, better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

, is a Japanese retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. Making her pro wrestling debut in 2012, she wrestled exclusively for the

joshi puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's act ...

promotion

Stardom ''Stardom'' is a 2000 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Denys Arcand and written by J.Jacob Potashnik and Arcand. It stars Jessica Paré and Dan Aykroyd. It tells the story of a young girl who tries to cope with her rise to stardom after bei ...

. Yasukawa's career ultimately ended in December 2015, 10 months after she participated in a match against Yoshiko for the

World of Stardom Championship The is a women's world professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which is situated at the top of Stardom's championship hierarchy, was introduced on June 26, 2011, and the inaugural champio ...

, wherein she was legitimately assaulted and injured by her opponent, suffering fractured

cheek The cheeks ( la, buccae) constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve. The area between the inside ...

, nasal and orbital bones. The incident received mainstream attention in Japan and became known as the in the aftermath. Yasukawa was known for temporarily incorporating the

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

in her right eye, an effect of

Graves' Disease Graves' disease (german: Morbus Basedow), also known as toxic diffuse goiter, is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. It frequently results in and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It also often results in an enlarged thyr ...

, into her

persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...

by wearing an

eyepatch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...

. She was also known for commonly carrying a bottle of

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

to the ring to spit at people as part of her performance.

Professional wrestling career

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2012–2016)

Yasukawa made her pro wrestling debut On February 5, 2012, in a winning effort against Yuuri Haruka at the

Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Shin-Kiba 1st Ring is an arena in Tokyo, which holds 290 people. It was opened in 2001, its first event being a JDStar "Grapple Beauty" show, even though the inside of the building was not even close to being completed. It has quickly become a ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. In the first month of 2013, Yasukawa captured her first pro wrestling championship alongside

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

partners

Natsuki☆Taiyo is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Making her debut for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) in January 2004, Mizushima quickly affiliated herself with Nanae Takahashi, following her out of AJW in 2006 a ...

and Saki Kashima. The trio won a tournament to decide the inaugural

Artist of Stardom Champions The is a professional wrestling six-woman tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was first announced during Stardom's year-end event on December 24, 2012, and two days later its name was revealed as the ...

. However, the team was forced to vacate their title three months later as a result of Act Yasukawa injuring her

cervical spine In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In sau ...

. On November 4, 2013, Yasukawa defeated Dark Angel to win the

Wonder of Stardom Championship The is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The title, which in Stardom's championship hierarchy is situated as t ...

in the

puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's act ...

-honored

venue Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...

Korakuen Hall is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...

. Yasukawa retained the championship until June 2014, when she was forced to vacate the title due to

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thy ...

deterioration related to

. During this time, Yasukawa underwent

cataract surgery Cataract surgery, also called lens replacement surgery, is the removal of the natural lens of the eye (also called "crystalline lens") that has developed an opacification, which is referred to as a cataract, and its replacement with an intraocu ...

. While in recovery,Yasukawa continued to be involved in Stardom shows by selling merchandise and being part of the ring crew. Yasukawa returned to the ring on December 7, 2014, teaming up with

Kellie Skater Callee Keating (born 30 September 1987) is a retired Australian professional wrestler best known by her ring name Kellie Skater. She has wrestled internationally, in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. She is perhaps best known for h ...

in a losing effort against

Kairi Hojo is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the c ...

and Koguma. At the Stardom 4th Anniversary Show at

, Yasukawa defeated

Mayu Iwatani (born February 19, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom. Since making her debut in January 2011, she became a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, one-time ...

to win her second Wonder of Stardom Championship. She is the first of only three people thus far to hold the title twice. On February 22, 2015, Yasukawa was scheduled to challenge Yoshiko for the

in the

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

of a Korakuen Hall show. However, the match resulted in a

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal Trial (law), trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the def ...

when Yoshiko began to

shoot In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spri ...

on Yasukawa, legitimately assaulting her to the point that the match had to be stopped. Following the match, Yasukawa, with a bloody and badly swollen face, was rushed to a Tokyo hospital, where she was diagnosed with fractured

, nasal and orbital bones, which would require surgery. The incident received mainstream attention in Japan and became known as . On May 1, Yasukawa was forced to vacate the Wonder of Stardom Championship due to the facial fractures inflicted on her earlier in the year. Yasukawa eventually returned to the ring on September 23, 2015. On December 1, Yasukawa announced she would retire from professional wrestling on December 23. In her retirement match, Yasukawa and

Kyoko Kimura is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Throughout her 14-year career, she competed in Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Ibuki, Ice Ribbon, JWP Joshi Puroresu, NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling and World Wonder Ring Stardom, am ...

defeated

Haruka Kato is a Japanese gravure idol, ''tarento'', and professional wrestler. She was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. As a ''tarento'' After graduating from Eiwa Girls College, she was scouted and became a part-time manager of an entertainment offic ...

and

. Afterwards, Yasukawa continued working for Stardom as the manager of the

Oedo Tai (Stylized OEDotai, also known as "Oedo Corps" in Japanese) is a villanous professional wrestling stable, currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, and formerly in the Professional wrestling ...

stable.

Personal life

Yasukawa was born in Misawa, but her family moved regularly due to her father's work in the

Japan Self-Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...

. As a child, Yasukawa dreamed of becoming a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

. Her parents supported her passion by guiding her into

Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

. However, when Yasukawa reached middle school she was informed there were no samurai in modern Japan. During this time, Yasukawa suffered from a near-blindness in her right eye,

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

, and bullying. At some point during her childhood, Yasukawa attempted suicide. In high school, Yasukawa found solace by joining the drama club: Yasukawa attended the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. After being cast in the 2011 stage production of Wrestler Girls,

Yuzuki Aikawa is a Japanese gravure idol and retired professional wrestler. Starting her modeling career in 2003, Aikawa went on to become one of Japan's top gravure idols, earning the nickname "The Gravure Queen of the Next Generation" by appearing in variou ...

approached Yasukawa and offered her a chance to audition as a wrestler for Stardom. She agreed, but after training for only three months, Yasukawa fell ill and was advised by her doctor not to wrestle. Instead, Yasukawa chose to take medication that would leave her

infertile Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...

but strengthen her body enough that she would be cleared to join Stardom. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and gardening. Yasukawa's life was the subject of the 2015 Japanese documentary ''Gamushara''.

Championships and accomplishments

World Wonder Ring Stardom World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...

Artist of Stardom Championship The is a professional wrestling six-woman tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was first announced during Stardom's year-end event on December 24, 2012, and two days later its name was revealed as the ...

( 1 time) – with

and

Saki Kashima is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom where she is a former Artist of Stardom Championship, Artist of Stardom Ch ...

( 2 time) ** Goddesses of Stardom Tag Tournament (2013) – with

**Stardom Year-End Award (3 times) ***Fighting Spirit Award (2013, 2015) ***Technique Award (2012)

References

External links

Act Yasukawa Blog
*
Stardom profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasukawa, Act Living people People from Misawa, Aomori Sportspeople from Aomori Prefecture 1986 births Actors from Aomori Prefecture Japanese female professional wrestlers Japanese actresses 21st-century professional wrestlers Wonder of Stardom Champions Artist of Stardom Champions