Jinsei Shinzaki
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Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎 健介 ''Shinzaki Kensuke'', born December 2, 1966) is 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 o ...
and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎 人生 ''Shinzaki Jinsei''). He is currently signed to the
Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
where he is the promotion's president. He also performs for Michinoku Pro as a wrestler, serving as the sole heavyweight wrestler on the roster. Shinzaki is also known for his appearances with other Japanese promotions such as
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 ...
(AJPW),
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...
(NJPW), and
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their f ...
(FMW). To American fans, Shinzaki is perhaps most known for his stint in the United States based
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
(WWF) from 1994 to 1996 under the ring name Hakushi.


Professional wrestling career


Universal Lucha Libre (1992–1993)

A former soccer player, Shinzaki trained in amateur wrestling in high school. He firstly started working a career as an actor, but he left for professional wrestling when he met
Gran Hamada , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro ...
. Shinzaki trained in the Mexican style of lucha libre before debuting in Hamada's promotion
Universal Lucha Libre Universal Lucha Libre (Universal Pro-Wrestling until 1991; Federación Universal de Lucha Libre afterward; UWF and FULL used as acronyms) was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1990 to 1995. The name Universal Lucha Libre is used to ...
in 1992, wrestling under a mask and the name of Mongolian Yuga.


Michinoku Pro Wrestling (1993–1994)

In 1993, Shinzaki followed The Great Sasuke to his promotion Michinoku Pro Wrestling, becoming one of its founders. In June 1993, Kensuke unmasked and changed his gimmick, re-debuting as Jinsei Shinzaki ("Jinsei" meaning "life" in Japanese), an ''aruki henro'' or Shikoku pilgrim. Under this persona, Shinzaki wrestled in a slow, meditated style, and constantly performed prayers in the ring before every movement. He also came to the arenas in full pilgrimage garments, including white robes and '' suge-kasa'' hats, and carried a ''
shakujo A khakkhara ( sa, khakkhara; ; , sometimes referred to in English as a pewter staff, is a staff topped with metal rings traditionally carried by Buddhist monks, particularly in East Asian Buddhism. Originally used as a noisemaker to announce a ...
'' staff and a '' kongo-zue''. Jinsei debuted as a silent heel, being introduced by Mr. Yamaguchi as a special member of
Super Delfín is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently runs Kaisen Puroresu and is also working as a wrestler there. He is better known by his stage name . Professional wrestling career New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1989, 1994) Hiroto Wakita joined N ...
's heel unit in order to "curse" The Great Sasuke with his prayers. However, after disagreements with them, Shinzaki turned
face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
in 1994 and joined Sasuke and his allies. In mid-1994, Shinzaki wrestled on a
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
tour of Japan. This led to him being offered a contract with the promotion later that year after the promotion was looking for a Japanese wrestler on the roster and
Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C fo ...
had rejected the offer to work for
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their f ...
and Shinzaki was given the Japanese wrestler spot on the offer.


World Wrestling Federation (1994–1996)

