is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

better known simply as (pronounced and sometimes transliterated as "Fuuka"). She was trained by

JDStar JDStar (also spelt Jd'), was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. In the wake of the joshi puroresu boom of the early 1990s, several different groups opened with distinct approaches. The Jd'Star promotion, with its su ...

as part of the promotion's "Athtress" program and made her debut in February 2004, quickly garnering a large fan following. From 2005 to 2006, Fuka also fought three

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fights, finishing with a record of two wins and one loss. During her years in JDStar, Fuka became the inaugural Princess of Pro-Wrestling (POP) Champion and also held the Princess of Ketsudeka (POK) and TWF World Tag Team Championships. After the promotion folded in July 2007, Fuka became a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, while also starting to promote her own series of independent wrestling events under the banner of Fuka Matsuri ("Fuka Festival"). As a freelancer, Fuka also made several trips to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, working for local independent promotions. Fuka ended her in-ring career in March 2010 at the age of 25, after which she began training wrestlers for the newly founded

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 ...

promotion. When Stardom was officially announced the following September, Fuka was appointed the General Manager of the promotion, a role she has held since. As a model, Fuka is signed to the

Platinum Production is a Japanese talent agency headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 2000 and focuses on talent management for ''tarento'', models, actors and musical artists. The headquarters is currently situated on the ninth floor of the Yushin M ...

agency. Her older brother, Daichi, is also a professional wrestler, most notably working for

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

(DDT) between 2003 and 2014, and her father Masahide and oldest brother Genki have also made appearances in wrestling matches involving her.

Professional wrestling career

JDStar (2004–2007)

Kakimoto received her training in

professional wrestling 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 o ...

at the dojo of the

promotion, being part of the last batch of women to go through the promotion's "Athtress" program, which aimed at building physically attractive women into not only professional wrestlers, but also mainstream celebrities. Kakimoto, working just as "Fuka", made her debut on February 29, 2004, teaming with Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Kazuki and Tomoya. Fuka's career started with a long losing streak, which earned her the nickname "Haru Urara of Women's Professional Wrestling", after a Japanese racehorse that gained popularity due to a long string of consecutive losses. Similarly, Fuka also quickly gathered a large fan following, especially among men. Her popularity also earned her a spot on an event held by

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

, which normally did not promote women's wrestling matches, losing to Keiko Saito in a singles match on August 7, 2005. In February 2006, JDStar announced that Fuka had finished her training and was now a full-fledged member of the promotion's roster. The following April, Fuka entered the League Princess tournament, set to determine the inaugural Princess of Pro-Wrestling (POP) Champion. After three wins, one loss and one draw, Fuka advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, where she, on June 24, defeated

Ayumi Kurihara (born July 13, 1984) is a retired '' joshi puroresu '' wrestler. Professional wrestling career Kurihara entered training with the women's pro wrestling promotion AtoZ and then transferred to M's Style, where she learned the craft from well-kn ...

. Later that same event, she defeated Natsuki☆Head in the finals to become the 2006 League Princess and the inaugural Princess of Pro-Wrestling Champion. Fuka made her first successful title defense a month later on July 23, when she defeated

Kaientai Dojo Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility originally owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. The promotion places emphasis on a style of puroresu that combines high-flying, technical wr ...

representative Bambi. During the rest of the year, she made three more successful defenses, defeating

Mai Ichii is a Japanese female wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer. Background Ichii was born on in Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Professional wrestling career Ichii debuted in 2004 in a match against Emi Sakura. Mixed martial arts career ...

on October 22, Yuri Urai on November 5, and Caribbean Rum on December 3. On June 23, Fuka also made an appearance at a special event produced by

Último Dragón (born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the "Asa ...

, during which she entered the Dragon Mixture tournament, a one-night,

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, during which the number of participants in each team was reduced as the tournament progressed. In the first round, Fuka teamed with her brother Daichi,

Kota Ibushi is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), but is currently inactive due to suffering a shoulder injury. In March 2021, he became the company's inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Champion by ...

and Seiya Morohashi to defeat Banana Senga, Guillermo Akiba, Hisamaru Tajima and Toujyuki Leon. In the semifinals, Fuka, Daichi and Ibushi defeated Antonio Honda, Francesca Applenya and Mori Bernard, which earned them a place in the finals, where Fuka and Ibushi defeated Shinjitsu Nohashi and Yoshitsune to win the tournament. Fuka finally lost the POP Championship to Natsuki☆Taiyo at a NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling event on December 31, 2006. During 2006, Fuka also won the comedic Princess of Ketsudeka (POK) Championship and the TWF World Tag Team Championship with

Shuu Shibutani is a retired Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Having started her career in the JDStar promotion in September 2004, Shibutani remained with the promotion until it folded in July 2007, after which she affiliated hersel ...

. On March 3, 2007, Fuka wrestled her third anniversary match, in which she was defeated by

Nanae Takahashi (born December 23, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler and the founder of Seadlinnng. She has wrestled for prominent Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Sun, and is a two-time women's world champion in maj ...

