, better known as was a Japanese

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 ...

, road agent, on-air personality and

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

best known for his tenures with the

Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963) Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' (sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-st ...

(JWA) and

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, w ...

. The first official Japanese referee in the

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

, he was known as one of the best referees in the business and the most popular referee in Japanese

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 ...

history. He was inducted into the

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

as a member of the

Class of 2018 ''Class of 2018'' is a 2018 Filipino teen suspense–thriller film directed by Charliebebs Gohetia. It stars Sharlene San Pedro and Nash Aguas. The film was produced and distributed by T-Rex Entertainment. It premiered in the Philippines on Nove ...

Early life

Higuchi Kanji was born on January 19, 1929, in

Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. He was a judo practitioner in his youth and became a judo instructor for the GHQ after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Working as a trainer for the mostly-American soldiers, he was able to learn English and gained the nickname "Joe".

JWA

Higuchi had trained in professional wrestling with

Raul Romero Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

and

Tojo Yamamoto Harold Watanabe (January 6, 1927 – February 19, 1992) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tojo Yamamoto. Early life Watanabe was born in Hawaii in 1927 to a Japanese father and an American mother. He served ...

and in 1954, he joined the All Japan Pro-Wrestling Association (which was run by

Toshio Yamaguchi is a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Labor and as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. Yamaguchi was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 1967 general election and served ten consecutive ...

and Umeyuki Kiyomikawa) as a professional wrestler. In 1956, he competed in the Japanese Light Heavyweight division tournament where he finished as the third ranked Light Heavyweight in Japan. He also joined the JWA, which of whom he competed with in the 1950s and retired as an in-ring competitor in 1960. Having learned English during his time with the GHQ, Higuchi returned to the JWA as the interpreter and point of contact for

gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: and ...

(foreign) wrestlers. He made his debut as a referee in 1965.

All Japan Pro Wrestling

An AJPW original from its inception in 1972, Higuchi gained fame as the senior referee of the promotion, a position he held from 1972 to 1990. He was also a prominent backstage official for the company and was the "go between" during talent exchanges between AJPW and

Dory Funk Sr. Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Early li ...

's promotion in America. He was the first official Japanese referee of the

, refereeing bouts such the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

match between Jack Briscoe and

Dory Funk Jr. Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter ...

in St. Louis, United States. In the early 80's AJPW bouts were booked more akin to the

American style This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those. This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of highly ...

and Higuchi became known for his bump-taking. He retired as a referee in 1997 and took up the position of caretaker for the gaijin talent. He left AJPW in 1999 following the passing of its founder,

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

. His last officiated match was the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship bout between

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and also for forming the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in 2000. In the early 1990s, Misawa gained fame alongside ...

and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on March 1, 1997. On the independently produced DVD WCCW and the Von Erichs, Heroes of World Class, it was stated by WCCW booker

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

that Joe Higuchi was the All Japan official that contacted WCCW when the body of

David Von Erich David Alan Adkisson (July 22, 1958 – February 10, 1984) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name David Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich Family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with World Class Champion ...

was found while on tour in Japan.

Pro Wrestling Noah

Following Giant Baba's passing in 1999, many of the AJPW talent departed the company to form

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

. With his history in the business, Higuchi was brought into Noah by executive and former AJPW ring announcer Nakada Ryu as a member of the board of directors He became the

statutory auditor Statutory auditor is a title used in various countries to refer to a person or entity with an auditing role, whose appointment is mandated by the terms of a statute. World usage A "statutory audit" is a legally required review of the accuracy ...

in the promotion and was also the on-air chairman of the

GHC Heavyweight Championship The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the Pro Wrestling Noah brand division. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world titles, alon ...

committee in 2001. On November 8, 2010, Higuchi, known as one of Japan's greatest referees, passed away at the age of 81.

Legacy

During his career, Higuchi refereed more than 20,000 matches over 32 years. On December 5, 2010, Pro Wrestling Noah held the "Joe Higuchi Memorial Show" in Tokyo, Japan in Higuchi's honour. He was posthumously given a

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

at the 2010

Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' magazine annually since 1974. The most publicized awards in Japanese professional wrestling, they are recognized by all the major pr ...

and was inducted into the

as a member of the

and the inaugural member of the new referee category.http://www.pwhf.org/ https://archive.today/20180127174654/http://www.pwhf.org/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higuchi, Joe 1929 births 2010 deaths Sportspeople from Yokohama Japanese male professional wrestlers Professional wrestling referees Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum