The Last Bump (Mayumi Misawa)

This book is written by Mayumi, widow of the late Mitsuharu Misawa from the viewpoint of the third person and contains a collection of memories and images from family life. Mayumi has given her thoughts at the beginning and at the end of the book.
(Editorial Department)

Hisame's note 
Because some readers will be unfamiliar with some Japanese traditions, anything marked with an asterix *, can be found at the end of the book for an explanation.

CHAPTERS
Prologue\Introduction
Chapter One: Day of Departure
Chapter Two: Two people in a sunflower field
Chapter Three: Misawa becomes Mitsuharu Misawa
Chapter Four: Philosophy and innocence
Chapter Five: The Last Bump
Epilogue\Conclusion
Afterword

Prologue/Introduction
The past twenty-one years have been substantial. He shone, so it felt like we were walking over sunflower fields, two people laughing together. 
But he was also a tough person.
Although I was raised by my parents, I feel like I was raised again by my husband. At the same time I feel that he lived and grew in a variety of ways. My husband though he was, we thought as one.
I am proud.
I am proud that he was my husband.
It's not because of who you saw.
He was a father.

Chapter One: Day of Departure
A succession of a  change of clothes, and a talk about painkillers. After that she put some laundry in bags from two weeks worth of luggage. Mayumi's husband, Mitsuharu, had just returned from tour. She and wrestler, Mitsuharu Misawa, had married in 1988 and had been married for twenty-one years. It was Mayumi's job to put together the luggage for the tour as well. Two things had changed as the years passed, his t-shirt size had grown from 3L to 4L, and the amount of painkillers had increased. Everything had its fixed space in the suitcase, the t-shirts were here, the underwear went there, and so on.
It was already a familiar task to her.

Whilst she unpacked, Mitsuharu immersed himself in a morning bath. A hot bath in the morning and the evening was a long standing habit of his, and it was always the case that he played "PICO PICO" on the Nintendo DS, wrapping the strap firmly around his wrist to prevent it from falling into the water. Even with his large frame, he still made a lovely sight.
Mayumi talked until she finished packing the suitcases in the Japanese style room on the second floor, afterwards she went downstairs to the first floor bathroom. This was also a custom of many years to talk with him as he was getting out of the bath. Although he did not often speak she was prompted to ask "what?" from time to time by the look on his face.
"Mother*, you packed me a blue shirt instead of a red shirt! Where was my black one? Also, I do not need three or four nail clippers".
Although he had told her that he did not need these things, she had packed them anyway as she knew that he probably would use them and besides, he could never have enough t-shirts to practice in and clothes to change into afterwards, and she did not want to inconvenience him if he had go without them wherever he was. Despite this, Mayumi quickly returned to the second floor, opened the two suitcases and took out the additional items.
The big Louis Vuitton suitcase could have fit the slim 5'3 Mayumi inside of it, it was used for personal clothing and items, and the other, a Zero Haliburton, was used for work. When the Zero Haliburton was closed, you could compact loads in it by sitting on it and so Mayumi had to use her weight.
"It would fit even more if you bought a bigger one"
"Even so, this is fine".
He wouldn't give away his favorite over that single point, so Mayumi had to use her knees. The other suitcase, the Louis Vitton, had lost its rectangle shape and could now be said to be bulging like a barrel. It looked as if it was about to cry. She did not care what Father said about it, she felt sorry for it.
When she had finished, Mayumi took the two suitcases downstairs. The luggage was like two large barrels, and she could not carry them easily. Gathering up the strength in both arms she headed towards Mitsuharu's favorite car (BMW-X6) and stopped at the front door. She lifted one of the suitcases using her whole body, kicked it up with the knee and put it in the trunk of the car. Her friends would say, "typical, a pro-wrestlers wife has to be strong too", Mayumi is not surprised by this and just scratched her neck. Because the other suitcase was too heavy for her, and it came to her waist these days, she had to put it in the corner for two days until he left again. Her husband was about to go on tour, and she needed to remember it was there.
 
