Got suddenly busy last week, but I did manage to finish the translation for the August 17 Inspiration show! A lot happened in this show, considering the fact that it only had four matches.
The opening match was Pom vs Mahiro, which was somehow a first-time singles match between the two. In a sense, though, it’s kind of good that they waited, because both of them have such clearly established characters now, and the match was a lot of fun!
I think I got Mahiro’s comments?
Kiryu: “I won! And I received an apology gift. It’s rice crackers. They’re the ones with nori on them. Since it was my first singles match with Pom, she’s very crafty, and I was wondering how it would go… but I’m glad that I was able to win. Thank you very much.”
Pom’s comments were a little more trouble:
Pom: (screaming) “I LOSTTTTTT! …I lost.”
This line was a bit tricky: “なんか謝罪でも負けた気がするし、やばい、もう200倍も500倍も100億倍も悔しい！”
“I feel like I lost even with my apology, and it’s so bad, I’m 200, 500, 10 billion times more frustrated! This is the first time I’ve fought Mahiro in four years.”
This line was also a bit tricky: “ちょっと今日が来て欲しくないみたいな気持ちもあれば、来てほしいなって気持ちもあって.”
“I felt a bit like I didn’t want today to come, but I also felt like I did want it. I tried to put my four years of experience into it and face Mahiro in my own style, but I fell short.”
With these lines, “またきっといつか、すごいすごい先にシングルの機会はあると思うので。その時は見返せるように頑張りたいと思います。…その節は申し訳ございませんでした”, I think I understood the first one, but had a bit of a struggle translating “すごいすごい先に”. In the second sentence, I wasn’t sure what the その節 was referring to, haha.
“Surely someday we’ll get another chance to have a singles match in the great, great future. When that time comes, I’m gonna do my best to triumph over her. …I do apologize for that time.”
The next one was Saki Akai and the two children (Runa and Haru) vs the older rookie class, Himawari, Toga, and Shino. This match had a totally foregone conclusion, but I ended up loving it a lot! It’s making my wrestling journal for sure. It was really cute how much all of the rookies look up to Akai, and I loved seeing them all try to impress her.
Akai and Runa and Haru’s comments:
Akai: “Let’s start with Runa-chan.”
Okubo: “This is my first time teaming up with Akai-san… I think she’s really tough.”
Akai: “Tough!” (laughing) “That’s fitting.”
That last line of Runa’s, “すごくたくましいなって思って”, I wasn’t exactly sure how to translate “たくましい.” It seems to make Akai laugh, and she repeats it and says “合ってるよ”.
Okubo: “I’ve learned a lot of things from watching my senpais and from teaming up with Akai-san, and her amazing power really left an impression. I hope I can make good use of it in my matches from here.”
Akai: “Wonderful! 100 points, a perfect score. How about Haru-chan?”
Kazashiro: “Akai-san will be retiring in November, and I was really happy to team up with her for the first and last time. It’s such an honor. I never thought we’d get to fight together… I’m just so inspired.”
Akai: “So cute!”
Kazashiro: “I’ve been watching you for a long time, so standing next to you, it didn’t feel real.”
This whole next chunk from Akai was confusing to me, haha: “入場で私、自分のことしか考えてなくて。ハルちゃんに『どうしますか？』って言われて、たしかにって思って。もう3人でカッコつけてポーズ取ろうって思ってたら、ハルちゃんが『私、このポーズしていいんですか？』って。別にこれ（腰に手をあてるポーズ）私特許取ってないから（笑）。もう全然好きにドヤったもん勝ちだから、ガンガンやっていいのよって。これで負けてしょんぼりして帰るより、ドヤーってした方がさ、気持ちいいもん.”
Akai: “During my entrance, I was thinking only of myself. When Haru-chan asked me, ‘what are you going to do?’ I thought it was obvious. I was thinking that the three of us should strike a stylish pose, and Haru-chan asked, ‘is it okay for me to pose like this?’ Except for this,” (posing with her hands on her hips) “I haven’t patented it.” (laughs) “We won by looking as smug as we pleased, so therefore she can do it enthusiastically. It feels better to look self-satisfied than it is to lose and go home dejectedly.” (to Okubo, who is crying) “What’s wrong? You’re too cute.”
