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  1. Here is a bit of follow up, and detail, coming from Osamu's Japanese wikipedia page (credit to Lev): The English language report of the event in a 1976 book is here:
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  2. I don't know enough about Japanese politics in the early to mid 20th century to know the accuracy, or even possible political bias in the author/s, but below is a Google translate of an article in Japanese which details the ultra-Nationalist roots of Noguchi gym, and Osamu's ultra-Nationalist boxing father, who had been jailed for an assassination attempt. The family had moved to the recently Japanese-captured Shanghai so Osamu's father could run nightclubs for the Ultranationalist and underworld figure Yoshio Kodama. Keep in mind, this is machine translated, and there may be inaccuracies. In terms of the history of Thailand's Muay Thai, and its relationship to Japan's Kickboxing in the 1970s-1980s it does give important socio-political context to the rise of Japanese Kickboxing, and also the concept of its fusion with televised Entertainment. you can find the original article in Japanese here (found through wikipedia footnotes) Also, read the wikipedia on Japanese ultra-Nationalism (Fascism): Shōwa Statism (國家主義, Kokkashugi) is the nationalist ideology associated with the Empire of Japan, particularly during the Shōwa era. It is sometimes also referred to as Emperor-system fascism (天皇制ファシズム, Tennōsei fashizumu),[1][2] Japanese-style fascism (日本型ファシズム, Nihongata fashizumu)[2] or Shōwa nationalism. "...between 1921 and 1936 three serving and two former prime ministers were assassinated" Keep in mind, Thailand has had an extended period of Fascism, beginning with the Phibun dictatorship in 1938. And it has been argued that Thailand's Bangkok Muay Thai also played a role in that ideology during those decades. Imperial Japan's occupation of Thailand during WW2 was an impactful event in the relations between the two cultures, and likely shaped how Japanese Kickboxing was received in the 1970s and 1980s. The translated article: My father was both the "strongest boxer" and a "fervent patriot"  Noguchi Osamu's father, Noguchi Susumu, was a star in the early days of Japanese boxing.  Born in Nezu in 1907 (Meiji 40), he was an Edokko (Tokyo native) who was strong from an early age, boasted of his fighting prowess, and was a Yokozuna in amateur sumo. As an adult, he worked hard as a stevedore in Yokohama, and was called to take part in "Juken matches," where Japanese and Westerners competed against each other in inter-school competitions held at gambling dens and churches.  At the beginning of his career, he belonged to the "Teikoku Boxing Association Kendosha" (now Teiken Boxing Gym), which was founded by Tanabe Munehide (the half-brother of Hankyu Toho Group founder Kobayashi Ichizo, who later became the president of Korakuen Stadium and founded Korakuen Hall, the mecca of boxing). However, when the dojo closed due to lack of funds, he joined the "Dai Nippon Boxing Association," which was founded by the rising power and Kobe boss, Kano Kenji, also known as "Pisu Ken" (nephew of Kano Jigoro of the Kodokan).  At first, the cards were arranged as a match between judo and boxing, and a judo-boxing match, but as people grew tired of it, promoter Kenji Kano switched to boxing events. In  1927, in the main event of the first boxing event held at the Kokugikan, Noguchi Susumu defeated an American boxer and became the Japanese welterweight champion.  Nicknamed "Lion," his aggressive fighting style and strength made him popular, and Naoki Prize-winning author Daikichi Terauchi, who watched Noguchi's matches live as a boy, called him " the greatest, biggest, and most heroic boxer in Japanese history, who will never be seen again."  Although he was a popular boxer who attracted tens of thousands of spectators to baseball stadiums around the country and fought more than 50 matches in total, Noguchi Susumu also had another face. He was  Toyama Mitsuru of the Genyosha, the source of the right wing in Japan. He also belonged to the right-wing group Aikokusha, founded by his successor Iwata Ainosuke, and in addition to fighting, he was also involved in political attacks, making him a national patriot = terrorist. An  astonishing two-sword style that is unthinkable today.  What is particularly noteworthy is that he did not retire from boxing to become a national patriot, but rather performed both roles at the same time.  In the midst of the winds of the "Showa Restoration" before the war, not only were there the May 15th Incident and the February 26th Incident, in which military personnel attacked government officials, but there were also frequent outbreaks of terrorism in which right-wing hitmen attacked politicians.  In 1930, HamaguchiYuki OsachiThe Prime Minister was shot at Tokyo Station. Hamaguchi survived, but died nine months later from bacteria that had entered the wound. The shooter was Sagoya Tomeo (later Yoshiaki) of the Aikokusha.  