This book that I had discovered quite by chance one day was full of valuable information, but was quite expensive, so I hesitated to buy it for some time, stopping at the same book shop to read it whenever I passed by. Eventually, I made up my mind and bought it, promptly showing it to Tomiki shihan. Tomiki shihan, tapping his forehead embarrassed, smiled and humbly joked, “This character here is always quick to expose my past misdeeds.” At the time, Mr. Uchiyama Masaharu, Director of Shodokan, was also present. Mr. Uchiyama looked at the badly worn booklet which was nearly falling apart, and decided to contact one of his business acquaintances, the President of Shōwa Printing Co., and through this the book was beautifully rebound.
Now, I would like to share a portion of Tomiki shihan’s performance as described in this book, “Showa Tenran jiai” (Showa Tenran jiai: Published 1930. Supervised by Imperial Interior Ministry. Published by Great Japan Yūbenkai Kōdansha). Tomiki shihan participated as the representative of Miyagi Prefecture in the Prefectural Competitors Division, where he advanced through the first league with three wins and no losses, making it to the top twelve. However, in the following second league, he sustained an injury and, following medical advice, regretfully withdrew partway through the tournament. Below is an excerpt describing his matches in the first league.
〇 Tomiki (5 dan) vs. Wakazawa (3 dan)
Tomiki first threatened Wakazawa with a hane-goshi, but Wakazawa held firm and they fell together. At that moment, as Tomiki rose to his feet, he immediately launched another hane-goshi. Wakazawa narrowly withstood it again, but Tomiki instantly took advantage of his opponent’s disrupted posture and executed a de-ashi-barai, which was brilliantly timed and perfectly executed. Tomiki’s victory was splendid. Match duration: 4 minutes 12 seconds.
〇 Tomiki (5 dan) vs. Haraigawa (3 dan)
Haraigawa faced the formidable Tomiki. In this bout, both competitors demonstrated numerous powerful techniques in a fierce back-and-forth contest. After a short break to adjust their belts, the match resumed. At that moment, as Haraigawa impatiently launched an offensive, Tomiki instantly executed tsurikomi-goshi with lightning speed. Haraigawa’s body spun over Tomiki’s and crashed down to the tatami. The match concluded in the final moments, just before the regulation time of 7 minutes expired – Tomiki’s win.