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Rikidōzan's Real Name: Kim Sin-rak (Japanese name Mitsuhiro Momota)
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Rikidōzan (力道山) 本名: Kim Sin-rak (Japanese name Mitsuhiro Momota) (金信洛 / 百田光浩)
Answer: Rikidōzan's birth name was Kim Sin-rak (金信洛); his Japanese legal name was Mitsuhiro Momota (百田光浩). He is called the father of Japanese pro wrestling.
Kim Sin-rak was born in 1924 in what is now North Korea, during Japanese colonial rule. He came to Japan as a young man and became a sumo wrestler, using the shikona 力道山, which he kept for his wrestling career. He was registered in Japan under the name 百田光浩 (Momota Mitsuhiro). His Korean birth was not widely discussed in Japan during his lifetime.
After leaving sumo, he trained in pro wrestling in the United States and returned to found the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance in 1953. His televised matches against American wrestlers, ending with his famous karate chops, drew enormous crowds in postwar Japan. He trained Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki.
He died in December 1963 after being stabbed in a Tokyo nightclub.
FAQ
Was Rikidōzan Korean? Yes. He was born Kim Sin-rak in Korea under Japanese rule.
Where does the name Rikidōzan come from? It was his sumo ring name, which he kept for pro wrestling.