. On March 21, Fuka was defeated by

Ayako Hamada is a Mexican professional wrestler. During her 20-year career, Hamada wrestled for various promotions, including All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Gaea Japan and Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Lucha Libre ...

in a singles match, during which Hamada was particularly stiff delivering her strikes. Following the match, Fuka broke down crying and announced that she did not want to wrestle anymore. On April 13, JDStar officially sidelined Fuka due to "poor physical condition". She eventually returned on May 18, teaming with

Hiroyo Matsumoto (born November 6, 1985) is Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with other w ...

in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Ayumi Kurihara and Shuu Shibutani. Just three days later, JDStar announced that the promotion would be folding after the July 16 event. At the final event, Fuka wrestled in a tag team match, where she and JDStar trainer

Jaguar Yokota (born July 25, 1961) is a Japanese professional wrestler and later wrestling trainer, who wrestled under the name . She is widely considered one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time, and, during her heyday in the early 1980s, was conside ...

defeated

Misaki Ohata is a retired Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by her maiden name . She is best known for her work while signed to the Zabun production company and its two promotions; Pro Wrestling Wave and Osa ...

and Shuu Shibutani.

Freelancing and Fuka Matsuri (2007–2010)

After the folding of JDStar, Fuka became a

, while also starting to promote her own

independent events Independence is a fundamental notion in probability theory, as in statistics and the theory of stochastic processes. Two events are independent, statistically independent, or stochastically independent if, informally speaking, the occurrence of o ...

. The first "Fuka Matsuri" event took place on September 30, 2007, and saw Fuka and Nanae Takahashi win a four tag team main event. During the next two years, Fuka promoted approximately one ''Fuka Matsuri'' event every three months, featuring several independent workers and friends as well as members of her family. On October 7, 2007, Fuka wrestled at an event co-promoted by Nanae Takahashi's Pro Wrestling Sun and

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...

, defeating Tracy Taylor for European Wrestling Association's (EAW) World Ladies Championship. On February 24, 2008, Fuka promoted the third ''Fuka Matsuri'' event, celebrating her fourth anniversary in professional wrestling. During the event, she wrestled twice, first in a tag team match, where she and Hikaru defeated Monster Black and Shuu Shibutani and then in a special main event, where she teamed with her brother Daichi to defeat their father Masahide and their oldest brother Genki. On May 11, Fuka made her

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

debut for the

Toryumon Mexico Toryumon or Tōryūmon may refer to: *Toryumon (Último Dragón) is a professional wrestling promotion that operated in Japan until 2004 and in Mexico, where it's called Toryumon Mexico. The promotion is owned and operated by Yoshihiro Asai, who ...

promotion in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, teaming with Saori in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Hiroka and

Mima Shimoda is a Japanese female professional wrestling, professional wrestler, who is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Japanese promotion World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana. She is most well kno ...

. During her several future travels to Mexico, Fuka created a masked persona named "Tigre Fuka". On August 31, Fuka promoted the fifth ''Fuka Matsuri'' in her hometown of

Nara, Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of 2022, Nara has an estimated population of 367,353 according to World Population Review, making it the largest city in Nara Prefecture and sixth-largest in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara is ...

. In the main event, Fuka teamed with her father Masahide to defeat Genki Kakimoto and Monster Black. On October 11, 2008, Fuka made her debut for Dragon Gate, defeating "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa in back-to-back intergender singles matches. As a freelancer, Fuka also made appearances for several ''

joshi Joshi is a surname used by the Brahmin (caste) in India and Nepal. Joshi is also sometimes spelled as Jyoshi. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Jyotishi'' meaning "astrologer" or a person who practices ''jyotisha''. ''Jyotisha'' refers ...

'' promotions, including Ibuki,

Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...

JWP Joshi Puroresu , also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2 ...

, and

Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling , often called , is a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. It is based in the city of Sendai, Miyagi in the Tohoku region. History Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling was founded in 2005 by Meiko Satomura, a female professional wrestler ...

. Fuka celebrated her fifth anniversary in professional wrestling on February 22, 2009, with ''Fuka Matsuri 7'', which saw her and Nanae Takahashi defeat Haruka Matsuo and

Yoshiko Tamura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Tamura was trained by the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion, made her debut in September 1994 and worked for the promotion for three years, winning the AJW Junior Championship, before ...

in the main event tag team match. On July 5, 2009, Fuka returned to NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling, teaming with Yoshiko Tamura in the Mid Summer Tag Tournament VIII. After defeating the teams of Aya Yuki and Minori Makiba, and Ayumi Kurihara and

Kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...

, Fuka and Tamura were defeated in the finals of the tournament by

Emi Sakura , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler performing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). After starting her career in International Wrestling Association of Japan in August 1995, Sa ...

and Nanae Takahashi. On October 21, Fuka surprisingly announced that she would be retiring from professional wrestling the following spring. ''Fuka Matsuri 12'' took place on December 23 and saw Fuka being defeated by

Meiko Satomura Meiko Satomura (里村明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...

in the main event. On February 25, 2010, Fuka returned to Mexico as part of her retirement tour, working under her Tigre Fuka persona at an

International Wrestling Revolution Group International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, Sta ...

