Kinji Shibuya

Robert "Kinji" Shibuya (May 16, 1921 – May 3, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and actor.

Kinji Shibuya
Birth name	Robert Shibuya
Born	(1921-05-16)May 16, 1921[1] Utah, U.S.[1]
Died	May 3, 2010(2010-05-03) (aged 88)[1] Hayward, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Hawaiʻi
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Kinji Shibuya Kenji Shibuya Sato Keomuka
Billed height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Billed weight	249 lb (113 kg)
Billed from	Japan
Trained by	Tsutao Higami
Debut	1952[1]
Retired	1976[2]

Early life, family and education

Shibuya was born in Utah. He and his four brothers were raised in California.^[1] He attended Belmont High School in Los Angeles.

He attended college at Los Angeles City College and University of Hawaiʻi, playing football at both^[1]

Career

After college, Shibuya played semi-professional football for the Honolulu Polar Bears and Honolulu Warriors.^[1] He performed sumo and jiu-jitsu as well.^[2] In 1952, promoter Al Karasick suggested Shibuya try professional wrestling.^[1]

He was originally given a gimmick of a Japanese heel, leveraging anti-Japanese sentiment stemming from World War II.^[1] He wrestled in the US and Canada's Stampede Wrestling and All-Star Wrestling.^[1] Shibuya credited Verne Gagne for first making him popular as a villain in 1955.^[2]

Shibuya was a frequent tag team partner of Mitsu Arakawa, who was billed as his cousin.^[1] In 1957, they held the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.^[1]

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.^[2]

After retiring from wrestling, he also had small acting roles on shows such as Kung Fu and Mr. T and Tina.^[1] He appeared in the films Days of a Bawdy Ballad and Hammett.^[1]

Personal life

He and his wife Judy were married for 59 years^[1] and had a daughter and a son. They resided for many years in Northern California.^[2] Their son Robert Shibuya became the Chairman & CEO of Mohr Partners, a global corporate real estate advisory firm based in Dallas.

Kinji Shibuya loved large automobiles, painting and Japanese gardening as well as raising koi.^[2] He died of natural causes on May 3, 2010.^[1][2] He was cremated, and his funeral service was held at a Buddhist temple.^[2]

Championships and accomplishments

• Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)
  • NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (3 times)
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (5 times) - with Masa Saito (2), Great Mephisto (1), Great Sasaki (1), and Mitsu Arakawa (1)
• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Other honoree (1993)^[3]
• Central States Wrestling
  • NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (2 times) - with Mr. Moto
• NWA All-Star Wrestling
  • NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (4 times) - with Mitsu Arakawa (1), Sweet Daddy Siki (1), Don Leo Jonathan (1), and John Quinn (1)
  • NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time)
• NWA Hollywood Wrestling
  • NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[4][5]
  • NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with Masa Saito (3), Goliath (1), Killer Kowalski (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 Wrestling
  • Stampede International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mitsu Arakawa
• World Class Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Duke Keomuka^[6][7]