I wasn’t quite sure about this next part, though I think she’s intentionally saying something kind of funny for that second sentence: “やっぱりこういう素直な気持ち、これもDDTに必要だなって今日思いました。白目がすごい透き通ってて、内臓もよさそうだなって思ったし.”
“I realized today that these honest feelings are something that DDT also needs. The whites of her eyes were really clear, and her internal organs also seemed good. Even though I announced that I’ll be graduating this year, I debuted ten years ago. I was able to fight the wonderful members of the roster who debuted this year, as well as team up with them. For me, too, it was a very inspiring day.”
I struggled a bit with this, and just wanted to make sure I got it correct so that it doesn’t mislead people on her retirement road plans: “でも私まだ、分かんないよ。東女まだちょこちょこ参戦して、もしかしたら次は闘うかもしれないんだから.”
“But I still, I don’t know. I’m still going to participate in TJPW now and then, and perhaps I might even wrestle in the next show. But today was really fun, so from here on… how many months do I have left? I don’t know. But in these few months that remain, I’ll be going up another level as a professional wrestler.”
This line was a bit funny (though that might be the point, haha): “またこの3人でKO-D6人タッグ取ってやるぞ…って思ったら、私がいまチャンピオンでした.”
“I thought, ‘I’m going to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship with this team,’ and I’m the champion now. That’s all, rookies. Thank you very much!”
Himawari/Toga/Shino’s comments:
HIMAWARI: (crying) “…Right now, rather than frustration or any of that, I’m just so happy and moved that I was able to face Akai-san during the remaining three months of her short retirement road… I don’t want this to be the end; I want to fight her more. I could feel her amazing strength through my body… I’m going to do my best to get even stronger from here so that after Akai-san has retired, I can proudly say to her, ‘This is how strong I’ve gotten.’”
Toga: “Akai-san was the reason I decided to become a pro wrestler, so I’m so happy that we were able to fight in the same ring. She’s just as strong as she looked when I was watching her. But now that I’ve fought her once, I want to do it again. I’m really sad that it’s over, but I’m glad that we were able to fight…” (cries)
Shino: (also crying) “As was just said, I’m so happy that during her short retirement road, she fought this group who just debuted. We’re all feeling it together, that feeling that we want to get stronger and be acknowledged. I felt a renewed desire to work even harder and do my best.”
I hadn’t realized that Akai was so influential for Toga, aww! It’s kind of amazing the number of other wrestlers she has inspired. I’m sad as always about the shorter length of joshi wrestling careers, and the fact that Akai won’t get to tell these stories later on with some of the people she inspired.
The third match was Mizuki vs Aiger, which was fun! I’d never seen Aiger before, but I enjoy spooky gimmicks, so I was looking forward to this! I didn’t know until after the fact that Aiger is apparently retiring very soon… It must be hard to do a retirement road as a character like that, where you can’t really speak…
Mizuki: “Somehow, somehow… even though I was scared, I won. I’m relieved. I think this is probably the last time I’ll face Aiger, so I absolutely had to win."
I had trouble parsing this: “やっぱり、こう面と向かうと思い出す恐怖？”
“After all, the fear of recalling this face-to-face meeting? I think I got scared all over again. And what really didn’t sit well with me was the fact that Saki-po (SAKI) was seconding for Aiger. But, well, somehow I did it. I did my best.”
(You used the Aquamarine for the first time in a long time)
I didn’t even know Mizuki had this move, haha. I think I might’ve gotten this, because I feel like I’ve had to translate something similar: “私が初勝利した時の技で、すごい大事な技なんですけど。なんか勝手に狙ってました。取るならこれで取りたいって思って。いつ隙を作ろうかなとしてたんですけど、なかなか難しかったので。無理矢理やりました.” I wasn’t quite sure about how to translate “すごい大事な技”, though.
“Yes, I did. It’s the move I used when I got my first win, and it’s a really crucial technique. It was something I was aiming to do. I thought, ‘If I’m going to win, then I want to win with this.’ I was trying to find my opening, but it was pretty difficult. I had to force it.”
(Your first win over Aiger?)
“How was it? I don’t remember it at all. It was like eight years ago. I don’t remember anything except terror. I think ten years from now, too, I’ll probably just remember being scared more than I remember winning.”
(Did you show how much you’ve grown in this first confrontation in a long time?)
“Did you see it?”
This part was tricky: “覚えてくれてるのかな、と思いながらも、こうだったなって思って.”
“I wondered if she remembered me, but I thought it was like this. Personally, I think I was able to show a lot of growth. The fact that I won is huge.”
(No matter how much time passes, your fear remains unchanged)
“It has actually gotten worse. I thought over and over again, ‘Maybe it’s impossible!’” (laughs)
Aiger’s comments! (Easiest translation yet)
And the main event! Miyu vs Shoko! I really, really liked this match. I had decently high expectations going in, but they somehow managed to exceed them. I’m not usually great at catching this stuff myself, but people on twitter pointed out that they referenced a lot of spots in their past matches, and I thought that was so cool! I was rooting pretty hard for Shoko, even knowing that she had little chance of winning after Miyu just won the TPC. I thought maybe she’d at least get a draw, but… alas! Kind of a devastating finish, with Shoko losing with only seconds left on the clock… It reminded me of Sanada vs Kaito in the G1…
The post-match was long but good:
Yamashita: “Ha… I won.” (after catching her breath) “I won! I’m worn out. It’s been a while, huh, Nakajima?”
Nakajima: “Yes, it has.”
Yamashita: “Let’s talk for a bit.”
Shoko said “やだー” and Miyu responded “うそー”, and I wasn’t quite sure about that exchange.
Nakajima: “No way!”
Yamashita: “Liar.” (crying) “It’s the 10th anniversary, our 10th anniversary. Today’s the day. I forgot about it."
Nakajima: “There was that Korakuen show, huh? I participated in that DDT match, and everyone came to support me. Yamashita too, of course. So, she was waiting for me.”
I wasn’t quite sure about this: “試合が終わって、撤収終わって、終わるまで待っててくれたんです。私が出てくるのを。で、今日記念日だよねって言ったんです、山下が.”
“She waited until the match was over, until everyone had cleared out, until it was all over. I come out, and then Yamashita said, ‘Today is our anniversary.’”
These lines were a bit tricky, too:
山下「その日が13、赤井さんが12で私たちが13だと思って、すごい自信満々に話ししちゃって…（場内から「えー」の声）」
Yamashita: “I thought it was the 13th, that Akai-san’s was the 12th, and ours was the 13th, so I said it with absolute confidence…” (the audience shouts “WHAT”)
中島「その時思ったんです。もし彼女が男性だったとしたら、絶対に彼女に愛想尽かされるタイプの男だって」
Nakajima: “At that time, I thought, If she were a man, she’d definitely be the type of guy whose girlfriend would fall out of love with him.”
Yamashita: (laughs)
Nakajima: “As you know, she’s quite strong, isn’t she? So, this is another old story, but several years ago, right around the time we debuted, we had a lot of matches in Shin-Kiba. And they asked to have a wedding here…”
I wasn’t quite sure about these lines:
山下「いいよ、その話！」
Yamashita: “Okay, that’s enough of that story!”
中島「ちょうど裏に楽屋があるんですけど、そこで試合終わった後に人の結婚式でバチクソケンカして。台無しになるみたいなこともあって」
Nakajima: “There’s a dressing room in the back, and right there after our match ended, we had this big fight at someone’s wedding. We were kind of spoiling it.”
Yamashita: “We didn’t spoil it!”
I wasn’t sure about this line from Shoko: “裏の空気を。でね、聞いてよ。あんまりさ、ちょっとフィーリングが合わないなって思ってた時期もあったんです.”
Nakajima: “The backstage atmosphere. And, get this. There have been times when I thought that we didn’t really feel the same way. But I really cherish the ten years I’ve had with Yamashita. Because you were in America for a long time, and Itoh often goes to America, and Yuka Sakazaki decided to graduate. I thought we’d all stay together forever… So if I don’t cherish those ten years, I think I’ll probably regret it someday. I really didn’t want to do it, but I thought if I didn’t have a match with Yamashita, I’d regret it, so I said I’d do it today.”
