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Kinji Shibuya

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Kinji Shibuya
Personal information
BornRobert Shibuya
(1921-05-16)May 16, 1921[1]
Utah, U.S.[1]
DiedMay 3, 2010(2010-05-03) (aged 88)[1]
Hayward, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Hawaiʻi
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Kinji Shibuya
Kenji Shibuya
Sato Keomuka
Billed height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Billed weight249 lb (113 kg)
Billed fromJapan
Trained byTsutao Higami
Debut1952[1]
Retired1976[2]

Robert "Kinji" Shibuya (May 16, 1921 – May 3, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and actor.

Early life, family and education

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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

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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

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He and his wife Janet 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

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Oliver, Greg (May 8, 2010). "Kinji Shibuya dead at 88". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lano, Mike (May 20, 2010). "Remembering Kinji Shibuya: Hated and beloved". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Honorees". Cauliflower Alley Club. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  4. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Texas: NWA / World Class American Heavyweight Title [Von Eric]". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 265–266. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  5. ↑ "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (1967-1968/05) - American Heavyweight Title (1968/05-1986/02)". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  6. ↑ Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Tag Team Title [Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 275–276. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. ↑ "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
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