Q&A Sports Interview: Naomichi Marufuji - "While keeping the good old ways, we will continue to change"

December 2014

Naomichi Marufuji has liked pro-wrestling since early childhood, he started wrestling from High School to become a professional wrestler himself and after graduation, he entered All Japan Pro Wrestling. After that he moved to Pro Wrestling Noah and continued to be active winning numerous titles. On Wednesday 23rd December, a title match will be scheduled against Minoru Suzuki (GHC Heavyweight Champion) whose group is seeking to extinguish Noah.

Q: Please tell me how you started wrestling

Since I was a child I have liked wrestling, and when I seriously thought about my career I knew I wanted to enter that world. I was in the 2nd grade of Junior High, I was thinking after graduating about which high school to go to to enter the world of professional wrestling. I could not avoid going to high school*, and I did not like to study (laughs); it is my parents who were paying and they thought that I should go to one with a purpose. If you choose to become a professional wrestler, you need to go to a High School where you can do wrestling, so you will choose a school who does it.

Q: At a young age you knew what you wanted to do with your future?

Despite having no intention of going to university, I entered a graduate class at High School. So while everyone was recieving a trial exam, only I did not.

Q: Originally you had a thin body until you were a High School student didn't you?

Before I entered senior High School, I was a lazy child. That's why I had to attach basic physical strength to enter this world in High School.

Q: When you started wrestling, was it hard work on the physical strength side, did you feel any difference?

There were some experienced people in some of those who entered at the same time, so I felt the difference there. Since I had been taught about wrestling from the start (such as stance), an experienced person was doing sparring. Still, I had the feeling that I had to make up the difference with them.

Q: It is said that the regime of the wrestling department in High School was particularly severe?

I knew that I wanted to become a professional wrestler, but that it would be hard, and I could not keep going unless I didn't think about it. There was not enough that corresponded to wrestling.

There was only a few days off of campus in the year. I remember that practice was 5 or 6 laps of the gymnasium which was 200 meters per lap. If you could not complete it in the time they wanted, then additional punishment was waiting. This part of training was a substitute, practice was afterwards.
The director was taller than I am, and was a tough man. Even in sparring we were hurt by being bashed around. Because practice was so severe, there were a lot of people who quit.

Q: You stayed in the wrestling department for three years, and after graduation you joined All Japan Pro Wrestling?

I had been in High School three years, and I got the opportunity to temporarily enter All Japan Pro Wrestling, so if I could endure the life of practice and chores for a week, I would gain entry. I was able to survive the week, so I joined two days after the High School graduation ceremony. I owe it to the wrestling department for the three years in High School that I could endure that week.

On the other hand it was hard until I got used to the social hierachy that I had never experienced before. Even in High School there is a hierachial relationship, but this was very different from that. In club activities, one or two years old does not make much difference, but in All Japan there were seniors like Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi, who have many years of seniority and have proved themselves as athletes; there was a heirachial relationship.

Q: You were a trainee of Misawa. Was there a lot of chores? 

Misawa was the type that did his own thing, so I did not have too much work. Naturally I picked up baggage, shoes and cleaned clothes etc, but I never found it difficult.
Rather, when Misawa was going out for a match, the contents of my wallet grew steadily (laughs). All the change from from laundry and lunch were given to me. For example, he would ask me to order him a lunchbox**. He mostly requested the Chicken Nanban***, because it was supposed to be less than 1,000 and 10,000 was handed over, I got the rest.

Q: After you joined, various nicknames were attached to compare with the seniors, did you not feel the pressure of that?

That was fine with me. Rather, the greater the pressure, the greater you feel when you get over it. I did not mind what was said because I loved this world and what I was doing, so I did not mind what people around me thought.

Q: What do you think the charm of wrestling is?

I am able to offer you the things that I longed to watch when I was small, a brilliant def-defying sight that is allowed in the ring and so on. Indeed, the customers are pleased to see it. I often hear that it is not painful or dangerous, but I don't pay attention to that, it ranks low on the things I feel about wrestling. Beyond that I don't feel pain or fear because the pleasure and the brilliance outweight it, thanks to the people around me who are willing and happy. I want to convey their dreams and hopes.
If you want to watch other fighting sports, I think you should watch such events. On the other hand there are a lot of people who like professional wrestling, but want to see such moves. I think there are a lot of people who find dreams, hopes and things they find cool there. Which is why I just express it. It doesn't matter if it is pro-wrestling or not you use to bring out the merits in yourself while drawing out your opponents skills.
I'm not denying any other fighting spirit, and I don't think comparison is necessary. There are opportunities to be involved with those of different disciplines in fighting sports, and it would be nice if you can stimulate other competitions if you can.

Q: What do you think is Pro-Wrestling Noah's charm?

There are many elements that can please many people. It is hard to put it into words, but there is something for everyone in pro-wrestling. If you can watch the match, you can feel what we want to tell you. Noah I think keeps changing, while keeping the old things, so we have not completed it yet.

Q: Please tell us the match and title that you have have been most impressed with so far?

There is a depth in each title, so I cannot unconditionally say which one, but if I had one it would be recapturing the GHC Junior Heavyweight which had gone out to other organisations.

The other match is challenging Misawa when he was the GHC Heavyweight Champion. It was impossible for Misawa to challenge myself as I had been the one who had watched professional wrestling as a fan several years ago. I understood that I could challenge Misawa, but it felt strange that Misawa would challenge me. I ended up getting the title, but (laugh) it was an event that made me realise again that anything could happen in professional wrestling.