Mitsuharu Misawa is the representative director and the president of Pro-Wrestling Noah. He spent a third of the year on the road travelling all over Japan, the rest he spent at home. He will sometimes go overseas to America or England, and a pro-wrestling magazine said he was a "highly ranked professional wrestler". Although he was respected in pro-wrestling, at home he was simply addressed as "Father" and Mayumi he called "Mother", just like any other ordinary couple. He was a funny husband and could tease like a teacher. However, he could fussy when it came to the order of meals, and got frustrated when she tried to walk the dog. He did not talk about work at home at all. The information about the tour and the match results were always read about in newspapers and magazines, but, funny things tended to happen.
For example, once after finishing the packing for the tour, while she was sitting on the suitcase there was suddenly the sound of her phone ringing in her bag, Mayumi wondered who it was and answered.
"You!!!"
It was a call from the tour.
It seemed that the compact mirror one of his favorites (and Noah merchandise), had broken into pieces when he opened the suitcase. Mayumi heard that something had spilled and wondered if now the whole hotel smelled. Another time when he was going to Hawaii, she had left Mitsuharu's diving set on the storeroom floor, and in her hurry she had managed to step on it.
"There is a crack on the tube!"
"Yeah...that was me!"
"Damn you! Now I'm going to die!"
She apologised every time when something happened like that, she laughed a bit though when she recalled it later. Even if anything did break in his luggage, he was able to manage something, so she wasn't usually too concerned.

While Mayumi was loading the luggage into the car, Mitsuharu, having risen from the bath got dressed and headed to the door. As her husband was particular about the order of things, it was Mayumi's role to prepare everything with timing upon his waking up, breakfast, morning bath etc.
"I'm just coming!"
"Yup"
While watching him, she was thinking. Today, is he going to Shizuoka? She had read it in a magazine. The tour schedule will be given to her, but she always double checked beforehand and before what her husband told her, she was accustomed to preparing things this way.

Mitsuharu got into the car and opened the window fully. As a ritual from their newlywed days, Mayumi walked to the drivers side and as usual a light kiss was exchanged. As she watched the car drive away, she could see him waving to her. When Mayumi sees him off, she does one "ceremony" that Mitsuharu does not know about. She thinks "do not be afraid" and holds in her heart the image of him in the car as if in her protective embrace. A few years ago she was watching a television program and Mrs. Oshito went to see her husband wrestle and told him "please be careful", Mayumi started this tradition.

On June 9th 2009, it was the last time that Mayumi and Mitsuharu did their ritual.

Chapter Two: Two people in a sunflower field

On July 4th 2009, a long line of people stretched from Differ Ariake in Tokyo, the line filled the sidewalk of the Ariake district were redevelopment work was undwerway, right down to Toyosu Station, over the Harumi Ohashi bridge and into Chou Ward. There were 25,000 people. The midsummer sun shone down on them as they moved forward slowly with their bouquet of flowers, based on green. At Differ Ariake, Misawa's flower altar had been arranged. He had been killed during an accident in the ring on the 13th June. The funeral was private, the flower altar was for the fans to say farewell. It was the same format which was held for Giant Baba when he died in 1999. 28,000 people attended the Nippon Budokan. Tens of thousands attended the memorial of Yutaka Ozaki and Misora Hibari, both singers and not professional wrestlers.
So why was Misawa so beloved?
Even if you are a casual fan, many people are interested in the legend of superhuman wrestlers.  Anecdores such as fighting a bear, jumping over a running car, training in the depths of the mountains in India have all been exhausted. Antonio Inoki immersed himself in ice baths, Tenryu was famous for his capacity for alcohol, and won a drinking competition against actor Hiroki Matsukata, Kenta Kobashi is the legend who fought with Misawa. As a result of the training from a young age, the upper arm is the same thickness as female waist, which is called the very limit of humanity. He trained as much as he could, even on airplanes.  Toshiaki Kawada, who was a senior in All Japan Pro Wrestling, made an accurate, although unscrupulous assessment about him, "If you want to kill Kobashi, you don't need a knife. Just pick up a barbel." In the GHC Heavyweight Championship at the Nippon Budokan, he fractured the area between the nose and the eyes after a fierce battle with Misawa. Rushed to hospital, he spent three weeks there and each time he tried to blow his nose, the bags under his eyes swelled.

Kobashi: I have a match in two weeks, is it possible?
Doctor: Impossible
Kobashi: Is it okay to practice?
Doctor: It is impossible, it is absolutely impossible.
Kobashi: Well, then I might go overseas and recover.
Doctor: The changes in pressure would not be good
Kobashi: I could visit a Hot Spring?
Doctor: It would affect your circulation and you would become swollen. You will only get better by resting.

