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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. For most of her career, Kuragaki has worked for

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 ...

, becoming a one-time JWP Junior and two-time JWP Openweight Champion as a singles wrestler. As a

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 ...

wrestler, she is best known as one half of the "Harukura" tag team with

Kayoko Haruyama is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. Having made her debut in January 1998, Haruyama worked for the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion her entire career, becoming not only one of the promotion's most accomplished singles wrestlers, with one JWP ...

, with whom she has held the Daily Sports Women's and

JWP Tag Team Championship The JWP Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. The championship was introduced on August 9, 1992, when Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki defeated Dynamite Kansai and Sumiko S ...

s three times each. She quit JWP in October 2013 to become 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 ...

. She is currently working most notably for

Oz Academy is a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion founded by Mayumi Ozaki. The promotion's full official name is . In addition to the contracted members of the roster, Oz Academy has also employed some of the top freel ...

, where she is a former one-time Oz Academy Openweight Champion and a one-time Oz Academy Tag Team Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Kuragaki was trained 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, where she trained alongside the likes of Azumi Hyuga,

Carlos Amano is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Amano made her debut for JWP Joshi Puroresu in December 1994 and early on began also making appearances for the Gaea Japan promotion, where she most notably became one ...

, Kana Misaki and

Ran Yu-Yu Ran, RaN and ran may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa * "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea * '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) * ...

. She made her debut under her real name on January 8, 1995, facing Tomomi Kobayashi at

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 ...

. However, Kuragaki ended up quitting JWP and retiring from professional wrestling later that same year. Kuragaki eventually returned to the ring and JWP on October 21, 1998, when she teamed with

in a tag team match, where they faced Erika Watanabe and Tomiko Sai. Kuragaki quickly started a rivalry with Haruyama over the

JWP Junior Championship The JWP Junior Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. It was introduced on June 16, 1995, when Candy Okutsu defeated Hiromi Sugou and Hiromi Yagi in a three-way match to become the ...

and eventually won it from her in September 2000. Kuragaki remained with JWP for four years, before quitting the promotion and becoming a

, adopting the

Tsubasa Kuragaki in the process. She, however, returned to the promotion in 2003 and in December 2004 won the

for the first time, teaming with Akino. The following September, Kuragaki defeated Azumi Hyuga to win JWP's top title, the

JWP Openweight Championship The JWP Openweight Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. The championship, which was situated at the top of JWP's championship hierarchy, was introduced on December 2, 1992, when ...

for the first time. During 2005, Kuragaki also won NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling's NEO Single and NWA Women's Pacific Championships. Following her Openweight Championship reign, Kuragaki formed the Harukura

with Kayoko Haruyama, with the two becoming multi-time JWP Tag Team Champions and the first-ever Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Champions together during the next years. In early December 2011, Kuragaki made her

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

debut, when she took part in the three-day ''JoshiMania'' weekend, held by the Chikara promotion in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. On December 23, 2011, Kuragaki defeated

Hailey Hatred Angel Katherine Reece (born November 4, 1983) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Hailey Hatred. Originally debuting in July 2002, Hatred worked for several years for various promotions in both the United St ...

to regain the JWP Openweight Championship. After a four-month reign, she lost the title to Haruyama. In early 2012, Kuragaki began making regular appearances for the

promotion, where she is one of the few wrestlers not representing any of the promotion's

stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

. Kuragaki returned to Chikara in September 2012 to take part in the 2012 King of Trios in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

. Kuragaki,

Command Bolshoi is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. She debuted for Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (JWP) in November 1991 and worked for its follow-up promotion JWP Joshi Puroresu from 1992 until its folding in 2017, also serving as its final president. D ...

and

Kaori Yoneyama is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. During the following years, she became a one-time J ...

, representing JWP, made it to the second round of the tournament, before being eliminated by F.I.S.T. ( Chuck Taylor,

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...

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 ...

). In January 2013, Harukura started their third as both the Daily Sports Women's Tag Team and JWP Tag Team Champions with a win over the team of

Arisa Nakajima is a Japanese professional wrestler. Trained by the Major Girl's Fighting AtoZ promotion, Nakajima made her debut in January 2006, but when the promotion folded the following May, she transferred over to JWP Joshi Puroresu, where she became a tw ...

and Command Bolshoi. After a seven-month reign, they lost the titles to Heart Move (

Hanako Nakamori better known by her ring name Hanako Nakamori is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her time in the Japanese promotions JWP Joshi Puroresu and Pure-J. Professional wrestling career Independe ...

and Morii). On August 22, 2013, Kuragaki announced that she would be going

freelance ''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 ...

following October 14. Kuragaki was defeated by Haruyama in her final match as a JWP wrestler. On August 10, 2014, Kuragaki made her debut for

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 ...

