Imperial Hotel Diamond Robbery - Part 1

First in a four-part series

Gorgeous Mac

TOKYO — In 1956, a full blown pro wrestling craze was in effect in Japan, led by a former sumo wrestler named Rikidozan who had adopted a karate chop and prevailed over larger American foes in a series of nationally televised matches. There was a mad rush to buy TV sets to watch Rikidozan starring in the hastily assembled program, Mitsubishi Faitoman Awa (Mitsubishi Fightman Hour), Japan’s version of the Friday night fights, and the rate of cuts, bruises, and broken bones among primary-school children jumped dramatically as young boys around the country took to imitating Rikidozan wrestling.

There were reports of viewers watching at home becoming so distraught when a foreign wrestler committed a foul they smashed their own sets in anger. A number of viewers even died of heart attacks induced by the shock of watching the ferocious images. But in the span of less than two weeks, a decade of public sycophancy of the Americans had officially come to an end.

If anyone noticed that the matches had been somewhat choreographed (which, in fact, they were) he or she was not saying, which was just fine with the promoters. The matches were in fact scripted, rehearsed, and staged with the full cooperation of the Americans, who were extremely well compensated for their trouble. If the neophyte Japanese public as yet lacked a full recognition of that fact, then so be it. It was better to focus on the therapeutic benefits of a Japanese victory. For that was where the money lay.