Why I Chose Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves as My New Home: A Light Seen on a Path That Had No Exit

I am professional rugby player Rikiya Yamakawa.

As has already been announced, this summer I joined the Nippon Steel Kamaishi Seawaves.

Since my transfer was decided, many people have asked me.

"Why Kamaishi?"

Moving from the Division 1 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo to a team that had just been relegated to Division 3. From the outside, it might look like a strange choice.

But for me, it was an incredibly positive decision. Today, I would like to write about the reasons for that, without holding anything back.

However, to tell this story, I have to start from how low I had fallen.

Days when I couldn't see an exit

In my previous note, I looked back on the 10 years from university until I left Toshiba. I wrote there that I had "no regrets." That is true.

However, during the latter half of my time at Toshiba, my spirits gradually sank.

Speaking of last season, I got injured in September during the preseason and couldn't practice for a month and a half. I returned at the end of October. By that point, the team selection was almost finished.

The season before that, I was out for almost the entire season due to injury. The year before that, I had a major injury that kept me out for three months during the season. "If I don't show what I can do in practice matches this year, I'm done for."

That was exactly when I got injured, just as I was thinking through and working on how to practice to get good results and what kind of physical conditioning I should do.

The result of thinking for myself, taking action, and doing the work led to "not being able to play in games." It was frustrating, and there was nothing I could do. I was that depressed.

While my peers were succeeding, I couldn't play in games. The value of a professional athlete lies in playing in games and leaving results.

If you don't leave results, you have no value. No matter how much action you take, if you don't play in games, the coaches won't evaluate you. And it is the coaches who choose.

The roster doesn't change easily. If things go on like this, no chance will come my way. While thinking that, I would try hard to change something, only to get injured.

My mind was entirely negative. "I'm definitely not going to be able to play in a game," "I don't feel like they're going to use me."

Toward the end, my spirits were almost at rock bottom.

To use an image, it felt like I was just walking continuously down a pitch-black road. I couldn't see any light. I couldn't see an exit. Naturally, you'd want to stop walking, wouldn't you?

Even at rock bottom, there were things I couldn't compromise on

There were other players around me who felt the same way I did.

It was truly tough. But for the sake of the members playing in the matches, and for the team to win, I had to support them from below. Even when my spirits were at rock bottom, I had to do my job properly as a professional. Honestly, that was tough, too.

I don't want to be misunderstood; I am truly grateful to the coaches, trainers, and everyone at Toshiba who supported me.

I don't want to blame my environment at all. It's precisely because I think it's a good team that I had nowhere to direct these feelings.

However, the one situation I simply couldn't change was the fact that I was injured.

Even in the midst of that, what supported me were the words I wrote in a previous note: "Give your all to what is right in front of you now." I felt that was the one thing I couldn't compromise on.

To keep doing one thing that I could absolutely take pride in. For me, that was the scrum.

I felt relieved when I was told I was being let go

I have a family. Rugby is my job. If I were suddenly fired, I would lose my income.

When I thought about that, I realized, "Maybe it's time to settle things for myself, go to another team, and change my environment." If I stayed as I was, I probably wouldn't be able to play in matches.

When I thought about the future, the first word that came to mind was "transfer." I told my agent, "I'm thinking of transferring this year."

And then, this April, I received notice from Toshiba that I was no longer in their plans.

I had wondered for six years since becoming a professional what it would feel like to be told I was being let go. I thought it would surely be a huge shock.

But when I actually received the notice, the first emotion I felt was different.

I felt relieved.

It was surprising even to me.

But perhaps it was because I felt I had done everything I needed to do for this team and everything I needed to contribute to the team. I think that's why.

"I think I might want to go to Kamaishi"

From there, my transfer activities began, but it wasn't easy.

I received various comments saying, 'Honestly, it's tough for a player who hasn't played in a match for two years.'

When I received an offer from Kamaishi, to be honest, I had no intention of going at first. It's far away, and I have a family. If I were on my own, I think I could have made the decision. But I wondered if it would be okay to take my family so far away.

Even so, they asked me to 'just have one meeting,' and I spoke with the General Manager, Katsumasa Sakashita, for an hour over Zoom.

