kenichiro Mogi. I knew who I was for the first time at the Hokkaido University Judo Hall. I would like martial arts fans to know the essence of the Seven Emperor Judo in this "Seven Emperor Judo Record". I want you to read it.
--is that so. It feels to everyone who reads this galley. Once I get to know this world, I feel that I can return to the origin of literature and the origin of martial arts at the same time.
("Gong Martial Arts" April 2013 issue)
Toshinari Masuda We are experiencing that too. I feel the tingling air in my body. After all, because I did the extreme amount of practice, I think that the skin sensation and sensibility were all always sensitive antennas, and I felt the same scenery and the coldness of the snow, and that kind of thing delicately. Therefore, I don't think ordinary Hokkaido University students feel the season so delicately. I think the sensitivity to snow is also different from that of our judo members. I think I saw Sapporo that we felt, the snowy landscape that we felt, and something different from the starry sky that we saw. In that sense, we were happy.
I think there is abundant soil in the sport of judo
——Now, the judo world is shaking due to problems such as corporal punishment for women's judo.
Toshinari Masuda Yes. However, if you read this "Seven Emperor Judoki", you will be able to forgive all kinds of things. As I said in an interview with Gon when I received the Oya Award in Kimura-sensei's book, it is not "forgiveness" but amnesty, the kanji for "forgiveness". We all need forgiveness to reflect and move forward. I think this "Seven Emperor Judoki" is also a work that can get that forgiveness. Readers who read this will be aware of the rich world of judo. A fertile world in many ways. There is also judo that middle-aged and older people do for their health. There is also judo that women do for dieting. There is also a light judo that elementary school students do to make a lot of friends. There are also club activities that are fun to do in junior high school and high school. There is also a full-fledged judo that works hard for the team in college club activities. There is also judo where top-level judokas aim for the Olympics to sharpen the ho. Going one step further, Judo, which Professor Jigoro Kano dreamed of, "keeping up with other martial arts," that is, mixed martial arts, is possible. Judo is a very fertile field. The soil is full of nutrients. Therefore, no matter what kind of crop you sow, it will grow big and produce fruits.
——Isn't there a soil in judo that nurtures such diverse fruits?
Toshinari Masuda Actually, in the two years from the end of the serialization to the book, the fatal accident just became a problem, the problem of corporal punishment of female judo strengthening players came out, and the judo world shook. I was thinking of cutting down some parts in a book. I thought the description in my work might be misunderstood. But the editor stopped me. This is the life of this work. I also think about various things ...
——It's certainly a series of awesome scenes. I thought it was the origin of "Why did Masahiko Kimura not kill Rikidozan?"
Toshinari Masuda The randori scene is so terrifying that even if I read it, I would think "I used to do this kind of thing". Randori with a senior, a randori with a special trainer of the Hokkaido Police, and a judo accident part ... I really wanted to cut it. But since they are true, I can't help but scrape them off and cover them, even if they weren't there. For example, without the Pacific War, we wouldn't be able to think of what peace is and what history is. That's why I left it because I thought it would be a necessary work when discussing what judo is.
--I see.
There is also a way to divide into sports judo and command judo
Toshinari Masuda I'm a little worried that the problem of judo accidents will become a problem due to the compulsory martial arts, and the rough and practical parts of judo will be removed. So, just as there are command sambo and sports sambo in sambo, I think it's better to divide judo. For light judo for classes and judo for competitions. Perhaps it would be better to make command judo as a mixed martial art with a blow on it.
——Is it command judo?
Toshinari Masuda Created the research facility in the Kodokan. In fact, the judo practiced by police training classes all over the country was close to that. They also perform arrests (similar to Nippon Kempo, where they are allowed to wear armor and be hit. At the end, they aim to suppress and arrest), and when they think about it later, they join the so-called SAT (Special Assault Corps). There must have been a lot of players at that time. I think I was hiding and training that too. At that time, the existence of SAT was hidden from the world, and I learned only after becoming a member of society. It was the time of the 1995 Hakodate Airport hijacking incident. At that time, the Prefectural Police was a riot police firearms countermeasures unit, and the Metropolitan Police Department's SAT supported and the Prefectural Police rushed in, but I think that there were many people who ransacked with me.
——If you think about it, police organizations and the military are called MMA (Mixed Martial Arts, mixed martial arts in Japanese) in the world. In addition to judo and wrestling throwing and sleeping skills, karate and boxing striking skills are also allowed. I had to train assuming such a thing even before the beginning of (the ancestor of Brazilian Gracie Jiu-Jitsu).
