Kenki Sato (, ''Satō Kenki''; born 11 July 1984 in Ogawa,

Nagano prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

is a Japanese equestrian. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

he competed in the Individual eventing and reached 12th place.

Personal life

Kenki is a member of a Japanese family of equestrians and

Buddhist priests A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the prātimo ...

. He was born and raised in the secluded mountain village of Ogawa, in the temple compound Myōshō-ji (明松寺). A Buddhist priest himself, Kenki later studied law at

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Family Tradition

Kenki has been riding horses since he was seven years old. During his childhood, his home village was very isolated and largely inaccessible by car. Most transportation was done by horse. Kenki's father Shōdō () is the abbot of the local temple and also an equestrian. He was nominated as a member of Japan's equestrian team for the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

, but was unable to compete due to the boycott of the games by Japan. Most members of the Sato family are internationally competing equestrians. Kenki's brother Eiken (), also a priest, was a member of Japan's equestrian team of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. His sister Tae () is a five-time winner of national equestrian competitions.

Equestrian career

Kenki passed on the opportunity to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in order to complete his ordination as a zen priest. In 2010, he joined the stable of German Olympic equestrian

Dirk Schrade Dirk Schrade (born 29 June 1978 in Münsingen) is a German equestrian. At the 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event ...

in order to prepare for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Since summer 2011 he has been training with 2012 Olympic gold medalist, European and world champion Michael Jung. Kenki's wife Kiyo has moved to Germany with her husband, where she takes care of his horses ''Chippieh'' and ''Toy Boy''.abendzeitung-muenchen.de
''Kurios: Buddhistischer Mönch bei Olympia'', 11 July 2012, German language, retrieved 26 July 2012 Kenki competed in the 16th Asian Games in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, where he won a gold medal. At the

he reached 15th place with his horse ''Chippieh'' after the dressage portion. During the cross-country portion however, his horse fell, ending the competition for Kenki. Japan ultimately reached 12th place overall. Kenki had stated that after the 2012 games he is planning to stay in Germany until winter and to return to Japan afterwards. According to Michael Jung's father however, these plans have changed: Kenki will thus continue to stay in Germany.Sandra Auffahrt und Michi Jung in der Dopingprobe
, reitturniere.de, 31. Juli 2012

External links

zimbo.com
Pictures of Kenki Sato

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Kenki Japanese male equestrians 1984 births Living people Olympic equestrians for Japan Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists in equestrian Equestrians at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Sportspeople from Nagano Prefecture