page_title: Rikidōzan
section_title: Personal life
hierarchical_section_title: Rikidōzan / Personal life
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ich machte dieses Foto von mir in 2006.
context_page_description: Mitsuhiro Momota, better known as Rikidōzan, was a Korean Japanese professional wrestler known as The Father of Puroresu and one of the most influential men in professional wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a sumo wrestler. He was credited with bringing the sport of professional wrestling to Japan at a time when the Japanese needed a local hero to emulate and was lauded as a national hero. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017, becoming the first Korean inductee and the third puroresu star to be inducted after Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami. He was murdered by a member of the Yakuza in 1963.
context_section_description: Aside from pro wrestling, Rikidōzan was a businessman and began acquiring properties such as nightclubs, hotels, condominiums and boxing gyms. Rikidōzan’s luxurious apartment, known as Riki Mansion, is located in Akasaka, Tokyo and is recognisable for the large "R" printed on the side of the building. Rikidōzan also owned a 9-storey "Riki Sports Palace" in Shibuya, Tokyo, 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, Rikidōzan had purchased land in Lake 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 Sagami Lake. However, it remained incomplete due to his death and was eventually sold and became Sagami Lake Resort, a hotel.
  Rikidōzan was known to have many girlfriends throughout his lifetime and was often known to see numerous women at the same time. He married his wife, Keiko Tanaka shortly before his death. A 1984 article in weekly Playboy drew much attention after it revealed Rikidōzan was actually from Korea and had been married and had children before he met Tanaka, considered to be taboo in Japan.
  After his wrestling matches, he would often immediately go to Riki Sports Palace and start drinking without cleaning up any wounds. He was known to joke with bar staff and say "work was awful today" while either being covered in blood or having a large scar on his face.
  Rikidōzan spent his spare time hunting and was said to own several legitimate hunting guns at the time of his death. His autobiography also claimed that Rikidozan made his wife carry a handgun wherever she went. He would also play shogi with professional player Kusama Matsuji.
  After Rikidōzan's death, actor Ikuro Otsuji also lived in Riki Mansion in his later years.
  After his death, his son, Mitsuo Momota said that while Rikidōzan 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 ¥20,000,000 ($180,000) due to Rikidōzan owing millions of yen in unpaid taxes.
  Due to the notoriety he gained from his wrestling career, Rikidōzan was a huge celebrity in Japan and was frequently discussed in tabloids and magazines. Despite his image of a national hero, he had a reputation for being a troublemaker, especially in the later years of his career. Due to his deteriorating physical health, Rikidōzan began to abuse painkillers in the early 1960s and would take stimulants before and after his matches.
  When Rikidōzan was in a good mood, he would leave bar staff a tip of as much as ¥10,000, but when he was in a bad mood, bar fights and violence were an almost daily event. Rikidōzan's reputation for being a heavy drinker also aroused suspicion surrounding the legitimacy of pro wrestling, as he would "fight" opponents and then be seen drinking and socialising with them just hours later. At one point, Rikidōzan was in a bar with Roberto Barbon, a Cuban baseball player for the Hankyu Braves, who had been drinking and started heckling Rikidōzan, calling professional wrestling fake. Rikidōzan became hostile, threatening violence and demanding an apology, which Barbon agreed to.
caption: Rikidōzan's expensive apartment in Japan, called "the Riki Mansion", as it existed in 2007
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