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 Rikidōzan as theJapanese Heavyweight Champion in 1954 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kim Sin-rak (김신락) November 14, 1924 |
| Died | December 15, 1963(1963-12-15) (aged 39) Tokyo, Japan |
| Children | 3, includingMitsuo andYoshihiro |
| Family | Pak Myong-chol (son-in-law) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mitsuhiro Momota Rikidōzan |
| Billed height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Billed weight | 110 kg (243 lb) |
| Billed from | Nagasaki |
| Trained by | Bobby Bruns Harold Sakata |
| Debut | October 28, 1951 |
| Retired | December 7, 1963 (last match) |
| Rikidōzan Mitsuhiro | |
|---|---|
| 力道山 光浩 | |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 116 kg (256 lb; 18 st 4 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Nishonoseki |
| Record | 135–82–15 |
| Debut | May 1940 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (May 1949) |
| Retired | September 1950 |
| Championships | 1 (Makushita) 1 (Sandanme) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (1) |
| Gold Stars | 2 (Azumafuji) |
Last updated: May 2013 | |
Mitsuhiro Momota[a] (bornKim Sin-rak[b]; November 14, 1924[nb 1] – December 15, 1963), better known by thering nameRikidōzan (力道山), was aKorean-Japaneseprofessional wrestler andsumo wrestler. He was known as the father ofprofessional wrestling in Japan, nicknamed "The Father ofPuroresu" (日本プロレス界の父), and is considered one of the most influential people in professional wrestling history.
Born inKorea under Japanese occupation, in an area that is now part ofNorth Korea, Momota initially practicedssireum before moving toNagasaki to become a sumo wrestler. As a member of theNishonoseki stable, he was given theshikona Rikidōzan Mitsuhiro (力道山 光浩). He competed in sumo until 1951, retiring as asekiwake, and was introduced to professional wrestling by members of the AmericanNational Wrestling Alliance. Credited with popularizing professional wrestling in Japan at a time when its people needed a hero to emulate, he was lauded as a national icon.
At the age of 39,Momota died fromperitonitis, which had been caused by stab wounds he suffered a week prior in an altercation with ayakuza member at aTokyo nightclub. He was posthumously inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2017, becoming the first ethnic Korean inductee and the thirdpuroresu inductee (afterAntonio Inoki andTatsumi Fujinami).
Kim Sin-rak was born on November 14, 1924, inKankyōnan-dō, which was then part ofKorea under Japanese rule and is now part ofNorth Korea. He was the youngest son of Chon Gi and Kim Sok-tee, the owner of a farm with aConfucian tradition. He looked after his father during a period of ill health, whilst his mother and older brothers tended to the family farm. Kim participated inssireum in his youth and, after placing third in a local competition, spoke to Minosuke Momota,[1] the father-in-law of a Japanese man fromOmura who had moved to the area to become a police officer. Momota was interested insumo and supported theNishonoseki stable. He had recruited several Korean boys for the stable, and persuaded Kim to join as well. However, Kim's family refused due to his responsibility to care for his father. After his father's death in 1939,[2][3][4] he left for Japan despite his mother's objections.[1]
Joining the Nishonoseki stable, Kim debuted in June 1940. At first, his Korean origins were indicated on sumo ranking sheets, and he received harassment andracial discrimination for this.[1] However, he was adopted by Momota and took the nameMitsuhiro Momota, and a story was fabricated that he had been born inOmura,Nagasaki.[1] Despite this, he did not attain Japanese citizenship until 1951.[5] He was given theshikona ofRikidōzan Mitsuhiro (Japanese:力道山 光浩,Hepburn:Rikidouzan Mitsuhiro). He reached the topmakuuchi division in 1946 and was runner-up toyokozunaHaguroyama in thetournament of June 1947, losing a playoff for thechampionship. He fought in 23 tournaments in total, with a win–loss record of 135–82. His highest rank wassekiwake,[6] though he was reportedly close to a promotion toōzeki before his retirement.[1]