In late 1994, Shinzaki traveled to the United States to wrestle for the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
(WWF). He wrestled as Hakushi ("White One"), a derivation of his Michinoku Pro Wrestling persona. This new character resembled Jinsei Shinzaki, but he was characterized by sporting Buddhist
shakyo Sutra copying is the East Asian practice of hand-copying Buddhist sutras. Purpose Sutra copying is considered a merit in Buddhism. Other meritorious practices included the memorization and recitation of sutras. The effort of sutra copying is con ...
written all over his skin, in a reference to Japanese folk character
Hoichi the Earless is the name of a well-known figure from Japanese folklore. His story is well known in Japan, and the best-known English translation first appeared in the book '' Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things'' by Lafcadio Hearn. A version ...
. He was also accompanied by a facepaint-wearing cultist named Shinja. Initially a heel, his first few matches were highlighted by victories over jobbers which included future star
Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag team ...
and midcarders like Aldo Montoya, and
1-2-3 Kid Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 ...
. Hakushi brought the wrestling style of ''lucharesu'' to the company, utilizing many aerial maneuvers, and stood out for using many of them to finish his matches as opposed to a single, established finishing move. Hakushi had a brief alliance with ninja wrestler
Kwang Kwang, also spelled Gwang, is a Korean given name and name element. The meaning differs based on the hanja used. Hanja and meaning There are 13 hanja with this reading, and three variant forms, on the South Korean government's official list of ...
, calling themselves collectively " Shogun". After losing a tag team match, Hakushi blamed Kwang and turned on him. Hakushi subsequently defeated Kwang, in the Shogun team’s breakup and blow-off match. This also happened to be the Kwang’s last appearance. Hakushi then feuded with former WWF Champion
Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...
, wrestling a number of competitive matches against him. He also participated in a three-way feud with perennial jobber
Barry Horowitz Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Early life Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied sports nutrition and wrestled ...
and Bodydonna Skip. Horowitz, who lost for years on WWF programming to get over new talent, surprisingly used his three-quarter nelson to secure a victory over Skip. Hakushi would also fall to Horowitz soon after because of interference from Skip. His loss was a surprise to the fans, not only given Horowitz's long time losing record, but also given how well Hakushi did during his feud with Bret Hart in what had been Hakushi's first major feud in the company. Hakushi and Horowitz would briefly form a tag team, leading to a face turn for Hakushi. In
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
, Hakushi was a member of The Underdogs team, but was eliminated after a kick from his enemy 1-2-3 Kid. He also was a competitor in the 1996 Royal Rumble, where he was eliminated by Bret Hart's brother,
Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wres ...
. During a match on ''
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
'' against Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw on the March 6 episode, Hakushi was hit by Bradshaw's branding iron after a loss. That week on ''
WWF Superstars is a wrestling video game manufactured by Technōs Japan and released for arcades in 1989. It is the first WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the same title were released by LJN for the original Game Boy. Techn ...
'', commentator Jim Ross reported that he had been so humiliated by the branding that he (
kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged ...
) left the WWF.


New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1996, 1997)

Upon leaving his stint in WWF, Shinzaki returned to Japan. He made a single night appearance with
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...
at "Battle Formation" on April 29, 1996, where he wrestled
The Great Muta is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...
. Shinzaki was introduced as a mystic, supernatural character very much like Muta, who embodied evil while Shinzaki embodied good. Shinzaki was defeated in a spirited brawl. One year later on January 4's ''Wrestling World In Tokyo Dome 1997'', he faced and defeated Heisei Ishingun member
Michiyoshi Ohara (born November 15, 1967) is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he wrestled from 1990 to 2004, winning the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Tatsutoshi Got ...
, who had a similar gimmick to his, and mimicked everything Shinzaki did.


Return to Michinoku Pro (1996–1997)

Shinzaki returned to Michinoku Pro Wrestling in October 1996 at the Michinoku Pro 3rd Anniversary event, defeating
Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C fo ...
. Once again aligning himself with The Great Sasuke, Shinzaki was undefeated in singles matches until 1997. In October 1997, the Hakushi character was brought up to go against WWF's "Dead Man"
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majorit ...
. Hakushi was now an undead as well due to having been "killed" in his match with Muta, and was introduced in a coffin by an entourage of Japanese traditional pallbearers, showing in his clothes the same blood stains he had got in said match. He faced Undertaker, but was defeated after a Tombstone Piledriver and entombed in the mountains of Tohoku.


Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1997–1998)

In mid-1997, Shinzaki started appearing in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling helping Hayabusa in his battles against
Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...
. They also had a brief stint in
Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
competing against
Rob Van Dam Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
and Sabu.