He did everything they told him, except for resting for three weeks.
It was always hard to operate on Kobashi as there was three times the muscle, but he always overcame the surgery. In June 2006 he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and underwent surgery for a right nephrectomy. According to the company "many fans are enthusiastic about wrestlers who embody the spirit of human spirit of overcoming the boredom of repeated injuries, surgery and returning."
Currently in Pro-Wrestling Noah, Takeshi Rikio, (ranked 4th in the sumo world), when visiting Kyoto in 2004, went to visit the temples with a few other wrestlers on rental bicycles during their spare time, and was hit by a taxi coming out of a parking lot. 911 was called, the bike was wrecked, and as he was about to be put in an ambulance said "Please let me go. I am alright. Please let me go to Ginkaku-ji**.
Also, there is Kotaro Suzuki, who was injured during a match. Taken to hospital he said "please let me go. I still have to collect money for the wrestlers". The pain was overridden by his duties as the treasurer of the wrestlers association. 
Originally from All Japan, and the sumo world, Genichiro Tenryu said he was able to bench press 210 kilos after hearing a man of 50 years old speak, he had been encouraged by a bodybuilder who did 320 kilograms at the gym he attended.

Giant Baba, who was 209 cm tall, is legendary.
He was amazing star in the ring.
Gucci, had a luxury brand foot type exclusively made for Baba. The 34 inch shoes were ordered from Honolulu, Hawaii, which was not only the place they had their head office, but also a place he saw as his second hometown. This was also where he ordered his suits, shoes, bags etc from. Suitcases and bags, that were needed to accommodate a man of Baba's size, were custom made.
In addition to this, there was subtle attentiveness during the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake. He rushed to the site from Tokyo, and sent a truck loaded with supplies such as simple toiletries, and then taking a secretary he departed via the Shinkansen. He visited Osaka first, and arrived at the station without any difficulty as he wanted to check on the house of Mokoto's parents. Getting out was more of a difficulty as trains to the west were not moving on the timetable. He entered Hyogo prefecture in a panicked state. He ordered a list of all the prefecture fan clubs, and confirmed the safety of the members by calling them one by one. In addition to the phone calls he visited their homes personally, sometimes pushing through the rubble or walking on roads that were no longer roads.
Even though that is impressive enough on its own, when he visited he bought emergency supplies such as water, canned fish, cup noodles etc. The staff took a round trip between Akashi City and Kobe to procure the goods. Although he held an emergency charity tournament on Awaji Island, he did not broadcast what he had done.

For Mitsuharu Misawa, there is no so-called "superhuman legend", that will show off the unique power of the professional wrestler. As a junior, the senior wrestlers got him drunk, but when he was in that position, he never compelled his own juniors. He would sit at the end of the bar, with his back to the wall, and laugh at their views as they were boasting about their overwhelming track record in the ring, the Triple Crown Heavyweight championship, which is the apex of All Japan wrestling.
He was at the top of his career. Total defense was twenty-one times. In Pro-Wrestling Noah he won the GHC (Global Honored Crown) three times, and in 2007 was elected the "Best Wrestler" in the Grand Prix, the oldest in history. There are not many people with such a track history.
The height of pro-wrestling that Mitsuharu aimed at was not to be a superman in the world, but a superhuman in the the world of professional sports. Heavyweight pro-wrestling has fundamentally different points from other sports. It is based on "recieving the opponents skills", is that passive attitude (i.e being submissive to what your opponent does or a "bump" in professional terms) exists. If you cannot be passive, then you cannot protect your bodt.
After that is is indespensible to reward the technique that you counterattack after recieving it from the opponent, and the competitor who fought against Mitsuharu had their techique rewarded; this is the real pleasure of Professional Wrestling.
Pro Wrestling is not a fight, it's purpose is not to injure other people.
There is a marginal limit in the midst of attacking, that "you can take it if you are a man", but you need to trust in your skill, Kenta Kobashi built a name in matches, Kawada and Misawa knew about the secret handling and how to respond to any advance techniques, and the body being able to endure shock, and a spirit that is not afraid.

Mitsuharu was a passionate wrestler.
If he did have a legend, it was his mastery of passitivity.

Besides being passive, professional wrestling has its own view of the world. Unlike other professional sports which attract customers by showing skill alone, it is a sport where you can show the spring, summer, autumn and winter of life, as well as skill. It has history. Wrestlers have history.

Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba, the founders of New Japan and All Japan, where rival organisations whose athletes collided in a struggle. There is also the universal story of the younger wrestlers stealing the victory from their seniors and growing in stature, which is a success story in life. However, pro wrestling is not just a competition as to how much you can bump your body. It is the only professional sport that projects life itself.
With strength as a wrestler, you will gain professionalism through skillful battle, but each wrestler lives a different life from each other, even a modest wrestler can be professional with a clever fight. The type that uses overwhelming physique in the match...

DISCLAIMER: This work is not for publication OR commercial gain. Copyright, images and text are the sole property of the author and the publisher. The translator makes NO CLAIM of ownership.

INFO

*Japanese husbands sometimes call their wives "okasan" ("mother") after their first child is born, similarly she may call him "Father"

** Zen temple in Kyoto