Photo/Illutration Minoru Kimura, left, who was nicknamed the “village mayor,” and Monika Seryu pose for a photo together. (Provided by Tsugio Komiya, former secretary-general of the Koto Canoe Association)

Monika Seryu dismounted a wheelchair, climbed aboard a 5.2-meter-long canoe and slid onto the river as a comfortable breeze blew in against the bank.

Seryu, 22, who trained on the Kyunakagawa river in Tokyo’s Koto Ward on Aug. 1 following the end of the prolonged rainy season that starts around June, returned to the boathouse along the stream and directed a smile at a photo of an old man.

“I want you to watch me forever,” Seryu said to the picture.

The man in the image used to live under the bridge over the Kyunakagawa, and was characterized by his bald head and mustache. He was known to drink alcohol there while sitting on a blue tarp, but no one knows when or why he started living there.

Around 10 years ago, junior high school students began coming to the riverbank after the Koto Ward government established a canoe club there.

The young canoeists exchanged greetings with the man when visiting the river for practice, and the man patiently watched their training. He later started helping athletes wash their boats as well.

The man spoke of his experiences of working on a tuna fishing boat and traveling to foreign countries during deep-sea fishery operations. The kids looked forward to hearing his stories and affectionately nicknamed him “the mayor of the canoeist village.”

The so-called village mayor paid special attention to Seryu.

Seryu, who grew to get along well with the man, has been riding canoes on the river since she was in junior high school. The athlete became paralyzed below her chest after falling in a gym class at high school.

After finishing a year of rehabilitation, Seryu was inspired by people around her to resume canoe training to compete in the Paralympics and returned to the riverbank.

The person most delighted at her comeback was the village mayor, who had long been worried about Seryu’s injury. When he reunited with her and saw her in a wheelchair for the first time, he broke into tears, telling her “welcome back.”

After that, on days when Seryu practiced, the mayor would take a canoe out of the boathouse in advance in preparation. He held the boat to prevent it from shaking while she got aboard, and helped wash the boat's body following training.

In one practice session, the mayor entered the water to support the bottom of the canoe as it rested in a pool.

Honing her skills for two years since her debut as a canoeist with a disability, Seryu placed eighth in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics.

Witnessing her achievements inspired the mayor to make some major changes to improve his own life.

He began saying, “I must work hard like Monika,” and started working at a bridge refurbishment site. He moved to an apartment, cut down on smoking, and promised Seryu he would “root for Monika in the Tokyo Paralympics.”

One sweltering summer day two years ago, Seryu phoned the mayor on her way back from a training camp elsewhere, but he didn't pick up. She later heard the mayor had died in his apartment.

People in the canoe association and others organized a local ceremony to bid him farewell. More than 100 people, including not only young canoe club members but also numerous people who got to know him at the riverbank while taking their dogs for a walk, turned out to offer flowers.

Later, Seryu was informally selected as a member of Japan's national team for the Tokyo Paralympics, which were postponed after novel coronavirus infections spread around the world.

“Even from now on I believe the village mayor will continue helping me step forward,” Seryu said. “So I want to compete in races in a way that doesn't end up embarrassing me and make the maximum possible efforts.”

The name of the man locals here called their village mayor was Minoru Kimura. He was 58. His photo, which has been placed in the boathouse by well-wishers, is surrounded by cans of alcohol and shows Kimura grinning shyly.

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