Veteran Wrestling Referee Killed In Bear Attack

A veteran of the Japanese wrestling scene, Katsumi Sasazaki, has reportedly passed away from a bear attack.

The 60-year-old had worked as a referee for promotions such as All Japan Womenâ€s Wrestling and Marigold in Japan and was known as Katsumi Tiger. Though he seemed to have retired from the industry and had been working at an inn dubbed Semi Onsen in Kitakami, Iwate, recently.

According to Japanese news outlet Asahi Shimbun, Sasazaki went missing early on Thursday morning, when he was cleaning an outdoor bath by the Getogawa River alone. The police officers who responded to a missing persons complaint from the Inn manager found animal fur and bloodstains scattered near the bath alongside Sasazaki’s personal belongings, such as glasses and slippers.

A search party consisting of local police, city officials, and the local hunterâ€s association started looking for the wrestling veteran in the afternoon, but they had to call off the search after 30 minutes due to bad weather. A body believed to be of Sasazaki was discovered only 50 meters northwest of the hot spring inn when the search was resumed the next day.

This wasn’t the only bear attack in the area recently, as another man who had been picking mushrooms was found dead about 2 kilometers west of the Semi Onsen site last week, on October 8. After the latest incident, the search and rescue team killed an adult male Asiatic black bear near the area where the body was found.

Marigold promoter Rossy Ogawa paid tribute to Katsumi on X which you can see below:

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— ???????Rossy Ogawa (@rossyogawa) October 17, 2025

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