Several reasons have been given for his retirement. The amount of success he had earned despite his humble beginnings was a source of envy amongst his seniors in Nishonoseki. Racial discrimination may have also been a factor,[7] but the impetus for his retirement came due to a financial dispute with stable-masterTamanoumi Daitarō.[1] Rikidozan felt that his substantial contributions to the stable made him worthy of major financial support, but Tamanoumi considered him selfish, and he was refused after a heated argument. While the public explanation for his retirement claimed that he suffered fromparagonimiasis, the truth was that on September 10, 1950, soon after the argument with Tamanoumi, Momota "impulsively" cut his ownchonmage top knot.[1]
After his retirement, Momota initially worked alongside Americans as ablack marketeer. His business came through purchasing the belongings of US soldiers departing for service in Korea, and selling these goods to the Japanese.[1] He eventually left this job, and after a petition to return to sumo was rejected, he was given work as a construction supervisor by his former patron Shinsaku Nitta.[1] Nitta had worked in a Tokyoprisoner-of-war camp during World War II, and had secretly provided American prisoners with food and cigarettes; to repay him for his kindness, former prisoners who went on to work at theGHQ gave his construction company preferential treatment when contracting reconstruction work.[1] Nitta also had ties to the criminal underworld, and had been deeply involved with sumo in this manner.[1][nb 2]
In July 1951, the Tokyo-basedTorii Oasis Shriners Club announced their intent to sponsor a charity drive for disabled children, for which they would arrange a professional wrestling tour.[1] These events would be promoted by Honolulu businessman Moe Lipton. Around this time, Rikidōzan reportedly expressed interest in becoming a professional wrestler.[1] In September, wrestling promoter Al Karasick of Honolulu-basedMid-Pacific Promotions announced that he, alongsideJoe Malcewicz ofNWA San Francisco, had secured a deal with Lipton. Karasick and Malcewisz would send six wrestlers for a twelve-date tour, held from September 30 to December 11.[1][nb 3] These wrestlers includedHarold Sakata and Mid-Pacific bookerBobby Bruns. While Bruns was in Japan before the tour began, he invited Rikidozan, as well asjudokaKokichi Endo [ja] and Yasuyuki Sakabe, to participate in these events.[1] After one month of training, Rikidozan made his professional wrestling debut at Ryogoku Memorial Hall on October 28, 1951, wrestling Bruns to a ten-minute time-limit draw. He would continue to work on the rest of the tour, although he would later comment that he had done so with great difficulty, as he lacked the stamina required of wrestlers.[1]
Rikidōzan left Japan in February 1952 to work in America for further training and experience. This began with a five-month stint for Mid-Pacific Promotions, where he was trained by Oki Shikina.[1]
Rikidōzan's breakout performances were with partner and famous judokaMasahiko Kimura in matches against theCanadianSharpe Brothers in 1954, coinciding with increased television viewership in Japan. He continued to establish himself as Japan's biggest wrestling star by defeatingforeign wrestlers, becoming a major television star in the process.[8][9] This was shortly afterWorld War II, and the Japanese needed someone who could stand up to the Americans. Rikidōzan thus became immensely popular in Japan. His American opponents assisted him by portraying themselves asvillains who cheated in their matches. Rikidōzan himself wasbooked as a villain when he wrestled in America early on but went on to become one of the first Japanese wrestlers to be cheered as a babyface in post World War II America.
Rikidōzan gained worldwide renown when he defeatedLou Thesz for theNWA International Heavyweight Championship on August 27, 1958, in Japan. In another match, Thesz willingly agreed toput over Rikidōzan at the expense of his own reputation. This built up mutual respect between the two wrestlers, and Rikidōzan never forgot what Thesz did. He would go on to capture severalNWA titles in matches both in Japan and overseas. Rikidōzan also trained professional wrestling students, notably includingKanji "Antonio" Inoki,Kintarō Ōki, andShohei "Giant" Baba.
