A Flower on the Rock
これは、ある力士の人生を追った物語だ。
彼は、草相撲でその将来性を見初められ、東北の片田舎から大志を抱いで角界入りした。 入門後、序の口優勝。その後も、周囲の期待に応えるように順調に番付をあげた。
しかし、突然体の不調が見つかり入院。退院後は力が戻らず、稽古をすることもままな らない。「巖乃花」は数年後、廃業した。
力士として大成しなかった彼は、自力で新たな人生を切り開かなければならなかった。 ゼロから料理の修行に励み、地元に帰ってちゃんこ料理屋として独立した。その後も、相撲を教え、大会運営に携わるなど、相撲に関わりを持ち続けてきた。
彼が角界で過ごしたのは6年。夢を追いかけ、経験したことのないことに触れ、同門の 力士達と家族のように過ごした。その6年が、彼のその後の人生に大きな影響を与えたのは確かだ。
現在の彼の生活ぶりからは、かつて力士だったことはほとんど分からない。しかし時折、彼の人生の中で、今も相撲がかすかに息づいていると感じる。地方新聞の隅にある相撲記事に目を向けるとき。流行りの店の店長が、相撲部屋の後輩だと言うとき。散歩の途中で四股を踏むとき。
こうしたひとつひとつが、彼が自身の人生を肯定していることを示すようだ。
This project is a story about the life of a sumo wrestler.
This is the story of a young man from the countryside of the Tohoku region of Japan who entered the world of sumo wrestling with great ambitions after being recognized for his potential as an amateur sumo wrestler. Although he was a beginner, he won the first tournament of his career. After that, he rose steadily in the rankings to meet the expectations of those around him. However, he suddenly found out that he was in poor health and was hospitalized during the main tournament. After leaving the hospital, he was unable to regain his strength and was unable to practice. “Iwa no hana” [“Flower on the Rock”], as he was called, quit sumo wrestling a few years later. Having failed to make a career as a sumo wrestler, he had to make a new life for himself. He trained in cooking from scratch at a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, then returned to his hometown and started his own chanko nabe [typical stew for sumo wrestlers] restaurant. After that, he continued to be involved in sumo wrestling by opening sumo wrestling schools, teaching sumo wrestling, and managing tournaments.
He spent about seven years in the sumo world, chasing his dreams, experiencing things he had never done before, and spending time with his fellow sumo wrestlers as if they were his family. It is certain that his short time in the world of sumo wrestling had a great impact on the rest of his life.
Today, he …… my father leads a quiet life. From there, it is hard to imagine that he was once a sumo wrestler. Sometimes, however, I feel that sumo wrestling is still faintly alive in his life. When he turns his eyes to a sumo wrestling article in the corner of a local newspaper. When the manager of a trendy restaurant tells him that he is a junior member of the sumo-beya [a sumo wrestling organization] to which he was previously affiliated. When he does a shiko [typical sumo wrestler stamp] while walking. Each of these things seems to indicate that he is affirming his own life.
