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

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and actor.

Early life, family and education

Shibuya was born in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. He and his four brothers were raised in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He attended Belmont High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He attended college at

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...

and

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...

, playing football at both

Career

After college, Shibuya played semi-professional football for the Honolulu Polar Bears and Honolulu Warriors. He performed

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

and

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

as well. In 1952, promoter Al Karasick suggested Shibuya try professional wrestling. He was originally given a

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 out ...

of a Japanese

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

, leveraging anti-Japanese sentiment stemming from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He wrestled in the US 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. Shibuya credited

Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...

for first making him popular as a villain in 1955. Shibuya was a frequent

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 establis ...

partner of Mitsu Arakawa, 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, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

. 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, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

'' and '' Mr. T and Tina''. He appeared in the films '' Days of a Bawdy Ballad'' and '' Hammett''.

Personal life

He and his wife Judy were married for 59 years and had a daughter and a son. They resided for many years in Northern California. Their son Robert Shibuya became the Chairman & CEO of Mohr Partners, a global corporate real estate advisory firm based in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Kinji Shibuya loved large automobiles, painting and Japanese gardening as well as raising koi. He died of natural causes on May 3, 2010. He was cremated, and his funeral service was held at a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

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 and, later, Big Time Wrestling. The title, which originated as the American Wrestling Allian ...

( 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 ...

( 5 times) - with

Masa Saito was a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Mr. Saito or . He 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 wrestle ...

(2), Great Mephisto (1), Great Sasaki (1), and Mitsu Arakawa (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 Ab ...

**Other honoree (1993) *

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States championship was reactivated in 2002 seeing Shane Somers defeat. 7'1 Butch McClain becoming the 1st champion since 1989 & youngest at 19 years of age. Title history {{Professional wrestling title history middle {{BundleEn ...

( 1 time) *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in ...

** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) - with Mr. Moto *

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. History Early history Although other wrestling promotions e ...

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 Champion ...

( 4 times) - with Mitsu Arakawa (1),

Sweet Daddy Siki Elkin James (June 16, 1933 – December 31, 2024) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. Life and career Siki started wrestling in 1955 in Artesia, New Mexico. He also did some training in ...

(1), Don Leo Jonathan (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 ( 1 time) ** NWA Americas Tag Team Championship ( 5 times) - with

(3), Goliath (1),

Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...

(1) ** NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship ( 5 times) * NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club ** NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) ( 1 time) - with Mitsu Arakawa * NWA Western States Sports ** NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) ( 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 promo ...

( 1 time) - with Mitsu Arakawa *

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

** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Duke Keomuka

References

External links

* * *guy {{DEFAULTSORT:Shibuya, Kinji 1921 births 2010 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Belmont High School (Los Angeles) alumni Faux Japanese professional wrestlers Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players American male actors of Japanese descent Professional wrestlers from Utah American sportspeople of Japanese descent Stampede Wrestling alumni NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions NWA Americas Tag Team Champions NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions Los Angeles City Cubs football players NWA World Tag Team Champions (Minneapolis version) NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (San Francisco version) Asian American players of American football Hawaii people of Japanese descent WCWA World Heavyweight Champions