Sagoya Tomeo was paroled in 1940. After his release, he became the son-in-law of Iwata Ainosuke, and later became a leading figure in the right wing after the war.  Noguchi Susumu was also like an older brother to Sagoya Tomeo.  In 1931, the residence of the then Minister of Finance, Inoue Junnosuke, was bombed. The main culprit in this case was Osawa Yonekichi, a senior member of the Aikokusha, but Noguchi Osamu was arrested along with Inoue's younger brother, Osawa Busaburo, Akao Satoshi, Kodama Yoshio, and others. At this point, Noguchi Osamu and Kodama Yoshio had met. In  1933, Noguchi Osamu was also involved in the attempted assassination of former Prime Minister and Rikken Minseito President Wakatsuki Reijiro. He was sentenced to five years in prison.  When the protagonist, Noguchi Osamu, was born in 1934, his father was in prison.  Moreover, during this period of confinement, he reunited with Kodama Yoshio, who would later become "Japan's number one mastermind" and who  was in the same cell as him at Fuchu Prison, and they developed a strong friendship. While his father was incarcerated, his mother and son were looked after by the Osawa family of Ueno, who were senior members of Aikokusha. Incidentally, his younger brother Busaburo was involved in boxing and rakugo performances, and the profits were used to fund the Aikokusha.  Noguchi Osamu was imprinted with boxing and performing arts performances during his early childhood.  After his release from prison, during the Second World War, the family was invited by the Kodama Agency to live in Shanghai.  However, his role was not to procure supplies, but to perform performing arts.  He established the Noguchi Entertainment Department, which invited singers from Japan such as Dick Mine and Noriko Awaya, as well as the rakugo performer Torazo Hirosawa and a swordplay troupe to military entertainment facilities, and the family became involved in it.  The foundation for Noguchi Osamu's involvement in the entertainment industry was already laid in Shanghai during the war.  From the beginning, the author skillfully organizes and writes about the rise of boxing before the war, the complicated human relationships in the early entertainment industry, and the motives of the terrorist Susumu Noguchi's crimes.  In other words, the essence of entertainment is to repeatedly make hostile and reconcile within the principle of competition, to follow the principles of obligation and humanity, to settle things, and to build a mutually supportive relationship.
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  3. On the other hand, as Rajadamnern stadium's RWS promotion seeks to accommodate itself in ruleset to Japanese fighters, Western fighters, and their audiences, they to their credit also have pushed hard toward preserving the distinctly Thai cultural heritage and meanings of Muay Thai, distinguishing itself from ONE (at Lumpinee) which sought to remove almost all Wai Kru and Ram Muay. ONE was pressured by legal action to change how they treated the traditional pre-dance. RWS on the other hand actually put a mandatory Wai Kru / Ram Muay into the contract, and even imposes a 20% purse penalty if you don't perform one. A fighter will have to actually learn one, if they don't have one. This is quite remarkable, aligning RWS with preservation efforts.
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  4. The Noguchi Family, Kickboxing and Thailand 1962 the Japanese Boxer Kyu Noguchi fights the famed Thai Pone Kingpetch for his world title...but loses (video above) - Osama is 28. 1972 Kyu's brother Osamu Noguchi, after being banned from promoting boxing due to fight fixing, invents Kickboxing, and opens a high-end Muay Thai gym (and cafe) in Bangkok. But he is run out of town by rioters (photo below). - Osamu is 38. 2024 - A Japanese Kickboxer with only one Muay Thai fight on his record attempts to defend his Rajadamnern Muay Thai title, having never fought in Thailand before, under modified rules to help foreign Kickboxing styles, and entertain foreign crowds. Now the Noguchi vision of hi-so, upper class Kickboxing in Bangkok has taken hold of the sport in its Entertainment versions, and in the shifting popularity of the sport among the wealthy in the Capital. In about 60 years the Noguchi family legacy has worked through a strange arc. Osama had not even thought of Kickboxing when his brother lost to Pone Kingpetch, but he had a vision which has proven very far ahead of his time. Speculatively. An interesting detail in Osamu's biography is that he was raised around night clubs in Shanghai run by his father (a former boxer of interesting, ultra-nationalist history), entertained by the legendary singer Dick Mine, who sang in a translated Western and popular style. Could these very early hybrid-culture experiences (up to maybe 12 years of age?) of classy entertainment, along with his father's Nationalism, have shaped his own vision of the sport much latter?
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