Torremolinos – A Japanese man moved closer to achieving his goal of becoming his country's first full-fledged professional matador by taking part in his first bullfight involving mounted lancers.
Taira Nono slayed two young bulls at the bullring in the southern Spanish resort town of Torremolinos on Sunday after a picador, a bullfighter on horseback, goaded the animals with steel-pointed lances which weaken their shoulder muscles.
"I am very happy and have a real desire to succeed. I love the bullfighting world and am in Spain to become the first matador in Japanese history," the soft-spoken 35-year-old told reporters before entering the ring.
Since he moved to Spain from Tokyo 12 years ago to pursue his dream of becoming a matador, Nono has until now only participated in simpler bullfights that did not involve picadors.
To become a matador he must undergo the alternativa, a ceremony that separates amateurs from professionals in which a novillero (novice) is proposed and seconded by two other matadors.
Until then he can only take part in bullfights with bulls aged at least three years old, whereas matadors face bulls aged at least four years which can weigh between 480 (1,060 pounds) and 600 kilogrammes.
Japanese bullfighter Taira Nono prepares himself before a bullfight in Torremolinos, southern Spain, on 2 August 2009
Audiences judge bullfighters according to their skill, grace and daring and the sparse crowd of around 300 people which turned out to watch Nono's debut with mounted lancers was sympathetic to his efforts in the ring.
They applauded and called out "matador" whenever Nono, who wore a green silk suit embroidered with gold sequin which sparkled in the late afternoon sun, elegantly swirled his red cape around the body of the bull.
After he killed his first bull with a single thrust of his sword into the animal's neck, the majority of the crowd petitioned the presiding judge to award him one of the ears of the slain bull by waving white handkerchiefs.
"For a novillero, he is not bad," said Antonio de la Torre Reina who raises bulls for a living at a ranch in the surrounding countryside of Andalucia.
The southern region of Spain is the traditional spawning ground for bullfighters and the birthplace of the ritual.
"He killed the bull with one thrust. It is hard to become a matador but he has shown great willpower," he added as he sat in the shady part of the ring beside his brother and a friend.
Many in the crowd were foreigners, including a handful of Japanese who were drawn by the rare appearance in the ring of a compatriot.
"Japanese have come today to cheer him on. I think it is difficult to become a matador, it takes time," said Chie Ito, a Japanese woman who runs a study abroad service in neighbouring Malaga and who came specifically to see Nono.
Only top bullfighters earn a living at their trade. For now, Nono -- who says he set his sights on becoming a matador after watching a report on television on the ritual -- earns money picking fruits and vegetables.
There have been a handful of Chinese and Japanese aspirants who have had varying degrees of success but none has earned the "alternativa" and reached the level of matador.
Nono has been compared to another Japanese man, Atsuhiro Shimoyama, or the Nino de Sol Nascientero (Son of the Rising Sun) as he was called, who achieved some fame in Spain in his bid to become a matador.
His dream was cut short in 1995 when the horn of a 400-kilogramme bull caught on his suit and tossed him in the air during a bullfight, leaving him with a bad limp that caused him to drag his left leg.
6 August 2009
AFP / Daniel Silva / Expatica
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Taira Nono adores the bullfighting world and wants to be the first Japanese matador. Will his dreams come true or will he just be another Atsuhiro Shimoyama?
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