In a quest to make its first Hakone Ekiden, Shibaura Kogyo University announced this week that former Surugadai University head coach Kazuyoshi Tokumoto, 45, and former Reitaku University head coach Tatsuya Yamakawa, 40, will take over as head and assistant coach starting in April.
In a statement issued by the university Tokumoto commented, "I'm pleased to have been named head coach of Shibaura Kogyo University's track and field team. When they came to feel me I could feel their passion about achieving their dream of becoming the first science and technology university to compete in the Hakone Ekiden. I was happy to accept because I felt that this was an environment in which I could grow too. It's my responsibility to help them become the 45th university ever to compete in Hakone. I hope that you'll enjoy Act II of the Tokumoto Show and cheer us on as Shibaura Kogyo heads down the road to Hakone."
Yamakawa's comments read, "I arrived early in February to become assistant coach of the ekiden team. I've been involved with the university ekiden world for 15 years, and I've chosen this time to take on a new challenge in a new environment. I really want to help Shibaura Kogyo make its Hakone Ekiden debut. The school has been a rival in the past, but under the leadership of coach Tokumoto, who led the Kanto Region Student Alliance team at Hakone this year, I hope that the team can make the most of our experience and become school #45 in the Hakone record books."
During his time as a student at Hosei University, Tokumoto earned places in Hakone history as its first runner with dyed hair and the first to wear sunglasses in the race. His 3rd year he was the first Japanese finisher at 2nd overall on the competitive Second Stage, putting him at the top of the scene. Immediately afterward he startled fans across the country when he did a live interview on Nippon TV wearing wild Ultraman-style sunglasses.
In 2012 Tokumoto was hired as head coach at Surugadai University, demonstrating his skills as a leader with an idiosyncratic style. Starting from zero, in 10 years he built a team that qualified for Hakone for the first time at the October, 2021 Yosenkai. At the 2022 Hakone Ekiden Tokumoto put Takao Imai, a 31-year-old who had taken a leave of absence from his job as a junior high school teacher to go back to university in hopes of running Hakone, on the Fourth Stage. When Imai finished last on his stage Tokumoto called out to him, "Thanks for the last two years! If you apologize to me I'll knock you out!" Fans were deeply touched. In 2024 Surugadai ran Hakone for the 2nd time. This past January Tokumoto resigned from the team after it failed to qualify for the 2025 race.
Yamakawa will play a supporting role to Tokumoto after having led Reitaku to multiple near-misses on achieving its first Hakone qualification. Having been longtime rivals in the race to make it to the big stage, both coaches respect each other's leadership and skills, making them an excellent pairing. Both understand well the challenges in getting through the Yosenkai, a major advantage in building a successful program.
The Shibaura Kogyo ekiden team was launched in 2011. The school introduced an Ekiden Project admissions path and built an all-weather track and team dorm at its Omiya campus. Committed to excellence in both academics and athletics, the university's goal is to become the first private science and technology university to compete in the Hakone Ekiden by 2027, the 100th anniversary of the university's founding. Current head coach Naoki Maeda, 65, retires this month. Maeda invited Tokumoto to take over from him based on Tokumoto's success in building the Surugadai program from the bottom up.
If successful, Tokumoto will become the first coach in Hakone history to lead two universities to their Hakone debuts. The prospect has made Act II of the Tokumoto Show a hot topic in the university ekiden world. Tokumoto stands poised to add another chapter to his share of Hakone Ekiden history.
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translated and edited by Brett Larner
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