(NOAH) "Donmai! Donmai!" Mitsuharu Misawa's diary, 1st December 2006

1st December 2006

Cheers! It's been two weeks since I last saw you. There's only one more day left for the last navigation of the year. This time's navigation is Misawa, who is feeling tired after a long journey (I guess he's always tired). This time, we had two shows in a row in Sapporo, but we arrived the day before, and the journey the day before, including the ferry, took about twelve hours. On top of that, as I am sure the other wrestlers have written in their diaries, the highway we entered Hokkaido on was closed to traffic due to a blizzard, so it took us longer than planned and was doubly tiring. After the match ended in Sapporo, the next day we took the ferry to Honshū*. Misawa was fast asleep on the ferry both on the way there and back. 

And what happened on the ferry? 

As usual, I drank until morning (what is this "as usual!"), got on the ferry, and woke up just before we reached Hakodate and was about to get on the bus when...

Tokyo Sports: Misawa-san, can I take a photograph? 

Me (instantly): No way

The truth is that my face was swollen from drinking until morning, and I woke up in a bad mood, "I can't stand being photographed in this kind of place", but I didn't have time to explain anything and just answered. When a photo was taken afterwards, I thought, "That's a shame", but I guess there's nothing I can do about it. Although it is a little different from the venue, when even if fans are waiting in front of the hotel before departure in the morning, we may not be able to fully respond to autographs and photos if there is not enough time before departure. I hope you understand the situation.

By the way, I wrote this at the beginning, but this Navi has one day left. The event tomorrow is the final one, the 10th at the Budokan, and then two consecutive matches before Christmas. Would everyone like to enjoy Noah next year? Soon I think it will be the exciting time of the year end and New Year holidays, so please do not get sick. 

So, for now, let's answer the question from Ito...in the style of an old story (Manga Nippon*), once upon a time (this is a similar imitation, even if I say so myself)...I think it was about ten years ago that I went to a certain region, and a senior colleague of mine invited me to a sushi restaurant. The hostess asked, "Customer-san, where are you staying?" When I heard that, I told her honestly that I was staying in an Ryokan*, and she said "I see" in a stammering manner. I was curious about the way that was said, so I asked about it, and she said, "A long time ago, a maid at that inn committed suicide" (The word "Maid" may be considered rude these days, but it recreates the atmosphere. Sorry for the inconvenience.) I thought that there was no way it could be in the guest room*, so I asked, "Which room"...my "No way" was correct. 

Moreover, it's my room...

It was around 2 or 3 o'clock when we returned to the inn after dinner. No matter how much I don't usually pay attention to stories like that, I was intrigued after just hearing about it, so I went straight to the large room where the younger wrestlers were sleeping. I woke up Gamo* (Masao Inoue), who had just started wrestling at the time, and told him, "You, sleep with me in my room". When I said that, Gamo was a bit sleepy, but he came without complaining and fell asleep. Gamo was snoring so loudly that I had a hard time sleeping, but before I knew it I had fallen asleep and the morning came without any incident. The next day, when I explained the reason to Gamo, he didn't seem to mind, saying "Oh, really?", so I was relieved (now that I think about it, he didn't seem to care much about what happened, which is no different from now). By the way, of course, Gamo is not what you think he is. There was nothing strange, so just to be sure...Even if your passionate, I refuse to accept your request! (What kind of duck is going to say this after being woken up in the middle of the night?). The only other scary experiences I've ever had were experiencing sleep paralysis two or three times, and hearing the sound of rapping a few times. Well, because of my job I stay in a lot of places, so I feel like I am starting to open up to the feeling that it's normal for something to exist, but it would be strange if it didn't exist. Now that that I think about it, if anyone saw something that made you feel scared or disgusted, I would like you to share it with me. 

Lastly, I have a question for next week's diary. Ippei, who is getting excited because people say he looks like Shidô Nakamura*, (I don't think they look alike), but why is he a "bu*sen"* What? That's it for Misawa. Tomorrow is the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium Tournament. If you're in the area or have time, please come and cheer for the wrestlers at the venue. See you in two weeks.

Notes

Honshū: Largest of the four islands (main islands) of Japan 

Manga Nippon: Japanese folk tales

Ryokan: Traditional Japanese inn. Back then, the younger wrestlers would be housed in the banqueting hall or else the larger guest rooms, while their seniors had their own rooms. The juniors wrestlers did not get much sleep as the seniors used their room to congregate and drink in. Added to this, Jumbo Tsuruta was followed around by groups of people, which made Baba once yell out about the noise, "Be quiet, you bastards!". So no one really got much sleep usually.

Guest room: Kind of a parlour type room. 

Gamo: See entry dated November 18th 2006

Shidô Nakamura: Kabuki actor (his son was the voice of Yoshitaka Mine, Chairman of the Hakuho Clan in Yakuza 3) 

*Bu*sen: Misawa omitted a word, but I think this refers to someone who is ugly and likes ugly people, and in turn is liked by ugly people