I think I got this, but was just unsure enough about it, haha: “でも試合してみて思ったんですけど、あと10年はもう二度としたくないです.”
“But I thought about it after we did the match, and ten years from now, I don’t want to do it again.”
Yamashita: “If Nakajima hadn’t said that she wanted to do it, today wouldn’t have happened. I thought it was the 13th that we debuted. But today was the day… we debuted just ten years ago. And at that time, I never imagined that I’d be facing Nakajima in a match like this again in front of you all ten years later. And now I have more friends, and I was able to have a match with Nakajima. We’ve had a lot of fun, and we’ve also had some fights, and there were times when we didn’t see eye to eye. But for me, Nakajima is really like family… she’s more like family than a friend. She’s someone really special to me. So if Nakajima is sad, I get sad, too…” (crying)
Nakajima: “She cries easily.”
Yamashita: “I’m sorry, I cry easily despite not remembering.” (smiling) “If you’re really happy… then that means I’m happy, too. All of these people in my life… everyone at TJPW is like that for me. The fans, too. I’m so blessed to have been able to meet people like this. No matter what happens in the future from here, no matter where I am, no matter what I do, that will never change. Truly, Nakajima, everyone, thank you.”
The start of this part was a bit tricky:
中島「じゃあそれを踏まえて鈴木志乃が締めるってことで」
Nakajima: “Well, going off of that, Shino Suzuki will close.”
山下「ホント？ 知らないよ、私」
Yamashita: “Really? I don’t know about that.”
Nakajima: (to Shino, who is watching anxiously from the corner of the venue) “I’m just kidding. You don’t have to run away, just keep watching from there.”
Yamashita: “Let’s close with the two of us. Because it doesn’t happen often. Nakajima, do you have something to say to end with?”
With this line, I assumed that the 私たち is Shoko referring to her and Miyu? Though I could be wrong, haha. “まさか10年もやるなんて思ってなかったんですけど、ホントにみなさんがいないと団体も私たちも10年もいられなかったと思います.”
Nakajima: “I never thought we’d be doing this for ten years, but truly, without all of you, without this organization and without the two of us, I don’t think I could’ve stuck around for ten years. Thank you very much for your constant support.”
Yamashita: “We’re going to keep moving forward, and we want to make everyone who loves TJPW happy, so please keep watching us and supporting us. Thank you so much for today!”
Here’s Miyu’s comments:
Yamashita: “That was really fun. Those ten years went by in a flash. I’m so fortunate to be able to do this match with Nakajima. Truly, over the past ten years, a lot has happened between Nakajima and I, and a lot has happened in her vicinity, and in mine. Through all of that, we’ve each gone at our own pace and in our own style. I think we were able to show in today’s match the path that each of us have walked over those ten years. Nakajima made an opportunity out of today, and TJPW gave us this space to do it. I’m so blessed, and I think this was a very special day for whatever comes after this in my pro wrestling career. It was so much fun.”
I got a bit lost with the transcript, and I think maybe there’s a part in the video that didn’t make it in?
(You got the victory right before the time ran out)
“19 minutes and… 53 seconds? Well, I expected that. There was no way it’d be an easy win. But I don’t like draws. I got it done right at the last moment. She’s really strong, huh?”
This took me a couple of tries to maybe parse: “ホントに…強いって感じたと同時に、闘ってて中島っていう同期がいてくれたから自分も強くなれたんだなっていう風に思いました.”
“I really felt her strength, but at the same time, I felt that I was able to get stronger while fighting, too, because Nakajima, whom I’d debuted with, was there.”
(Your 11th year starts after today)
“What’s going to happen? I don’t know. I don’t know how the future is going to go. I’m going to cherish the time that I have now, and this is an exaggeration, but I’m going to enjoy each day as if I could die at any time.”
I was confused by the “11年目も” in the first part of this first sentence: “11年目もトーナメント優勝して、10月に瑞希とベルトを懸けて闘うことも決まってるので。ベルトを取って、アメリカとイギリスもベルトも持ってますし.”