, teaming with Hatsuhinode Kamen and Kaori Yoneyama to defeat the Tawashis (

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 ...

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 ...

and

Miho Wakizawa is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her time in the Japanese promotions World Wonder Ring Stardom and All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (1996-2014) Wakizawa made some freel ...

) for the

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 ...

. On October 13, Kuragaki defeated Akino to win the

Oz Academy Openweight Championship The Oz Academy Openweight Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Oz Academy promotion. The reigning champion is referred to as the " Wizard of Oz". The championship, which is situated at the top of Oz Academy's ...

for the first time. She lost the title back to Akino in her third defense on May 17, 2015. On September 13, Kuragaki returned to JWP, reforming her tag team with Haruyama, who had recently announced her retirement from professional wrestling. In October, Kuragaki and Haruyama made it to the finals of

Pro Wrestling Wave , is a women's professional wrestling, or Joshi Puroresu, promotion created in 2007 after the dissolution and closure of JDStar. The company was formed by Mikiko Futagami, or Gami, former JDStar wrestler Yumi Ohka, and former JDStar booker Tatsu ...

's 2015 Dual Shock Wave tournament, contested for the

Wave Tag Team Championship The Wave Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the Pro Wrestling Wave Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The title is nicknamed "Dual Shock Wave". The cha ...

, but were defeated there 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 ...

and Yuu Yamagata. On December 13, Kuragaki and Kaori Yoneyama defeated Kagetsu and Kaho Kobayashi to win the

Oz Academy Tag Team Championship The Oz Academy Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Oz Academy professional wrestling promotion. The championship was introduced on July 13, 2008, when Carlos Amano and Dynamite Kansai defeated Chik ...

. On December 27, Kuragaki made another return to JWP to take part in her longtime tag team partner Kayoko Haruyama's retirement match, where Haruyama defeated Kuragaki. On September 11, 2016, Kuragaki and Yoneyama lost the Oz Academy Tag Team Championship to

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reign ...

and

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 ...

. On April 2, 2017, Kuragaki returned to JWP to take part in the promotion's final event. In the main event, Kuragaki unsuccessfully challenged Hanako Nakamori for the JWP Openweight Championship in what marked the final match contested for the title.

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held th ...

AJW Tag Team Championship The AJW Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. The title was introduced in 1986 and was retired in April 2005 when the promotion closed. Title his ...

( 1 time) – with Kana Misaki *

Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Pure-J promotion. The title is named after the '' Daily Sports'' newspaper. Title history The championship was introduced by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion on August 3, 2008, ...

( 3 times) – with

( 1 time) **

(

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 ...

) **

( 4 times) – with Akino (1) and Kayoko Haruyama (3) ** JWP Tag League the Best (

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

) – with Kayoko Haruyama **

Natsu Onna Kettei Tournament __NOTOC__ The was an annual professional wrestling tournament promoted by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion between 2009 and 2012. The name of the tournament was Japanese for "Summer Woman Determination Tournament" and as the name suggests, it ...

(

) ** Best Bout Award (2007) with Kayoko Haruyama vs.

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 ...

and

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 ...

on December 9 ** Fighting Spirit Award (2001) ** MVP Award (2005) ** Technique Award (2004) * NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling **

NEO Single Championship Neo or NEO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * Neo (''The Matrix''), the alias of Thomas Anderson, a hacker and the protagonist of the Matrix film series * Neo (''Marvel Comics'' species), a fictional race of superhumans * ...

( 1 time) ** NWA Women's Pacific Championship ( 1 time) *

Osaka Pro Wrestling Osaka Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 1998 by Super Delfin. The promotion held a major flagship event called the Osaka Hurricane each year from 2003 to 2012 and also hosted the fourth edition of the Supe ...

** Osaka Mixed Pancake Tournament (2002) – with

Black Buffalo The black buffalo (''Ictiobus niger'') is a North American species of freshwater fish in the Catostomidae or sucker family.* . At 56 years old for one specimen's age, it is one of the longest-lived catostomids. Found in the Mississippi Basin a ...

and Tsubasa *

(

) **

( 1 time) – with

Itsuki Aoki better known by her ring name Itsuki Aoki is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her time in the Japanese promotions Oz Academy and Pro Wrestling Wave. Professional wrestling career Independe ...

(1) and

(1) ** Best Bout Award (2014) vs. Akino on October 13 *

( 1 time) – with Hatsuhinode Kamen and Kaori Yoneyama

References

External links

*
Oz Academy profile

Official blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuragaki, Tsubasa 1975 births Living people People from Kamagaya Sportspeople from Chiba Prefecture Japanese female professional wrestlers 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Artist of Stardom Champions Oz Academy Openweight Champions Oz Academy Tag Team Champions