Naoya Ogawa, the Barcelona Olympic judo silver medalist turned professional wrestler known as the “Raging King,” spent Thursday tasting nigiri at a reopening media event and had little trouble declaring a favorite. At the preview for the renovated Jumbo Oshidori Sushi restaurant in Tsujido, Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Ogawa, 58, piled through the “Jumbo Irodori five-piece” and kept repeating that it was delicious, Tokyo Sports reported. The restaurant, run by Yakiniku Sakai Holdings, reopens Friday.
Ogawa has loved sushi since childhood, when his sushi-obsessed father dragged him from shop to shop. But the memories that stuck with him from his wrestling years involve two other men: his mentor, the late Antonio Inoki, and his former rival turned tag partner, the late Shinya Hashimoto, the “Destruction King.”
Hashimoto Ordered Eight Pieces of Otoro in Kanazawa
Ogawa and Hashimoto feuded violently before forming the tag team OH Cannon, and the two shared plenty of meals during their Zero-One years. At a sushi restaurant in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Ogawa watched Hashimoto order eight pieces of otoro, the fatty belly of tuna, at an upscale counter. Hashimoto then declared that the size of the pieces did not suit him and ate them two at a time. Ogawa said he had never seen anyone eat two pieces at a time at a refined restaurant like that.
The contrast with Ogawa’s own discipline was stark. Following Inoki’s teachings, Ogawa restricted how much he ate to stay in condition. He handed his own portions to Hashimoto and picked at the sashimi served alongside the rice. Hashimoto, watching the routine, told Ogawa his life must be boring, then shouted “two-piece eating!” while stuffing two pieces of otoro into his mouth at once. Ogawa answered that it was for work, though he later said he wanted to tell his partner to just shut up and eat. He remembers Hashimoto as utterly unguarded.
A Peacock in the Bathroom at Inoki’s Sponsor’s House
The sushi memory tied to Inoki is just as vivid. Inoki took Ogawa to the home of his biggest sponsor at the time, where a sushi chef was summoned to the house to prepare nigiri on the spot. Ogawa said he had never seen anything like it; at that level, people do not go to a sushi restaurant, they call the chef to them. Midway through the meal, Ogawa excused himself to the restroom and heard a high, screeching cry. He wondered if a dog was outside, but the sound came from a huge bird in the garden — a peacock. His knees buckled at the sight.
When Ogawa later mentioned the big bird to the sponsor, the man only grinned and told him he should get along with Hashimoto. That advice landed at a precise moment: Ogawa was still feuding with the Destruction King, and only afterward did he leave Inoki’s camp to begin teaming with Hashimoto. As Ogawa put it, perhaps it was sushi that brokered the alliance.
