Kendo Nagasaki is one of the most enigmatic figures in the world of British professional wrestling.
Known for his mystique, martial arts skills, and the eerie mask that became his signature, Nagasaki captivated audiences for decades.
But behind the mask lies a story of creativity, culture, and clever character-building that made him an icon in British wrestling.
From his mysterious debut to the carefully constructed aura that surrounded him, this article dives into the origins of Kendo Nagasaki’s legendary persona and how it left a lasting legacy in the sport.
Kendo Nagasaki Wanted To Be Like Count Bartelli
One of the main inspirations behind the Kendo Nagasaki gimmick was British wrestling legend Count Bartelli.
The Crewe-born wrestler was one of the most famous masked wrestlers in the UK, with his peak coming in the 1950s.
In the book Kendo Nagasaki: The Man Behind The Mask, Peter Thornley revealed why he decided to become a masked wrestler in the first place.
He cited another legend of the sport as the reason why he wanted to cover his face.
Kendo Nagasaki noticed that all the most memorable stars had unique, and often mysterios looks.
Count Bartelli personified this. The Englishman donned his famous black mask after World War II, adopting the new identity that would make him a star.
Despite rarely appearing on television, Bartelli was one of the most well-know wrestlers in the country.
While the most outlandish costume choices wrestlers made in this time was a splash of colour with their black trunks, he made the bold decision to hide his identity from the world.
This inspired Kendo Nagasaki. However, he knew that just wearing a mask wasn’t enough.
He had to go even further, and craft an entire new personality to embody.
That became Kendo Nagasaki.
Peter Thornley Created Kendo Nagasaki Through Meditation
The process behind Peter Thornley becoming Kendo Nagasaki came during a number of spritual meditation sessions.
He was encouraged to meditiate by Kenshiro Abbe. The Japanese master of judo, aikido, and kendo taught the young Thornley in the arts of judo and meditation.
Abbe also encouraged him to practice Shakyo, which is the hand copying of the sutra. This was a daily occurance, and complimented his daily meditation.
During some of these sessions, the idea of the Kendo Nagasaki character came to Peter Thornley.
The spiritual and almost supernatural discovery of Zen gave him visions of his new creation. Peter Thornley envisioned the style of the kendo martial artist for his character.
The men (metal face mask) and Bōgu (armour) in particular appealed to him. After his meditation, those two things stuck in his head.
He acquired both, and added the bamboo training sword into his gimmick. Thornley revealed that this was given to him by Kenshiro Abbe, after winning a Kendo tournament set up by him.
This Shinai was on display on his house. Peter Thornely was delighted to finally put it to use, as part of his Kendo Nagasaki character.
Kendo Nagasaki’s Mask Was Based On A Metal Face Mask
When it came to crafting the of his mask, the answer seemed so obvious.
While he wanted the Kendo Nagasaki character to wrestle in the Kendo armour, he knew it wasn’t practical.
The men was too large and heavy to be effective in the ring. He went with the usual fabric mask that Count Bartelli used, but created his own design.
The design of Kendo Nagasaki’s mask came from the men. The image of the metal bars were represented with the white horizontal lines on the mask, which was typically done on red fabric.
“I reasoned that it must be a symbol of something.” Kendo Nagasaki said.
“It wouldn’t be possible to wrestle in a kendo helmet, so it came to me that I could represent the kendo helmet with a grill design on the face of a wrestling mask.”
“That would be the face of my wrestling persona.”
The Name Came From Multiple Sources
Peter Thornley created the name Kendo Nagasaki, but the inspiration came from a number of sources.
The name “Kendo”, of course, came from the Japanese martial art. He studied kendo under Kenshiro Abbe, and it became a huge part of the gimmick.
The use of the Shinai and men were a clear nod to the sport, and helped shape his character as a mysterious martial artist from the orient.
Meanwhile, the surname “Nagasaki” was chosen for two reasons. Firstly was because it was big on the public consiousness, following the atomic bomb dropping on Nagasaki at the end of World War II.
However, Kendo Nagasaki wrote that Kenshiro Abbe informored him that Nagasaki was a well-respected family name in Japan.
Upon further research, Peter Thornley learnt that the Nagasaki were Samurai warrior, known for their involbvement in the battle of Kamakura in 1333.
Thus, the two names were thrust together to create Kendo Nagasaki.
Peter Thornley was inspired by his martial arts master in crafting his attire. The gimmick came from a zen-inspired meditation session.
The name came from the ancient Samurai warriors, famed for their battles nearly a thousand years ago.
For Kendo Nagasaki’s hypnosis ability, that one is an entire different kettle of fish.