Q: Like yourself once, there are people who would love to enter the world of professional wrestling as they admire you.

I think that is very important for people to watch matches and increase the number of professional wrestlers, it is just as important as putting on a belt.

Q: You were also a pro-wrestling fan in the past, but please tell me the match that has left the greatest impression on you.

The fighting style is totally different from mine, but Andre vs Hansen****. It is a battle that I cannot fully replicate as it involves a huge human being, but although I regret that I cannot do it myself, I somehow also am glad about it. There is a range of possibilities in professional wrestling. 

Q: Currently you are president of Pro Wrestling Noah, you are active as a wrestler, and you also manage the company.

Misawa, who was the former president died and recommended that I become the vice president of Noah. I did not know at all how to run a company. So I went through all the proceedures as if I was starting a company from scratch to learn. I did it all by myself, I went to the Legal Affairs Bureau each time I had a problem with proceedure. As I am not acting as a professional wrestler in this capacity, I cannot bother Noah about it. Conversely, I would like to return to Noah with what I have learned.

Q: It is hard to establish an athletic company.

At that time my head was pounding (laughs) and I could not even use my PC, but I studied. However, since the core of the business is professional wrestling, there are many things outside of Tokyo. At the time the company establishment proceedure was very difficult, but since I was an amateur who was quite a novice about company establishment and management, I felt that anything could be realised if I was serious and did it with a purpose. Even as a wrestler I was an fan and then an amateur in the first place, I was able to become a professional wrestler like that.

I am of the opinion that it is better to fail and regret it. If you do not act, you cannot fail, you just "give up". "Giving up" does not create anything positive, with "failure" you can create a positive.

Q: Mr. Marufuji, please tell me what you think is your own charm?

Curiosity. With curiosity, try to challenge a variety of things and step up. This is my style and I learned it through wrestling. I am a chunk of curiosity!

Q: The picture on your business card seems to have been drawn by yourself, do you like to draw?

I like drawing. I often draw a picture and then get rid of it. When I draw I often start suddenly in the middle of the night. Actually, my older brother***** (Hiroki Marufuji) is an animator and I am acting as the director of Macross F Activities. I have four brothers, but we are each active in different occupations.

Q: You each do different occupations, but you are each active in the front line?

I think we all came to this point because we had wonderful parents. They encouraged me in what I wanted to do and to expand the possibilities. They did not oppose it at all when I said I wanted to do professional wrestling. I was told that if I wanted to do it, I should do it seriously. Hard work was learned from my grandparents who were bought up with multiple jobs. I appreciate it very much.

Q:Since you are a pro wrestler, please let me know if there is any episode that occurred to you that you did not think would happen?

Professional wrestlers usually have not laced up their boots although their entrance songs are playing, they do not get ready in time and get impatient. I had heard stories from other athletes and I thought that such a thing would not happen to me. It did and I was also impatient (laughs)

Q: Each wrestler has a finisher, but how do you decide on the name?

You make it up yourself. I named "Shiranui" by myself. I was imagining the "Shiranui"****** of a sword. At that time there were many moves written in Roman letters, so I dared to write in kanji. If you do not name your move, you will not be able to answer what it is called when asked. If you do not name it even then, it will be given a strange name not of your own. The technique is made from movement in practice.

Q: How do you decide on theme music?

I decided on mine. In the past we chose from one recommended by the staff, but in Noah each wrestler is using a song that they want to use. I like songs that raise the tension when I enter for the match. My debut song is the first song of a dance music CD I picked up at the beginning, "Hysteric".

Q: It is not a genre you listen to normally?

No, but I remixed it and used it for copyright reasons.

Q: By the way, what kind of music do you usually listen to?

I basically listen to Japanese music only. Western music is good, but I cannot get into it because I do not know what they are saying (laugh). The artist I liked the most at first was Kojo Yoshikawa.

Q: Please let me know what you cherish the most.

"A life with no difficulty is a safe life, but it is a wonderful life to have difficulties". I was told this by a person who I met at some sort of bar, but (laugh) I certainly thought this was the case. Recently, I feel the importance of relationships with people again. I truly appreciate that there is someone lending me a hand when I am in trouble.

Q: Please give a message to the readers now we are at the end of the interview. 

No matter what you do, having something that you truly love and can have a goal to work towards is the first step in walking towards a wonderful life.

EDITORS NOTES
*Many dojo will not accept students who have not graduated from High School, but Giant Baba made an exception for Atsushi Onita who had dropped out at sixteen to travel on foot around Japan.
**Bento box (single-portion take-out or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento holds rice or noodles, fish or meat, with pickled and cooked vegetables, in a box)
***Fried chicken coated in a crispy egg batter that's soaked in a sweet and sour nanban sauce
****Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen, September 23, 1981
*****He is the youngest of four brothers, one of his brothers (probably Hiroki) has a twitter account @maruFUJIYA
****** While "Shiranui" can mean various things (ghost lights, a sumo term, a term in Shinto) here it means "a sword given from father to son"

Link to original article: http://blog.qandasports.com/post/135174806846/%E4%B8%B8%E8%97%A4-%E6%AD%A3%E9%81%93%E5%8F%A4%E3%81%8D%E8%89%AF%E3%81%8D%E3%82%82%E3%81%AE%E3%82%92%E5%A4%A7%E5%88%87%E3%81%AB%E3%81%97%E3%81%A4%E3%81%A4%E5%A4%89%E3%82%8F%E3%82%8A%E7%B6%9A%E3%81%91%E3%81%A6%E3%81%84%E3%81%8F