His signature move was thekarate chop, which was actually based on sumo'sharite, rather than actualkarate. Rikidozan had likely conceived the move while being with a Korean-bornkarateka,Hideo Nakamura, who was one of Rikidozan's dearest friends.[10] It was rumored that he had been coached by fellow KoreanMasutatsu Oyama.
He established theJapan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA), Japan's first professional wrestling promotion, in 1953. His first major feud was against Masahiko Kimura, the famous judoka who had been invited by Momota to compete as a professional wrestler. Other famous feuds included those against Thesz in 1957–58, against"Classy" Freddie Blassie in 1962, and againstDick "The Destroyer" Beyer in 1963. In wrestling journalist John M. Molinaro's 2002 bookTop 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time, it is noted that two of his matches are rated in the top ten television programs of all time in Japan.[11] His October 6, 1957 hour-long draw withLou Thesz for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship drew an 87.0 rating, and his May 24, 1963 hour-longtwo out of three falls draw with The Destroyer drew a 67.0 rating, but a larger viewing audience (the largest in Japanese history) than the previous match, since more people had television sets by 1963.
Rikidōzan appeared in 29 films, including お月様には悪いけどOtsukisama ni wa warui kedo (1954, as himself), やがて青空Yagate aozora [ja] (1955, as himself), and 力道山物語 怒濤の男Rikidōzan monogatari dotō no otoko (1955 as himself).[12]
Momota acquired nightclubs, hotels, condominiums, and boxing promotions with the wealth he had acrrued from wrestling. His luxurious apartment, known as the Riki Mansion, is located in theAkasaka district of Tokyo and is recognizable for the large "R" (for "Rikidōzan") printed on the side of the building. Momota also owned the nine-storey Riki Sports Palace inShibuya, which included a bowling alley, a pool room, a bar known as Club Riki, and a restaurant known as Riki Restaurant. Shortly before his death, he had purchased land inLake Sagami and had begun work on a large scale golf course to be known as Lakeside Country Club, set to feature facilities such as a shooting range, indoor skate rink, hotel, and more along the shore of the lake. However, it remained incomplete due to his death, eventually being sold and becoming the hotel Sagami Lake Resort.
Momota had many girlfriends throughout his life, often multiple at the same time. He married his wife, Keiko Tanaka, shortly before his death. A 1984 article in weeklyPlayboy drew much attention after it revealed that he was actually Korean and had been married with children before he met Tanaka, considered a taboo in Japan.[13] His sonMitsuo wrestled from 1970 to 2021, and his other sonYoshihiro wrestled from 1975 to 1987. He also has a daughter named Kim Yong-suk, who was born from one of his early marriages before he left for Japan; she is married to politicianPak Myong-chol (박명철).[14][15] Mitsuo's own son, Chikara, made his in-ring debut on December 16, 2013, the day after the 50th anniversary of his grandfather's death.[16]
Momota spent his spare time hunting and was said to own several hunting guns at the time of his death. His autobiography also claimed that he made his wife carry a handgun wherever she went. He would also playshogi with professional player Kusama Matsuji.[13] He was a friend of martial artistHideo Nakamura, a fellow Japanese athlete of Korean origin.[17] It is said that he adored Nakamura and called him "Hyung Nim (형님)", a Korean term essentially translating to "my older brother".[10]
After Momota's death, actor Ikuro Otsuji also lived in the Riki Mansion. Momota's son Mitsuo said that while his father owned a lot of property and real estate, he also had a lot of debt, and the inheritance tax on his estate was upwards of¥20 million (equivalent to ¥96.9 million or$665,000 in 2023) due to Momota owing millions in unpaid taxes.[18]
After his wrestling matches, Momota would often immediately go to Riki Sports Palace and start drinking without cleaning his wounds. He was known to joke with the bar staff that "work was awful today" while covered in blood or sporting a large scar on his face.[13] Due to the notoriety he gained from his wrestling career, he was a huge celebrity in Japan and was frequently discussed intabloids and magazines.
Despite Momota's public reputation as a national hero, he was also known for being a troublemaker, especially in the later years of his career. Due to his deteriorating physical health, he began to abuse painkillers in the early 1960s and would take stimulants before and after his matches. He would leave bar staff a tip of as much as ¥10,000 when he was in a good mood, but bar fights and violence were an almost daily event when he was in a bad mood.[19][20] In one incident, Momota was drinking at a bar when Cuban baseball playerRoberto Barbon started heckling him and calling professional wrestling fake; Momota became hostile, threatening violence and demanding an apology, which Barbon immediately gave. His reputation as a heavy drinker also caused suspicion surrounding the legitimacy of professional wrestling at a time when the industry's inner workings were far less well known, as he could often be seen drinking and socializing with his opponents just hours after fighting them.[21]
On December 8, 1963,Momota was stabbed by Katsushi Murata, a member of theSumiyoshi-ikkayakuza branch, after an altercation in aTokyo nightclub. Momota alleged that Murata stepped on his shoe and demanded an apology. Murata refused and the two began to argue, which eventually led to Momota punching Murata in the face and knocking him against a wall. Momota then mounted Murata and continued to punch him on the ground until Murata stabbed Momota once in the abdomen. Both immediately fled the scene and Momota was taken to Sannoh Hospital, where a doctor decreed the wound to be non-serious but advised Momota to have surgery.
The surgery was successful and Momota returned home, but went against doctor's orders and began eating and drinking later that day, sending his assistant to the store forsushi andsake. These actions (particularly his drinking) worsened his condition and required a second surgery one week later, but he had already developedperitonitis by this time. Momota died in theMinato district of Tokyo at approximately 9:50 p.m. on December 15, 1963, one month after his 39th birthday.[22][23][24]
Momota's funeral was held at Ikegami Honmonji Temple in theŌta area of Tokyo on December 20, 1963.[25][26] Among those in attendance were his students,Antonio Inoki,Giant Baba, andKintarō Ōki, as well as various other opponents from throughout his career.
Murata was found guilty ofmanslaughter in October 1964, and served eight years in prison before being released in 1972. Every year on December 15 since his release, he visited Momota's grave and called Momota's sons to apologize for his actions. He later became a high-ranking member of theyakuza,[22][23][24][27] and died of natural causes at the age of 74 on April 9, 2013.[28]
| - | Spring Haru basho,Tokyo | Summer Natsu basho,Tokyo | Autumn Aki basho,Tokyo | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Not held | Not held | West Maegashira #17 9–4 | |||
| 1947 | Not held | East Maegashira #8 9–1–P | East Maegashira #3 6–5 | |||
| 1948 | Not held | East Maegashira #2 8–3 O★ | East Komusubi 6–5 | |||
| 1949 | West Komusubi 8–5 | West Sekiwake 3–12 | West Maegashira #2 8–7 ★ | |||
| 1950 | West Komusubi 10–5 | West Sekiwake 8–7 | West Sekiwake Retired 0–0 | |||
| Record given aswins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key:F=Fighting spirit;O=Outstanding performance;T=Technique Also shown:★=Kinboshi;P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
Rikidōzan posthumously became one of the first members of theWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996 and he was posthumously inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2006, as well as the "Legacy Wing" of theWWE Hall of Fame for the 2017 class. In 2024,Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling established thePWA Champions Grail, a championship merging the lineage of Rikidozan and Toyonobori's 1962 Toyonaka trophy with theWrestling Retribution Project trophy won byKenny Omega in Hollywood in 2011. In 2002, Rikidōzan was named the 3rd greatest pro wrestler of all time behind Ric Flair and rival Lou Thesz in the magazine article 100 Wrestlers of All Time by John Molinaro, edited byDave Meltzer and Jeff Marek.[32]
The 2004 South Korean-Japanesebiographical film,Rikidōzan, was directed bySong Hae-sung and features actorSul Kyung-gu in the title role.
Biography of Rikidozan
Discusses Rikidōzan's impact on Japanese pop-culture and the yakuza underworld during the American occupation of Japan, and also includes a small photo collection of Rikidōzan, and his killer, Katsuji Murata
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