Kamiuta

I’d like to recommend this short climbing film by Yui Takahashi, which follows my friend Masa’s long battle, over multiple seasons, with an old unclimbed project at his local crag, Futagoyama. I found it both fascinating and inspiring.

I first met Masa over 20 years ago, when he was in his early twenties on an extended climbing trip to the UK. He had travelled alone, knew no one, spoke very little English and had no transport, which is why I kept bumping into him at the Foundry Climbing Centre in Sheffield. We struck up a conversation in broken English and, as often happens in climbing, I invited him out to the Peak District. We climbed together several times over the following months while he was staying in Sheffield.

From the very beginning, Masa’s drive, passion and determination stood out. It was always a pleasure—and an inspiration—to climb with him. He tried incredibly hard, yet never seemed discouraged when things didn’t go his way.

In Japan, the pressure from both family and society to work hard and follow a more traditional path can be immense. Masa’s father owned a construction business and naturally hoped his son would join the family company. But I think he also recognised how deeply climbing mattered to Masa and allowed him this one last adventure before returning home.

When Masa eventually went back to Japan to work in the family business, we stayed in touch. For many years we met annually for climbing trips to France, Spain, the USA and the UK, and I also visited him in Japan. More recently those trips have become less frequent, partly because of family commitments and partly because the sharp decline in the value of the yen has made overseas travel much more expensive for Japanese climbers.

Watching this film reminded me why I’ve always enjoyed climbing with Masa. More than 20 years after we first met, his passion, determination and humility remain exactly the same.

Ben Moon