Taro Tsujimoto - Biography

[Gustav 6,407]

(written solely because no one has ever done a bio under the "new" guidelines established 12 seasons ago)

 

Taro, pre-time warp. 

 

The year was 1974, and Taro Tsujimoto had been drafted by the Buffalo Sabres. Rumors buzzed around the NHL, and the media waited for the player from Japan to make his way to the United States.

 

And waited.

 

In a grand twist of fate, Taro never showed up. And even further, no one knew where--or even who--he was. With hockey being virtually unfollowed in Asia, he was hardly a famous face, and with NHL scouting being virtually nonexistent in Asia, he went virtually unknown in the West as well. He just never existed--at least, according to those with the knowledge to say so one way or another.

 

So, imagine the surprise of hockey historians upon learning that a still-young Taro Tsujimoto had popped up in Ottawa and signed with the VHLM's Lynx near the trade deadline in S73. No one knew how it happened, including Taro, who woke up one day decades after he had been written off as nonexistent. Still a young player due to some sort of mystic forces beyond anyone's knowledge, he had skipped nearly 50 years of his life and was ready to play some hockey.

 

Side note: I came up with this storyline myself in my Junior Review, which I wrote before I knew the show Manifest existed but which is somewhat similar to the show's initial storyline. A few people I talked to a few days ago know that I thought Manifest was stupid, and that has not changed. Maybe I think my Junior Review was stupid, too, but I'll stick to it.

 

From then on, the level of hype that was generated way back in the '70s was reached and quickly surpassed by Taro in the VHL. From the start, he was viewed as a hot prospect, and while he has never finished right on top of the league (save for an MVP campaign in S80), he has always been able to earn a mention among the league's best over a long career best characterized by his status of the face of the HC Davos Dynamo from his rookie season in S75 to his departure in a trade to Seattle after the end of S81.

 

But, how did he learn about hockey in Japan? And how did he manage to draw the attention of NHL scouts?

 

Anyone who is even a little bit geopolitically inclined will know that Japan is one of the more "Westernized" countries located outside of the West. Though this notable shift in policy and attitude had begun as early as the late 1880s, and even as early as 1609, a massive overhaul occurred after World War II when the country was occupied by the United States. For seven years, American politics made their way into Japanese life, with soldiers and government officials working to create an exact carbon copy of the USA. Taro's parents, a cook and a factory worker living near a military base in Osaka, were able to develop a friendship with a group of American soldiers, often providing food and hospitality in exchange for some neighborhood improvement projects. The American occupation would end in 1952, and the soldiers in question would leave with it, but one remained in contact with the Tsujimoto family and sent letters on occasion.

 

Taro was eventually born in 1954, and it was in the same year that his father, Akemi, would receive a photograph from the USA showing two college hockey teams mid-match. With the sport being as unfamiliar as it was, questions were asked, one letter led to another, and soon enough, Akemi Tsujimoto had developed an avid interest in the sport of hockey. Taro was taught the rules of the game from a young age, and would often be taken out during the winters to play with whatever equipment could be made at home. He and his family reached out to all those they knew, and soon enough, the sport became a neighborhood pastime. There was no ice rink, and there was no training facility, but Taro became quite good at the sport nonetheless--good enough that he chose to attempt to play professionally after his high school graduation.

 

Now, military service is required in many countries around the world, including many countries in Asia, but not Japan, where mandatory conscription was lifted in 1947. While a high school graduate from Korea would still, to this day, be forced to enlist, Taro was free to do as he wished and entered the practice facility of the Tokyo Katanas the day after he left high school. Initially mocked for his makeshift equipment, he was given an upgrade and an opportunity after some amount of persuasion (no doubt helped by the lack of professional hockey talent in Japan in 1972). Though it would take some time to adjust to the new equipment, Taro was able to skate and shoot well. And though he didn't make the roster, he was told to come back the next year.

 

And the next year, 1973, was exactly what he had been waiting for, when he finally made the Katanas' roster. Word would reach the USA through his family, and as word spread, scouts soon became aware of his existence--conveniently, at a time when the NHL was just starting to branch out beyond North America in its search for talent. Though not performing overly impressively, putting up 15 goals and 25 points in his first professional season, the NHL was open to experimentation and he was able to get the call for an opportunity he meant to take, but never could.

 

And you know the rest. One time warp here, one time warp there, some unexplainable events dismissively explained away, and hockey has been given Taro Tsujimoto, present-day VHL superstar and one of the best players to come out of the monster S75 draft class.

[Spartan 4,402]

the first biography completion since S70, wow

[Mark 1]

Interesting biography... ironically I wrote a biography about Taro as well. It's published under the title The Legend of Taro.  

 

I started at the time he was drafted by Buffalo,  and wrote his career during his playing days, as well as post NHL days.

 

Cheers on a great bio