Born in Sukagawa

Kokichi Tsuburaya was both a hero of the Tokyo Olympics and a tragic symbol of the pressure sport places on human beings. His story prefigures today's conversations about athlete mental health by more than fifty years.

Born in 1940 to a farming family in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, he showed long-distance talent from middle school. He joined the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Physical Training School and trained seriously for the marathon under coach Hiroo Hatano.

At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, runners departed from and returned to the National Stadium. On the final lap, Tsuburaya moved into second place, and all of Japan erupted in joy. But in the final straight, Britain's Basil Heatley passed him, and he finished third. His inability to defend second place left a deep wound in his heart.

The bronze medal was a historic achievement in Japanese marathon history, but Tsuburaya himself carried regret for 'losing second place.' National expectations shifted toward gold at the next Mexico Olympics, and the pressure grew daily.

However, back pain and foot injuries were destroying him. Unable to rest adequately, the frustration of being unable to train properly cornered his spirit. His relationship with a woman he wished to marry was opposed by those around him and never realized.

On January 9, 1968, he took his own life at home. He was twenty-seven. His suicide note expressed gratitude to each family member individually, ending with: 'Father, Mother, Kokichi is completely exhausted and can no longer run. Please forgive me.' Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata commented that 'even in a suicide note, there can be human sincerity.'

Tsuburaya's death shocked Japan's sports world and first confronted society with the need for athlete mental health care. Yet more than fifty years later, this problem remains incompletely solved. His brief life conveys both the beauty and cruelty of sport in its most painful form.