In that one hour, my feelings changed.

Mr. Sakashita had really watched my play. He talked to me about realistic scenarios, saying, 'If Yamakawa joins, the team will move like this,' and 'This is how it will change.'

The person who truly wanted to make the team, which had dropped to Division 3, stronger was right there.

The more I listened, the more I understood that it was a community-based team that thrived on the support of the local people.

I had been to Kamaishi once before for a practice match.

Even though it was just a practice match, the sponsors were waving flags and cheering for us. I had always remembered that scene.

By the time the meeting ended, I was thinking this in my heart:

'I think I might want to go to Kamaishi.'

'We will follow you anywhere.'

I went straight to consult with my wife. Actually, I hadn't told her anything until then.

'I got an offer from Kamaishi, and after hearing about it, I think I want to go.'

When I told her that, my wife said this to me:

'You should go where you want to go and do what you want to do, Rikyu. We will follow you anywhere.'

Over these past four years, it was my wife who supported me the closest.

When a long period of not being able to play in matches continued, it inevitably showed on my face and in my attitude. Every time, she comforted me and kept telling me, 'It's important to just stay positive.'

Even at night, when I was overcome with anxiety and didn't know what to do, my wife was by my side.

She also encouraged me to invest in myself through books and courses, saying, 'You should do everything you can to stay positive.' My mindset definitely started to improve thanks to my wife.

So, the answer came immediately. I said, 'Please, let me go.'

The first challenge from the bottom in my life

There are two main reasons why I decided on Kamaishi.

One is simply that I wanted to take on the challenge of moving up to Division 2 and then to Division 1.

After the meeting, they showed me last year's Kamaishi games.

There were many games where they struggled with set pieces, and I could clearly see where I could be of help. 'If I join here...' As I thought about various things, I truly felt that we could move up to Division 2.

Kamaishi valued the scrum that I had continued to polish without compromise, even when I was at rock bottom. That made me truly happy.

When I was valued and told 'we really want you,' the desire to become strong with this team welled up within me at the same time.

Come to think of it, a challenge to go from the bottom to the top is a first in my life. At Tenri High School and Tenri University, I started from a position where I was already near the top.

When I was at Docomo, it was a challenge from the bottom, but in my first year, I didn't know my left from my right. I believe that the truly important pieces when moving from the bottom to the top are the mid-career players around 29 or 30 years old. I am exactly at that point right now.

The only team in Iwate should go to the top

And, here is the other reason.

Even if a Tokyo team moves up to Division 1, there are countless teams in Tokyo. The number of fans won't increase dramatically, and I feel like it would just end up being something enjoyed only within Tokyo.

In my previous note, I wrote, 'I want to become a person who can influence as many people as possible.' When I thought about that, it was Kamaishi, not Tokyo.

It is a city called the 'Rugby Town' due to Nippon Steel Kamaishi's seven consecutive championships, and it is also a city where a World Cup match was held in 2019. If the only team in that city rises to that stage once again, the meaning will be completely different.

When I thought about that, I really felt, 'A big job has come my way.'

If things go well, Division 1 in two years. Kamaishi Seawaves standing on that high-level stage. If I could become a key person who helped lift them there, that would be something I could be very proud of in my life.

I can show my family a good side of myself, and I can be supported by many different people. I think that is where the value of a professional athlete lies.

Therefore, no matter what anyone says, I want to go to Kamaishi. That is what I thought and decided.

I saw the light

I've been in Kamaishi for only three or four weeks. I've been joining team practices for about two weeks.

To put it simply, it's incredibly fun.

I can play freely. I can truly feel that rugby is fun. I can also interact with my family with a genuine smile.

The town is also wonderful.

Because I'm big, when I go to shops, people often ask me, 'Are you a Seawaves player?' The way they approach me is just incredible (laughs).

Even when I go to restaurants that sponsor us, there's no sense of business at all, just heartfelt warmth. The fish is delicious, so my wife, who loves fish, is also happy.

For me, who had been walking down a pitch-black road for so long,I finally saw a light.

From here on, I just have to run toward that light.

Kamaishi Seawaves to Division 2, and then to Division 1. Please watch us rise up together from Iwate.

Thank you for your support.