All Japan Pro Wrestling (1998–2002)

Shinzaki and Hayabusa competed in
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 ...
's Real Tag League 1998. In January 1999, they won the
All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA fou ...
from Jun Izumida and
Tamon Honda (born August 15, 1963) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler who is currently a freelancer. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a former tag team champion, winning the All Asia Ta ...
. They retained it until June 1999, when they lost it to
Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the All Japan Board of Directors. He ...
and
Yoshihiro Takayama is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), and ...
. Shinzaki then kept a feud against
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 ...
's Untouchables faction, but his appearances in AJPW became more sparse until ceasing in favour of Michinoku Pro in 2002. In 2001, still as an AJPW representative, Shinzaki made a surprise appearance in
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...
, wearing a white mask and causing Kazunari Murakami's defeat to
Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and N ...
. Jinsei then unmasked, and Mutoh introduced him as the new member of his personal faction Bad Ass Translate Trading.


Second return to Michinoku Pro (2002–present)

Shinzaki has been the president of
Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...
company since 2003 as a result of Sasuke dedicating more of his time to his political career as a member of the Iwate Prefectural (state) Assembly. Shinzaki is also the co-founder of the ''joshi'' promotion
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 ...
along with ''joshi'' wrestler Meiko Satomura. On April 15, 2011, Shinzaki returned to the United States to wrestle for Chikara in the 2011 King of Trios tournament, where he would represent Michinoku Pro with
Dick Togo , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. Togo is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Bullet Club stable, and its sub-group House of Torture. Togo has spent the majority of ...
and the Great Sasuke. In their first round match Team Michinoku Pro defeated Team Minnesota (
1-2-3 Kid Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 ...
,
Arik Cannon Arik Cannon (born December 23, 1981) is an American professional wrestler known for competing in companies such as Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, IWA Mid-South, All American Wrestling and Wrestling Society X. He also runs the Minneapolis-based wr ...
and Darin Corbin). The following day, Team Michinoku Pro defeated
Jigsaw Jigsaw may refer to: * Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves * Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces Arts and media Comics * Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...
,
Manami Toyota is a retired professional wrestler, best known for her work with the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion. She is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Following AJW's closure, she continued to work ...
and
Mike Quackenbush Michael Spillane (born March 18, 1976), is an American podcaster, author, professional wrestling trainer, professional wrestling promoter, and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Mike Quackenbush. He has hosted several ...
to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. On April 17, Team Michinoku Pro was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinal stage by F.I.S.T. ( Chuck Taylor, Icarus and
Johnny Gargano John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Johnny Gargano. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is best known for his time in NXT, wh ...
).


Personal life

Following the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six mi ...
, Shinzaki helped victims in the Tōhoku region by travelling around and providing them with food and drinks. Initial reports falsely noted that Shinzaki himself was living in his car due to losing his home and restaurant. However, this was incorrect as he was really just spending a lot of time traveling to help the needy.


Championships and accomplishments

*
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 ...
:*
All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA fou ...
( 1 time) – with
Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C fo ...
*
Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...
:*
Tohoku Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Michinoku Pro Wrestling. There have been a total of 33 reigns shared between 25 different teams consisting of 33 indivi ...
( 5 times, current) – with
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 " A ...
(1 time), Gaina (2 times),
Kesen Numajiro is a Japanese professional wrestler and singer, better known for his ring name . He has had a long career in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, where he currently wrestles, being a three-time Tohoku Tag Team champion and a one-time Tohoku Junior Heavyweigh ...
(1 time) and
The Great Sasuke , born July 18, 1969), is a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and politician, currently wrestling for Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) under the ring name . Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural Assembly ...
(1) :*
UWA World Tag Team Championship The UWA World Tag Team Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. After the UWA's closing, the title was inactive unt ...
( 1 time, current) – with The Great Sasuke :* Futaritabi Tag Tournament (1994) – with Super Delfin :*Michinoku Trios League (2005) – with The Great Sasuke and Kesen Numajiro *''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
'' :*Ranked No. 48 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
'' in 1995 :*Ranked No. 209 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 *''
Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' ma ...
'' :* Newcomer Award (1993)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shinzaki, Jinsei 1966 births Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestling executives Sportspeople from Tokushima Prefecture People from Tokushima (city) 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers All Asia Tag Team Champions Tohoku Tag Team Champions UWA World Tag Team Champions