“I’m going to win the tournament in my 11th year as well, and I’ll be facing Mizuki in October with the belt on the line. I’m taking that belt, and I have belts in the U.S. and the U.K. as well. I want to get more and more, and I want to have matches all over the place.”
(You seem to have mistaken the day of your debut…)
Miyu’s answer was a little confusing, though maybe I got it, haha: “まぁそういうこともありますよ。4日違い？ たった4日違いですから。12、13…なんかあったんでしょう。10年前の12、13も私にとって特別な何かがあったんじゃないですか？ それをちょっと間違えたってだけで。そうですよ、私が間違えても周りが正してくれれば…そういう風な人生を送ってきてるので。みんなに助けられて。まぁ結果オーライってことで.”
“Well, that kind of thing happens sometimes. Was I four days off? I was just off by four days. On the 12th or 13th, something must’ve happened. On one of those days ten years ago, there must’ve been something that happened that was special to me. I was just a little mistaken. That’s how it is. I’ll make a mistake and the people around me will correct it… That’s just how my life goes. Everyone helps me. Well, it all turns out okay, I guess.”
Oh Miyu…
Shoko’s comments were great!
"Nakajima: “Thank you very much. Even as I felt the tournament winner’s strength, I thought if I held on a bit longer, I’d be able to get a draw even if I couldn’t win. Well… somehow, my tenacity gave out right at the very end. But setting that aside, today I cared about going at her with all I had more than I cared about winning or losing. I think I was able to show everything I had.”
This line was a bit odd: “10年選手になりました.”
“I’ve been a wrestler for a decade. I hope you will continue to watch Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita, and TJPW.”
This question and Shoko’s answer were a bit tricky: “（珍しく足攻めを見せました）ちょっとアプローチの仕方を変えてみようかなっていうのと、まだ試行錯誤してた時期とかに山下と試合する時とかはそれがセオリーかなって思ってたところが初心あって。今日はその気持ちでやったってかんじで、あまり深い意味はないです（笑）.”
(Unusually, you targeted her leg)
“I thought I’d change my approach a bit, and that was what I’d originally come up with when I was still in the trial and error phase and when I was wrestling Yamashita. I felt like doing it with that in mind today, and there isn’t really a deeper meaning.” (laughs)
(What is Yamashita like to you?)
“We’re really siblings. We’re brothers. I’ve said it before, and it’s never going to change. No matter how many years pass… Even ten years from now, I think I’ll still say that we’re brothers.”
(Who is the older brother?)
まぁアイツが弟でしょうね。一生弟。
“Well, she’s my younger brother. My lifelong little brother.”
I wasn’t quite sure what she meant with “一生弟” there. Absolutely love that Shoko calls them brothers, though!
(Looking toward your 11th year)
“As far as the future goes… Hmm.”
I couldn’t figure this out: “いちおう区切り。20年が遠すぎるから、10年で区切っておきたいなって意味での10年なんですけど.”
“I’ll put a pause here. Twenty years is too far away, so I want my tenth year to mark off ten years. If you take a leaf from Saki Akai, it’s better for the flower to end while it’s beautifully in bloom. But I’m the type who intends to keep doing it until I’ve withered and died and become humus. I’m a wrestler who aims to become humus.” (laughs) “I might be in the middle of a long journey, or I might still be at the opening stage. That’s how I want people to see it."
I love that last part so, so much. Legitimately might be one of my favorite things I’ve heard a wrestler say this year. As much as I love Saki Akai, her retirement announcement really devastated me, and I wish there wasn’t such gendered expectations placed on the length of a woman wrestler’s career, with the part where she wanted to retire while she was still beautiful…
Shoko’s 腐葉土 metaphor was fantastic (I also aspire in my life to one day become 腐葉土 haha), and it was just so nice to hear a woman wrestler take the opposite approach to Akai’s with regards to retirement.
All in all, Inspiration was great! The translation was long but worth it. I’m several shows behind, but the next few are much, much shorter, so I’m hoping to finish them soon!