(WWF). He wrestled as Hakushi (白紙, "White One"), a derivation of his Michinoku Pro Wrestling persona. This new character resembled Jinsei Shinzaki, but he was characterized by sporting Buddhist shakyo written all over his skin, in a reference to Japanese folk character Hoichi the Earless. He was also accompanied by a facepaint-wearing cultist named Shinja. Initially a heel, his first few matches were highlighted by victories over jobbers which included future star Matt Hardy and midcarders like Aldo Montoya, and 1-2-3 Kid. Hakushi brought the wrestling style of lucharesu to the company, utilizing many aerial maneuvers, and stood out for using many of them to finish his matches as opposed to a single, established finishing move. Hakushi had a brief alliance with ninja wrestler Kwang, calling themselves collectively "Shogun". After losing a tag team match, Hakushi blamed Kwang and turned on him. Hakushi subsequently defeated Kwang, in the Shogun team’s breakup and blow-off match. This also happened to be the Kwang’s last appearance. Hakushi then feuded with former WWF Champion Bret Hart, wrestling a number of competitive matches against him. He also participated in a three-way feud with perennial jobber Barry Horowitz and Bodydonna Skip. Horowitz, who lost for years on WWF programming to get over new talent, surprisingly used his three-quarter nelson to secure a victory over Skip. Hakushi would also fall to Horowitz soon after because of interference from Skip. His loss was a surprise to the fans, not only given Horowitz's long time losing record, but also given how well Hakushi did during his feud with Bret Hart in what had been Hakushi's first major feud in the company. Hakushi and Horowitz would briefly form a tag team, leading to a face turn for Hakushi. In Survivor Series, Hakushi was a member of The Underdogs team, but was eliminated after a kick from his enemy 1-2-3 Kid. He also was a competitor in the 1996 Royal Rumble, where he was eliminated by Bret Hart's brother, Owen Hart. During a match on Raw against Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw on the March 6 episode, Hakushi was hit by Bradshaw's branding iron after a loss. That week on WWF Superstars, commentator Jim Ross reported that he had been so humiliated by the branding that he (kayfabe) left the WWF. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1996, 1997) Upon leaving his stint in WWF, Shinzaki returned to Japan. He made a single night appearance with