by Shiori Takeda
Fuuka Yamagishi is one of LAW's newest wrestlers, and already, she's made waves as a wrestler with an impressive ability to take whatever her opponents can dish at her. But what motivates that durability? Read below for my deep dive with Fuuka, a woman who I believe has the potential to leave a uniquely interesting mark on the world of LAW.
The following transcript is edited lightly for clarity.
Miss Yamagishi! Fuuka? Yamagishi-san? Anyway, hello and thank you so much for joining me!
Fuuka is fine if you'd like to call me that, Shiori. It's a pleasure to be here.
Fuuka then, got it! This'll be my first interview for the Magazine, and I'm super excited -- oop, this is supposed to be about you, right! So, er... you're not a total newcomer to the world of professional wrestling, but as I understand it, it's not your first career. Just to introduce yourself to our audience, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you come from, that kind of thing?
Well, I suppose I'm not a newcomer anymore since I have a couple of matches under my belt now, but my LAW debut was actually the first time I had ever fought in my life. But you are correct in that wrestling is secondary for me. My full time job is software engineering. I love working with computers.
As for an introduction, as you know my name is Fuuka Yamagishi. I live here in Tokyo and I just graduated from Tokyo University not too long ago with a degree in computer engineering. And I must say college was surprisingly fun, though difficult, of course.
So, a software engineer who decides to take on the world's deadliest ladies in heart-stopping combat? I definitely know some people who you've gotta meet, but beyond that: That seems like a bit of a jump, especially for someone who'd never been in a fight before. So I've gotta jump right in with a bit of a toughie as far as questions go -- why wrestling?
I certainly understand why you would wonder that. The reason is a bit personal, but I wouldn't have come to this interview if I wasn't prepared to answer that question. From the moment I was born, my parents had decided that I would grow up to be a medical doctor. Nothing else mattered to them. They didn't care about how much I loved computers, only how they could help me study human anatomy. I was also raised not to think for myself. I was just an extension of them, more or less. My only purpose was to do and be what they wanted.
That changed when I went to high school. My parents sent me to a private school far enough away that I had to dorm there, which was the greatest blessing of my life. For the first time, my parents weren't in my ear, living my life for me every second. I got to make friends. Friends who showed me just how awful and controlling my parents were, since I never knew anything else. They also gave me the courage to go against them. As you can see now, I am not a doctor. I did want I wanted with my life.
And that brings us to why I became a wrestler:
The whole reason that my parents wanted me to be a doctor was for the prestige and reputation. My being a doctor would bring respect to the family name. Once I had broken from them, I decided that I really wanted to throw everything they did to me right back into their faces. So I looked for something that would bring derision to the name that the valued over me. I eventually settled on wrestling. A job where I'd go out in a skintight leotard and fight other women on a regular basis for thousands of viewers. And since I don't know how to fight, I'd be getting beat, bent, twisted, made helpless, and exposed for the crowds and cameras. Which, from my standpoint, was even better than if I was good enough to fight back.
So to put a long story short, Shiori, I wrestle to anger my parents as much as possible.
Wow, there's a lot to unpack there. First off, I'm sorry that you have that kind of relationship with your parents -- it must be tough to feel as if they don't value you as a daughter or as a person. But you really don't mind it if you lose? Lose badly? Painfully? Humiliatingly? Just to serve that rebellious streak?
Thank you for your kind words, Shiori. I appreciate that. As for your question, I don't mind. I know I'm not going to win. Maybe there are some bottom-of-the-barrel jobbers who are at a level that I can beat, but I know how physically weak I am. I'll admit that my main doubt initially was that getting beat up would be too painful to be worth it. But in my debut against Elma Jankowski, I discovered that my body is surprisingly durable. I can take a lot more than I ever expected I would be able to, so it really isn't that bad for me.
I see, so durability is your strong suit, then. It sounds like you already know that, against most wrestlers, that won't cut it for a win, but if you can last as long as you say you can, just a little bit of development in other areas could see you climb the card. Some readers might interpret your words as evidence that you want to lose, but surely you could still stick it to your folks without losing every match. So why go about it this way specifically?
That's a bit of a tricky one. For starters, I always try to win when I fight. I respect my opponents enough that I will give them my best. The reason I don't improve and just let myself stay a jobber... is a matter of passion, if I'm being honest. My life's calling is in computers and technology. I have nothing against wrestling, but I also don't care too much about it beyond how I'm currently using it. So I don't really have much reason to train and improve.
I've heard that you're rather passionate about wrestling, Shiori. So I apologize if my answer is upsetting to you. But, it's the truth, and I'm not going to lie to save face.
Well, LAW has a lot of wrestlers with other jobs: Doctors, chefs, idols, actresses, influencers. Heck, wrestling isn't even my full-time job, technically. So I definitely understand where you're coming from. But I guess that leads me to a less personal question: Other than what you've described, do you have any aspirations for your time in LAW? Goals, achievements, dream matches, things like that?
Haha, actually Shiori, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the Loser's Belt. Just think about it, I go become a wrestler against my parent's wishes, and then I'm so bad at it that I get recognized as the worst of the worst. You know, I hadn't really thought about it before until I said it all out loud, but I guess that's another reason I don't really bother to improve.
Y'know, I wouldn't mind holding the Loser's Belt myself either, though for different reasons -- maybe some day, we'll end up going at it! So it sounds like LAW fans can look forward to startling displays of stamina, grueling shows of grit, and maybe even a rather unorthodox title run in your future. Before we sign off, are there any last messages you wanna send to anyone who's reading? Maybe a challenge to a dream opponent, or a shout-out to a special someone?
Dream opponent, huh? I don't really have anyone specific, but I guess big names who'll pull a lot of viewers to my matches. For shout outs, first I'd like to thank you again for having me on here Shiori. I've had a great time. And I'd also like to shout out to my mom and dad. You two are my inspiration for being here!