Jinsei Shinzaki

An 18-year veteran of puroresu, Jinsei Shinzaki is the current president of Michinoku Pro and the co-founder of Sendai Girls. His in-ring persona/gimmick is that of a Buddhist pilgrim. American wrestling fans may remember him as “Hakushi” in the WWF from the mid-90s.
Shinzaki debuted in Universal Lucha Libre in 1993 as Mongolian Yuga then moved to Michinoku Pro, where he adopted the ring name Jinsei (Japanese for “life”). In 1995, he entered the WWF as a Japanese villain named Hakushi. Hakushi had a brief feud with Bret Hart and was a competitor in the 1996 Royal Rumble, where by coincidence he was eliminated by Bret Hart’s brother, Owen Hart. Hakushi also famously had a three-way feud with perennial jobber Barry Horowitz and Bodydonna Skip. Horowitz, who lost for years on WWF programming to get over new talent, surprisingly used his three-quarter nelson to secure a victory over Skip for his first ever WWE win. Hakushi would also fall to Horowitz soon after because of interference from Skip. It was surprising to fans, not only given Horowitz’s long time losing record, but also given how well Hakushi had battled former WWF Champion Bret Hart in what had been Hakushi’s first major feud in the company. Hakushi had scored well with fans during the feud with Hart. During a match on Raw against Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw, Hakushi was hit by Bradshaw’s branding iron after a loss. That week on WWF Superstars, commentator Jim Ross reported that he had been so humiliated by the branding that he (kayfabe) left the WWF. He made a brief appearance in the old ECW as well, teaming with Hayabusa against Rob Van Dam & Sabu. Hakushi’s style of wrestling was a precursor to the luchador style which became emphasized in major wrestling promotions in the mid-2000s. Shinzaki has competed in major promotions such as New Japan, All Japan, and FMW, challenging their talent. He remains active today primarily in Michinoku Pro.
Shinzaki has been the president of Michinoku Pro since 2003 as a result of Sasuke dedicating more of his time to his political career as a member of the Iwate Prefectural (state) Assembly. In 2006 Shinzaki helped create the joshi promotion Sendai Girls with Meiko Satomura and still works with them behind the scenes.
In July 2011 Shinzaki stepped down as President of Sendai Girls, transferring power and control of the promotion over to Satomura and planning to work in a lesser role with the promotion. Despite his losing most if not all his personal properties, residence and maybe even a business in the 3/11/2011 earthquake & tsunami he remains fairly active as a wrestler in both Michinoku Pro and other promotions, and returned to the USA in April for an appearance at CHIKARA’s annual KING OF TRIOS tournament.

Stats & Info:
Real name: Kensuke Shinzaki
Age: 44
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 238 pounds/108 kg
Experience: 18 years
Finishing move: Koya Otoshi (“Praying Powerbomb”)
Current affiliation: Michinoku Pro, Sendai Girls (co-founder)

Titles won:
1-time All-Asia Tag Team Champion
3-time Michinoku Pro Tohoku Tag Team Champion

Tournaments won:
1994 Futaritabi Tag Team Tournament

Other accolades:
Ranked #209 In The PWI 500 Best Singles Wrestlers Of The “PWI Years” In 2003