This is Yuka [ ゆか ] skating freestyle in Japan in 1990, and I’m determined to learn more about her! Using Google translate and google.jp I stumbled upon this photo from a Japanese skater’s blog from 2006-2011. The caption under Yuka’s photo translates to: “Yuka is a genius female freestyler… She also won top prizes in competitions with an astonishing success rate. I wonder what she’s doing now.” Yuka could perform pogos and caspers, and 50-50s.
I know that Japan was frequented by pro American skateboarders in the 1970s, and I have one awesome photo of a crew of Japanese women in the 1980s, but still little detail.
Meanwhile, Japanese female skaters are dominating the contest scene today! Their Olympic team qualifications was ruthless with only three spots available, which meant that former Olympic gold medalist (and one of my favourite street skaters) Momiji Nishiya was squeezed out. I’m still not entirely sure if silver medalist, Funa Nakayama is out and Yumeka Oda is in, considering how extraordinary Yumeka performed, but it looks like relative newcomers Liz Akama and youngster, Coco Yoshizawa had greater consistency at contests, which puts them in the top Japanese team positions.
Photo: Momiji Nishiya on the cover of Mess Mag Issue 4, 2024 (Alan Carvalho)
Even in park it was touch and go whether former gold medalist, Sakura Yosozumi would make the team since she missed the qualification final in Hungary. I absolutely love that Japanese women are pushing the standards, but how challenging it must be when a mass of your fellow skaters is consistently taking more than half of the top ten places.
Regardless of whether they made Team Japan, I think all of these skaters are deserving of respect and I hope their sense of value isn’t bound by these rankings or contests. And, if anyone has a lead on Yuka, I would be grateful for more information and photos.
Womxn Skateboard History 