(IWRG) event in a tag team match, where she and Flor Metalica defeated

La Diabólica La Diabólica (real name unknown; born September 28, 1965) is a Mexican ''luchadora enmascarada'', or masked professional wrestler, best known from her work in the Mexican professional wrestling promotions Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) a ...

and Lady Metal. Three days later, she promoted her Mexican retirement event in

Tlalnepantla de Baz Tlalnepantla de Baz is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlalli'' (land) ...

. The thirteenth and final ''Fuka Matsuri'' took place on March 28 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

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 ...

, and featured Fuka's retirement match, in which she was defeated by Nanae Takahashi.

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2010–2018)

On September 7, 2010, Fuka and former JDStar promoter Rossy Ogawa held a press conference to announce the formation of a new promotion, named

, with Fuka being assigned the title of

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. During the past months, Fuka had started training several women, including Arisa Hoshiki, Eri Susa,

Yoko Bito is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Bito initially made her in-ring debut in December 2010 for World Wonder Ring Stardom and quickly became one of the most popular wrestlers in the promotion, until announ ...

and most notably

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 ...

, to become professional wrestlers for Stardom and also recruited her friend, mixed martial artist

Mika Nagano is a Japanese female mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. She fought as a lightweight in the Deep and Jewels promotions before her retirement in 2014. Nagano has also wrestled in Ice Ribbon and World Wonder Ring Stardom. Her nickname ...

, as part of the promotion's roster. Fuka works as the on-screen

authority figure In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The Ne ...

and

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, ...

for Stardom and starts each major event with a dance performance. On January 21, 2018, at Stardom's 7th Anniversary show, Fuka announced her retirement from Stardom, as she was expecting her first child in the summer.

Mixed martial arts and shoot boxing

While signed to

as a professional wrestler, Kakimoto also began looking for opportunities to transition into

(MMA) with the

Smackgirl Smackgirl was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion focused solely on female fighters. The promotion also held grappling and amateur events along with its main line of professional MMA cards. After financial difficulties throughout 2008 the pr ...

promotion. She made her MMA debut on August 17, 2005, losing to Chiaki Kawabita via submission to an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

. Kakimoto returned to Smackgirl on November 29, using an armbar herself to earn a submission win over

Emi Kuroda a.k.a. is a Japanese pink film actress who was born in Osaka in 1978. She is best known for playing the title role in director Mitsuru Meike's '' The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai'' (2003). Film career Emi Kuroda started her AV career in ...

. Kakimoto's third and final MMA fight took place on September 15, 2006, when she scored a unanimous decision win over Maiko Takahashi. Afterwards, Kakimoto switched from MMA to shoot boxing, making her debut on November 24, 2008, against fellow professional wrestler, seasoned mixed martial artist and reigning UKF Women's MMA Intercontinental Champion Mai Ichii. After a close three-round fight, which saw Ichii given a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

for punching Kakimoto during a clean break, one judge scored the match for Kakimoto, one for Ichii and the third scored it a draw, leading to a fourth sudden death round. Kakimoto dominated the final round over her exhausted opponent and won it on the cards of all three judges, earning an upset victory over Ichii. To coincide with her retirement from professional wrestling, Kakimoto also retired from shoot boxing, taking part in her final match on February 13, 2010, when she was defeated by

Syuri is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist, better known simply as . Syuri formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship. Syuri is currently working for World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the ...

via majority decision.

Personal life

Kakimoto married kickboxer Ikki on June 19, 2017, six months after their first meeting in December 2016.

Championships and accomplishments

*European Wrestling Association **EWA World Ladies Championship (1 time) *

**Princess of Ketsudeka Championship (1 time) **

Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championship The Princess of Pro-Wrestling (POP) Championship is a Japanese women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Pure-J promotion. The title was created in the JDStar promotion on June 24, 2006, when Fuka defeated Natsuki☆Head in the f ...

( 1 time) **TWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

**League Princess (2006) *Último Dragón Fiesta **Dragon Mixture Tournament (2006) – with Daichi Kakimoto,

and Seiya Morohashi

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , , Decision (unanimous) , Smackgirl: Women Hold Their Ground , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , , Submission (armbar) , Smackgirl: Lightweight Anniversary , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:37 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , , Submission (armbar) , Smackgirl: Dynamic!! , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:50 ,

, ''Legend'':

References

External links

Platinum Production profile

World Wonder Ring Stardom profile

Official blog
* *
Fighter Girls profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakimoto, Fuka 1984 births Japanese female dancers Japanese female professional wrestlers Japanese female models Japanese idols Japanese female kickboxers Japanese female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Masked wrestlers Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling executives Professional wrestling trainers Living people People from Nara, Nara Sportspeople from Nara Prefecture