Mizuki: The Wrestler Princess

Words by Rebeca Ravara

eds. Mistral Zerbi

It’s not often that the words wrestling and femininity are paired together. Yet, those were the first two to come to mind upon seeing the wonder that is Mizuki Kaminade. With a name that will go down in wrestling history, Mizuki’s journey to the top – and her subsequent reign as a champion – is worthy of being examined under the lens of femininity and fashion. After dropping out of high school to pursue a career as a professional wrestler (Puroresu System Wiki), Mizuki had her debut at Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling in 2017, standing out from her opponents with this outfit:

White, as we will come to discover, is Mizuki’s colour. Signifying purity, but also bringing a certain ethereal quality to mind, Mizuki’s movement on the ring resembles that of a highly choreographed ballet dance. With the strings to accompany the flowing skirt frills as well as the wrist accents, Mizuki is the Belle of the ring. Wearing a cropped top with short flowing sleeves and an accompanying mini skirt, Mizuki highlights the female body. However, there is a certain deconstruction of the performative aspects of gender when Mizuki simultaneously uses this feminized body to violently – albeit elegantly – beat her opponents. Additionally, Mizuki adorns a small embroidery of some animalistic creature, with reflective beads and an embroidered heart. Mizuki pairs her knee guards in such a way that they seem to exist as an extension of her long shoes rather than a functional clothing item to protect her body. By wearing white guards along with her white shoes and as a way of proportionally matching the rest of the colour palette she bears. 

BBM Woman's Pro-Wrestling collector Jyoshi Pro Card (No.134)

Though not explicitly attempting to foreshadow her future wins and crowning as a Princess for the Tokyo Cup, this pseudo-crown on her head resembles the motif of flowers often associated with femininity, but can now be attributed to her future success. In 2018, Mizuki formed a team called Magical Sugar Rabbits with another pro wrestler, Yuka Sakazaki, before winning the Tokyo Princess Cup for the first time in 2019. Her time in this team was crucial for establishing both her personal and fighting style, as is exemplified in this collecting card: 

Though equally stylised, Sakazaki’s outfit contrasts heavily with Mizuki’s emphasis on the female figure. Once again employing the frills and flowy textures, Mizuki launches her caricature look. This time, she embellishes certain crystals and diamonds as reflective pieces to counter the harsh light when fighting in the ring. Furthermore, the train of the skirt allows Mizuki’s fighting in the ring to resemble a sort of flowing, dynamic movement that remains even after her move against an opponent. In this way, Mizuki leaves her mark on both the opponent and the viewer.  In this outfit, Mizuki’s knee guards are also embellished with the gems – echoing the rest of the outfit and providing a visual balance – but also represent how Mizuki has connected the functionality of the sport to her personal style and fashion. Mizuki’s style is not only part of her ring persona, but has made its way into the sport’s uniform. 

It was in 2020 that Mizuki won the Tokyo Princess Cup for the second year in a row, making her the only wrestler to win the cup back-to-back. 

The photo above was taken the moment that Mizuki was declared the winner of the match, and her subsequent crowning as the princess. In this picture, Mizuki has defeated one of the biggest wrestling names at that moment – Miyu Yamashita – using one of her signature moves called the Cutie Special (for those who care, this is a bridging fallaway slam). 

Mizuki wears the same silhouette of mini skirts and shirts with flowing elements, this time adding elements of pink throughout. Another change is the crossing of ribbons throughout her shoes, once again recalling the ballerina image and connecting this animated movement to the choreographed elements of wrestling. In stark contrast to the male referee wearing darker colours, Mizuki makes herself impossible to ignore. Her feminine appearance is contrasted with her exasperated face following an immense victory, and the awareness that she just made history. 

Mizuki’s breadth of wrestling knowledge and how she molds her ring persona are two of the most admirable parts of what makes Mizuki such a wonder to watch, and such a legend in the sport.