Takahiko Kozuka (Japanese documentary) | Golden Skate

Takahiko Kozuka (Japanese documentary)

StellaCampo

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Thank you for bringing this documentary to our attention.
It is a moving tribute to Kozuka's grand dad. I now know how it is that Aichi is the FS mecca of Japan.
 

deedee1

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 14, 2007
Thanks a lot for posting the videos, let's talk! I have watched it on TV the other day, too. Was a great documantry.

My understanding is Mr. Mitsuhiko Kozuka, Taka's grand dad, indeed is the Father of Japan's figure skating. :yes:
Let me explain a bit more about this great guy, if you allow me...though I fear my Enlgish as always is not good enough to fully discribe it.

Ever since he came back to his home town Nagoya/Aichi from Manzhou after WW II, he devoted almost his whole life to populize this sport. To name a few of his huge contribution to the sport, he was the founder of Aichi Pref. Skating Federation (in 1948), and made tremendous efforts collecting money from the local companies/shopowners to establish the Nagoya Sport Centre with an ice rink (in 1953), where he taught how to skate to a lot of local kids, including Machicko Yamada (the coach of Midori, Yukari, Mao, Shoma and many more!).

Later, he decided to invite top skaters from Soviet Union, in order to showcase/introduce 'the real figure skating' = the world's top skates/programs/skaters to the local kids skaters and their parents, so that would help a great deal to bottom up the overall levels of figure skating in Aichi and Japan, he believed. Originally it was an invitational exhibition match called 'Japan-Soviet Figure Skating', featuring skaters from the Soviet Union and Japan only. But in the later years, it was transformed into the 'Champion Series' in 1978 and began inviting other skaters from around the world in 1979. Now it's called 'NHK Trophy', as everyone knows :), and it's been a part of six Grand Prix series since 1995!
In 1989, Mr. Kozuka also started hosting 'Kozuka Cup' in order to dig up talented but still-unknown skaters, and what is most remarkable of this competition, I think, is it puts special emphasis on artistic side of figure skating! This Kozuka Cup has been held in Aichi/Nagoya every season since then.

The most interesting/charming part of this great 1-hour documentary to me is...how Grandpa Kozuka got involved with figure skating when he was very young ;). His first love was actually a female figure skater. He took a lot of pictures of her while she was skating and gave them to her, to let her know 'he was in love with her'. However, she did not seem to notice it at all, and he just had no courage to tell her about it. Instead, he himself started skating, and practiced so hard every day, to let her know furhter 'he was seriously in love with her'! :laugh: So cute and adorable, isn't he?

This past summer, Mao, Takahiko and other top skaters from all over the world held ice shows The Ice in Nikko. And one of the audience was Hatsuko-san, the Grandpa Kozuka's first love! She met Takahiko in person after the show. You can see her meeting Taka around 3:33 in part 4 in let's talk's post #1, if you like. :) She is now 91 years old, but looks very young, cheerful and full of energy!
 
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iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
Thank you so much for all this background info! Another reason to :love: "Taka" & family!
 
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