Japan is not known for its trad routes. Now, however, Wataru Nakajima managed the first ascent of „Humble“ ( 5.14aR/8b+), one of the hardest trad routes in Japan. The route is located in the slightly overhanging north side of „Benten rock“ in the Japanese climbing area of Mt. Mizugaki, which had gone unnoticed for forty years, and occupied Wataru for about ten years of his life.

„I had spent a decade at Benten rock. If I would talk about my 20s, it would not be possible talk without the crag. The route is still the longest project I’ve ever had.
Of course, it is impossible to express all the thing I thought, all the thing came up in my mind during the time I spent there in such a short time. However, I managed to summarize the most important thing, what I learnt from the process.“

There is from Imashi Hashimoto (@monolithic_block) an impressive film documentation of his story:

https://vimeo.com/817467162