Robert "Kinji" Shibuya (May 16, 1921 – May 3, 2010) was an American

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 ...

and actor.

Professional wrestling career

In 1952, promoter

Al Karasick AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (Aladdin), Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (EastEnders), Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British ...

suggested Shibuya try professional wrestling. He was originally given a villainous

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

of a Japanese bad guy 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 ...

. He wrestled in the United States and Canada's

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

and

All-Star Wrestling All Star Wrestling (ASW) is a British professional wrestling promotion operated by Brian Dixon and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, it has also been known over the years as All Star P ...

. Shibuya credited

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling ...

for first making him popular as a villain in 1955. Shibuya was the frequent tag team partner of

Mitsu Arakawa Mack Mitsukazu Arakawa (May 23, 1927 – April 17, 1997) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based NWA Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club/American Wrestling Association. E ...

, who was billed as his cousin. In 1957, they held the Minneapolis version of the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

Personal life

Shibuya was born in Utah and raised in California with his four brothers. He attended Belmont High School in Los Angeles. He played football for the Los Angeles City football team, and he also played football at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. After college, Shibuya played semi-professionally for the

Honolulu Polar Bears Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

and

Honolulu Warriors Honolulu (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of H ...

. 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. After retiring from wrestling, he also had small acting roles on shows such as ''

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

'' and ''

Mr. T and Tina ''Mr. T and Tina'' is an American sitcom and a spin-off of ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' starring Pat Morita and Susan Blanchard that aired for five episodes on ABC from September 25 to October 30, 1976. It is one of the first television shows to fe ...

''. He also appeared in the films '' Days of a Bawdy Ballad'' and '' Hammett''. He was married for 59 years and had two children. Shibuya died on May 3, 2010, of natural causes. He was cremated, and his funeral service was held at a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple.

Championships and accomplishments

* Big Time Wrestling ''(San Francisco)'' **

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) The NWA San Francisco United States Championship was a version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in NWA San Francisco NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, Cal ...

( 3 times) **

NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member NWA San Francisco promoted a professional wrestling tag team championship under the name NWA World Tag Team Championship from 1950 until 1961 in and around their local territory until it closed. When S ...

( 5 times) - with

Masa Saito was a Japanese professional wrestler better known as Mr. Saito or , who wrestled for 33 years around the world. He had success as a singles wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1990, and as a tag team wrestler with multip ...

(2), Great Mephisto (1), Great Sasaki (1), and

(1) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Other honoree (1993) * Central States Wrestling **

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that served as the main title for the National Wrestling Alliance promotion, NWA Central-States Championship Wrestling. For most of its existence, however, t ...

( 1 time) *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship. ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) - with

Mr. Moto Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the ''Saturday Evening Post'', whi ...

NWA All-Star Wrestling NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...

NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) The Vancouver version of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship was established in 1962 as the top tag team title in NWA All-Star Wrestling. The title held that status until late summer 1985, when the title was renamed the UWA Tag Team Champions ...

( 4 times) - with

(1),

Sweet Daddy Siki Reginald Siki (born June 16, 1940) is an American-Canadian retired professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. He is believed to be the first African-American to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Professi ...

(1),

Don Leo Jonathan Don Heaton (April 29, 1931 – October 13, 2018), also known as Don Leo Jonathan, was an American-Canadian professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Jonathan, nicknamed "The Mormon Giant" was a second generation star (his father was f ...

(1), and John Quinn (1) **

NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (Vancouver version) The Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in two National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Vancouver territories. The championship was originally used in Big Time Wrestling from 1948 to about 1 ...

( 1 time) *

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first es ...

( 1 time) **

NWA Americas Tag Team Championship The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California. The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship f ...

( 5 times) - with

(3), Goliath (1),

Killer Kowalski Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...

(1) **

NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship The NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling singles title defended in Johnny Doyle's NWA Los Angeles from 1951 to 1959. The title was defended in the same area during the 1960s under promoters Gene and Mi ...

( 5 times) * NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club **

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) From January 8, 1957, through August 1960 the NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club promoted the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship as the main professional wrestling championship for tag teams on their shows held in a ...

( 1 time) - with Mitsu Arakawa *

NWA Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its ...

NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) The Amarillo version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship was a top singles title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. It lasted from 1957 until 1969, when it was replaced with the ...

( 1 time) *

Stampede International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promote ...

( 1 time) - with

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...

NWA Texas Tag Team Championship The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-basedWorld Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally known as the NWA ...

( 1 time) - with

Duke Keomuka Martin Hisao Tanaka (April 22, 1921 – June 30, 1991) was an American professional wrestler better known as Duke Keomuka. He is the father of wrestler Pat Tanaka and referee Jimmy Tanaka. Biography Because he was a Japanese American in Californ ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shibuya, Kinji 1921 births 2010 deaths American male professional wrestlers Faux Japanese professional wrestlers University of Hawaiʻi alumni American male actors of Japanese descent Professional wrestlers from Utah American sportspeople of Japanese descent Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions NWA Americas Tag Team Champions NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions