(some sumo) Rikidozan former rikishi from asahi shimbun

[Rowan Klein <rklein@surf.its.bond.edu.au>]

RIKIDOZAN (1924-63) :Dynamite karate chop

By RISA YUSE 

Asahi Shimbun 23rd May 1999

Forty years ago, when people said "karate chop" they were talking about
Rikidozan, the founder of Western-style pro wrestling in Japan. He
originally crossed the Korean Strait as a sumo wrestler, but became instead
an important figure in pro wrestling and a hero to the Japanese people.
Time and again, he would stoically endure foul play meted out by hulking
American opponents, invariably portrayed as the villains, finally exploding
into action with his trademark chop to the chest. As the huge frame of his
vanquished foe settled in the dust, the entire nation roared with
satisfaction. Memories of the beating Japan had taken in the war were still
strong in those days. Although a hero to the Japanese, few knew that he had
once played the villain's role himself. 

*** 

There are some in San Francisco, however, who remember Rikidozan's stint as
a "bad guy." One was Tsutomu Umezu, president of Japanese-language
newspaper Nichi Bei Times, who died last year at age 78. When Rikidozan
quit sumo and moved to the United States to train as a wrestler, he rented
quarters not far from where Umezu worked. From there, he traveled to
wrestling events all over the West coast. Before a match, he would announce
to Umezu, who often went to watch him, "Today, I'm the bad guy." It was
1952, the year the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed, ending the
American occupation of Japan. 

His costume consisted of plain black shorts and he wrestled barefoot,
perhaps to add an Oriental touch. According to Umezu, he repeatedly
violated the rules, grabbing his opponents in a strangle hold, and, when
cautioned, would turn upon the referee. After a heated exchange of insults,
Umezu recalls, the 180-centimeter Rikidozan would fell his opponent,
usually a man much bigger than he. The audience loved it, not just the
Japanese-Americans, but Caucasians as well. He was so popular that within a
few months he had become the main event. 

Before going to the West coast, Rikidozan spent four months training in
Hawaii where he wore black tights, not shorts. According to Yasuo Sakurai,
61, chief editor of Tokyo Sports and the reporter assigned to Rikidozan at
the time, black tights were a symbol of classic, orthodox wrestling.
"Although he was popular in Hawaii, on the mainland, he was a nobody. Maybe
he wasn't allowed to wear tights. They made his short legs look good." 

He first began using his trademark karate chop around this time, although
in the United States it was often called a "judo chop." The move was
actually a fairly common technique and had been used by Japanese-American
wrestlers since before the war. When used by native American wrestlers it
was referred to as a "tomahawk," but when a Japanese-American used it, it
was called a judo or karate chop. 

Kinji Shibuya, 77, another Japanese-American wrestler who debuted in Hawaii
and mastered the karate chop, also took on the role of villain after moving
to the mainland. Known as the Kamikaze and "Pearl Harbor Attack" tactics,
he would sneak up on his "good-guy" opponents and take them by surprise.
Compared to Rikidozan, his wrestling persona was clearly intended to arouse
animosity. Portraying himself as a clear-cut villain was more lucrative, as
it made it easier to promote himself. 

Shibuya believes that Rikidozan did not throw himself wholeheartedly into
villain roles because he intended from the very beginning to establish
himself in Japan. If he were too well-known as a bad guy, it would be more
difficult for him to switch roles in the future. Rikidozan returned to
Japan after one year of training and within the same year established Japan
Pro Wrestling Promotion. 

*** 

Rikidozan's connection to the United States extends back to his days as a
sumo wrestler. The year before the beginning of the Pacific War, Rikidozan
entered the Nishonoseki sumo stable. His real name was Kim Sin Rak and he
was born in Shinpo, a city in what is now the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea (North Korea). 

His impressive performance as a sumo wrestler there brought him to the
attention of sumo scouts, and he was invited to Tokyo. 

During his entire career Rikidozan never revealed the truth about his
origins, claiming rather that he was Mitsuhiro Momota, born in 1924 in
Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture. Some say that the year of his birth was
actually 1920 and others that it was 1922.

After the war, Rikidozan fraternized with members of the Occupation Forces
and brought beer and Western liquor to his junior stable mates, riding a
U.S.-made red Indian motorcycle with his hair in the traditional sumo
topknot. 

"He'd be wearing an Aloha shirt or a yellow jumper. He was so well-built,
he always looked good whatever he wore," recalls Katsuji Hanada, 70, former
grand champion yokozuna Wakanohana (uncle of the current yokozuna
Takanohana and Wakanohana) and Rikidozan's junior. 

Rikidozan was strong and had a flamboyant wrestling style. Thrusting,
slapping and toppling his opponents by their belts were his specialties. 

He had risen to the status of sekiwake, and ozeki, the second highest rank
in sumo wrestling, seemed within reach when he chopped off his hair in the
kitchen and terminated his 10-year career as a sumo wrestler. 

His retirement was sudden, and although publicly health reasons were cited,
there were rumors of friction within the sumo stable and troubles over
money as well. 

Yet four years later, he was back again in the center ring of the Kokugikan
sumo stadium, then located in the Kuramae area of Tokyo, in the first real
pro wrestling event ever held in Japan. 

Rikidozan and Masahiko Kimura, who was known as "the judo devil," took on
the Sharp Brothers, the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) world tag team
champions. The stadium was full, and the street in front was overflowing
with people who could not get in. Crowds gathered in every part of the
country to watch the event on televisions set up in the streets. 

The Sharp Brothers, who were close to 2 meters in height, were toppled by
Rikidozan's famous karate chop while Kimura's judo throws had them flying
through the air. The match was declared a draw, but in that one night, pro
wrestling fever swept the nation. 

One after another, wrestlers with fearsome names visited Japan: Bobo
Brazil, Jess Ortega, Fred Brassie, Killer Kowalski, The Destroyer. Of
these, Lou Thesz was a man apart. 

* * * 

In March 1998, a party was held in Los Angeles for Lou Thesz. Close to 300
former wrestlers filled the spacious hotel reception hall, including some
former women wrestlers wearing evening gowns. Iron Man Lou appeared in a
tuxedo. At 81 years of age, he still held his 188 cm frame straight and tall. 

"My voice went funny for a whole week after he hit me with that karate
chop," he said with a look of awe when I brought up the subject of
Rikidozan. "Riki knew how to make a name for himself. Instead of saying how
strong he was, he made you feel it. He was tough, and smart, too." 

The first time Lou Thesz came to Japan was in 1957 at Rikidozan's
invitation. He was put up at the Imperial Hotel, one of Tokyo's most
prestigious, and his fee for the three-week period was $35,000; this at a
time when the exchange rate was 360 yen to the dollar. 

Although Rikidozan was known to be tight-fisted, he paid a fee many times
the market rate for Lou. "He paid in new $100 bills bound in bundles of
100. He always carried bundles of bills around in his duralumin attache
case. I'll never forget the parade in the convertible either," Lou
continued. "I felt like the president." 

The Destroyer, Dick Beyer, 67, who tormented Rikidozan with his leg holds,
was Master of Ceremonies at the party. "I once wrote a script with
Rikidozan as the hero and tried to sell it to Japanese television, but they
turned it down." 

* * * 

Toward the end of his life, Rikidozan ran several companies, including Riki
Enterprises. Bowling, real estate, golf; he turned everything he saw into a
business venture. Every time he went to the United States, he brought home
a car and sold it for several times the purchase price. For his children,
he brought home model airplanes or motorboats. 

"But he never let us touch them," remarks his eldest son, Yoshihiro Momota,
52, executive of a bus company. "He would say, `This is too hard for you'
and play with it himself. We only got to play with it when he had grown
tired of it." 

Toshio Iwasawa, 60, formerly an employee of Riki Tourist Development can
still hear Rikidozan's profane language ringing in his ears. Although he
had no idea of the meaning of the word hurled at him in abuse, Iwasawa
guessed that he was being cursed at in English. 

Rikidozan had a habit of shouting his favorite English obscenity at his
employees when he reprimanded them. Iwasawa remembers Rikidozan berating
him in public, but when they were alone together afterward, he was so
gentle that he seemed a different person. "I'm sorry about what happened
earlier," he apologized. "You're the only person I can rely on." 

Iwasawa felt that he was special. "I found out later that almost everyone
who worked for him believed that they were special. He was a genius at
winning people's hearts," said Iwasawa. 

George Yoshinaga, 74, met Rikidozan when he was working for a
Japanese-language newspaper in Los Angeles, and was invited to manage his
boxing gym in Japan. He witnessed Rikidozan fly into a drunken rage a
number of times and even saw him hit one of his employees with a chair. 

It seemed that the cheerful, friendly man he had met in the United States
felt compelled to flaunt his power when in Japan. 

Yoshio Yoshimura, 73, Rikidozan's secretary, accompanied him to the United
States, and has a photograph of Rikidozan at a party, smiling happily
surrounded by Hollywood stars. 

"Americans made this great country in just 200 years. They're no ordinary
people," he kept repeating. He does not seem to have been very fond of
Europe. 

Rikidozan was scheduled to leave for the United States on Dec. 13, 1963, to
attend a title match. He never made it. On Dec. 8, he got into an argument
with another customer at an Akasaka night club and was stabbed in the
abdomen. 

A week later he died from the wound. Only 10 years had passed since he
first introduced pro wrestling to Japan.