Yukou Tsuji was promoted to the national team for his performance in a charity match against the Tongan Samurai XV on June 11 (Photo: AFLO)On June 7, the Japan Rugby Union announced the members of the France squad for the match at the National Stadium (June 9, 14:50 kick-off), and the only member of the 23-man squad to have never played for the national team is LO Takayasu Tsuji (Tokyo Suntory Sangoliath). His father was a close friend of the late Seiji Hirao. “Today is Tanabata (the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar), so it must be a special day for Tsuji.” New Zealand head coach Jamie Joseph, who selected the team, cited an ancient Japanese custom and suggested that Tsuji might play during the match. “With (main LOs) Moore and Vimpy injured, we want to develop three LOs for the future, including first-cap Tsuji. Tsuji is doing well with energy. We are excited to have him out. I’ve been watching him with interest since League One and look forward to watching him play this week.” On June 11, Japan’s national team candidates played three consecutive test matches against Uruguay and France in June and July. They faced the Tongan Samurai XV, a team of players with Tongan roots playing in Japan, in a charity match for the volcanic eruption in Tonga in January. Tsuji was the player who made the biggest impact with his strong play in contact plays and mauls in the match, which was won 31-12 by the “second team” of Japanese national team candidates, mainly young players. HC Joseph highly evaluated Tsuji, who showed great performance as a Japanese lock among many foreign players, and promoted him to the national team, saying, “I was interested in him because I had never worked with him before.” Tsuji said, “I was happy. I want to participate in the 2023 World Cup. First, I want to do what I can do, step by step, so that I can get one cap.” Tsuji, who also swam and played tennis, started playing rugby in his fifth year of elementary school at Keio Kindergarten. In his third year at Keio High School, he participated in the national high school rugby tournament called “Hanazono” and was the vice captain of the Keio University rugby team. However, he is also famous as the nephew of former professional tennis player Shuzo Matsuoka. When Tsuji was selected for the Japan national team for the first time in May, he received a congratulatory e-mail from his uncle, whom he “respects as a family member and as a person,” saying, “I felt he was watching me and supporting me as family. I was so happy,” he broke down. Tsuji’s paternal grandfather was Shizuo Tsuji, the founder of the Tsujisho Group, a culinary school also known as the “University of Tokyo of the culinary world”. His father Yoshiki is the current president of the Tsujisho Group. Yoshiki, who had played rugby, was known as a friend of the late Seiji Hirao, a former Japanese national rugby team player, and read his eulogy as one of his friends at a “thanksgiving gathering” held after Hirao’s death. His paternal grandfather died before he was born, but his grandmother’s family originally came from a Japanese cooking school. Tsuji’s mother, Toshiko, has two younger brothers. The eldest brother, Hiroyasu, is the chairman of Toho Towa, a Western film distribution company. He was also appointed as president and representative director of Toho Co. in May of this year. The second brother is Shuzo, whose wife is Emiko, a former news anchor. His daughter is Kazuto Rarezawa, a member of the Takarazuka Revue, and she is a cousin to Tsuji. The Matsuoka family is a tall family, with Tsuji standing at 190 cm, and Tsuji’s mother and two uncles all over 180 cm.