Kinji Shibuya
American professional wrestler (1921–2010)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert "Kinji" Shibuya (May 16, 1921 – May 3, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and actor.
Kenji Shibuya
Sato Keomuka
| |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Shibuya May 16, 1921[1] |
| Died | May 3, 2010 (aged 88)[1] Hayward, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Hawaiʻi |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Kinji Shibuya Kenji Shibuya Sato Keomuka |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Billed weight | 249 lb (113 kg) |
| Billed from | Japan |
| Trained by | Tsutao Higami |
| Debut | 1952[1] |
| Retired | 1976[2] |
Early life, family and education
Shibuya was born in Utah. He and his four brothers were raised in California.[1] He attended Belmont High School in Los Angeles.
He attended college at Los Angeles City College and University of Hawaiʻi, playing football at both[1]
Career
After college, Shibuya played semi-professional football for the Honolulu Polar Bears and Honolulu Warriors.[1] He performed sumo and jiu-jitsu as well.[2] In 1952, promoter Al Karasick suggested Shibuya try professional wrestling.[1]
He was originally given a gimmick of a Japanese heel, leveraging anti-Japanese sentiment stemming from World War II.[1] He wrestled in the US and Canada's Stampede Wrestling and All-Star Wrestling.[1] Shibuya credited Verne Gagne for first making him popular as a villain in 1955.[2]
Shibuya was a frequent tag team partner of Mitsu Arakawa, who was billed as his cousin.[1] In 1957, they held the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[1]
Shibuya was featured on a "This is Your Life" segment on the television show Canvas Cavity and appeared on the show several times in the 1970s and 1980s.[2]
After retiring from wrestling, he also had small acting roles on shows such as Kung Fu and Mr. T and Tina.[1] He appeared in the films Days of a Bawdy Ballad and Hammett.[1]
Personal life
He and his wife Judy were married for 59 years[1] and had a daughter and a son. They resided for many years in Northern California.[2] Their son Robert Shibuya became the Chairman & CEO of Mohr Partners, a global corporate real estate advisory firm based in Dallas.
Kinji Shibuya loved large automobiles, painting and Japanese gardening as well as raising koi.[2] He died of natural causes on May 3, 2010.[1][2] He was cremated, and his funeral service was held at a Buddhist temple.[2]
Championships and accomplishments
- Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (3 times)
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (5 times) - with Masa Saito (2), Great Mephisto (1), Great Sasaki (1), and Mitsu Arakawa (1)
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Other honoree (1993)[3]
- Central States Wrestling
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- NWA All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) (1 time) - with Mitsu Arakawa
- NWA Western States Sports
- Stampede Wrestling
- World Class Championship Wrestling