Toshinari Masuda Judo has a system of training for a long time, and such a system has become a daily scene for top judoka. I think it was only in the judo world in the past that you could experience that primitive MMA sensation. I was able to experience it even though I was a player of the Seven Emperor Judo, Hokkaido University, who is not a top judoka. This is really thankful. After all, I was able to experience it because we, who are overwhelmingly inferior in physicality, face the top with the spirit of the Seven Emperor Judo, "I do not make the ceiling myself. I do not assume the limit. I break through the limit." ..
--I see.
Yuki Nakai was born because of the judo world at that time.
Toshinari Masuda That's it. Returning to the story, it was only in the judo world that you could experience the primitive MMA sensation in the past, and this part can be seen in the history of martial arts in the world. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was derived from Kodokan Judo. Vale Tudo and MMA were born from Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Boxing and wrestling did not derive the idea of MMA. Judo contained the idea of MMA. With that in mind, I think we must not forget the global position of judo, the idea of MMA that was not found in indigenous martial arts of other countries, and this in the history of martial arts.
——It's true that its value should be recognized. I think that ancient wrestling and ancient Muay Thai also had their sprout, but I have systematized how to survive in "anything" for both the weak and the strong, and I have been telling it until now. I think it's rare. Yuki Nakai was also born from the Kitadai Judo Club.
Toshinari Masuda Yes. Yuki Nakai was not born from wrestling, karate, and boxing. Yuki Nakai was born from a chemical reaction at the intersection of the rough top-level judo world and the heady imperial judo. From there, one of Japan's MMA was born. The place was the Kitadai Judo Club.
——It became one of the headwaters.
Toshinari Masuda Top-level judoka is shaving the hoes aiming for the Olympics, so the idea of "to other martial arts" is not born from that. I think it's because I'm a player of the Seven Emperor Judo who is physically inferior, various things. Why do we only do ground fighting? I wonder if the ground fighting is practical. How to deal with karateka and how to deal with boxers. I was doing judo with such flexibility and ideology. That's why I think that the top judoka and the seven emperor judo, which is centered on ground fighting, caused a chemical reaction and gave birth to Yuki Nakai.
--I see.
I want to build a magnificent view of the world like "Phoenix"
Toshinari Masuda Actually, "Yuki Nakai on the eve of VTJ" is a prologue in the big sense of the "Seven Emperor Judoki" series, and then this "Seven Emperor Judoki", and the sequel "Monthly Secret" that is still serialized. Hokkaido University Judo Club 2887 days ”, followed by sequels and series, which are all manuscripts, but how about 3 to 5 books? The final piece of the series is "Why did Masahiko Kimura not kill Rikidozan?"
——Mr. Masuda always said that.
Toshinari Masuda Yes. So only people who are close to me are aware of it. The editorial department of Gon, the editorial department of Kadokawa Shoten, and my friends are aware of it.
——It's going to be a really big story. Readers can't imagine what kind of shock they will get when they get there ...
Toshinari Masuda Yes. It's not just about martial arts. This is a group of works that consider the meaning of living itself. Write hard to tell it to your readers, that's it. Like Masahiko Kimura's book, I wrote this "Seven Emperor Judoki" while crying. If I don't read them all, I don't know what I really want to say. I don't understand the philosophy. I don't think I can get a real impression. That's why I want people who read Masahiko Kimura's book to read "Seven Emperor Judoki" as well. It's all a series, including "Oni Kimura Masahiko Gaiden" that will be released from East Press soon. If you read everything, it is designed to connect all the world views like Osamu Tezuka's "Firebird". Therefore, I want you to read the whole series, including Kimuramoto, and cry with the readers. It is my work world that all the souls and thoughts are connected. To put it the other way around, I can only write the soul part. I'm not good at skills or talented.
——No, that's the talent.
Toshinari Masuda Other writers rely on it because they are all talented, but I only believe in effort ...
——But you often say that you learned the importance of that effort from this Seven Emperor Judo. Masao Kosuge said the same thing in an interview with Gon, and Nakai (Yuki) also said the same thing.
Toshinari Masuda That's right. Before I entered Hokkaido University, I used to make a fool of my efforts. There was a place where I was making a fool of facing something hard. However, in those four years of experiencing the Seven Emperor Judo, that way of life changed radically. Mr. Kosuge recently said the same thing in a dialogue with Mr. Kenichiro Mogi. I knew who I was for the first time at the Hokkaido University Judo Hall. I would like martial arts fans to know the essence of the Seven Emperor Judo in this "Seven Emperor Judo Record". I want you to read it.
--is that so. It feels to everyone who reads this galley. Once I get to know this world, I feel that I can return to the origin of literature and the origin of martial arts at the same time.
("Gong Martial Arts" April 2013 issue)