Who is Yusei Kikuchi's wife? Meet Rumi Fukatsu, a former model and singer

Modified Apr 11, 2025 01:31 GMT

Yusei Kikuchi with his family (Images from - Instagram.com/@_rumi.kikuchi_)

After spending eight years with the Saitama Seibu Lions of the NPB, Yusei Kikuchi made the switch to the Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2019, signing with AL West outfit, the Seattle Mariners. Since then, the Japanese ace has enjoyed plenty of success, with a 4.58 ERA and 853 total strikeouts for his big league career as a whole.

As he made the journey to the United States from his home country of Japan, his wife Rumi Fukatsu also followed him. As per sources, the pair first crossed paths when Rumi interviewed Yusei in 2013, while she was working as a freelance news reporter. The pair dated for a few years before tying the knot in June of 2016. They welcomed their son, Leo, three years later.

Apart from working for some of Japan's biggest news channels such as OHK, TBS, and NHK BS1, Rumi Fukatsu has tried her hand at modelling and music in the past. Currently, she works as a blogger, running her very own website and blog, while also being quite a popular social media personality with over 42,000 followers on Instagram.

Rumi Fukatsu resides in Anaheim, Los Angeles, along with her family, as Yusei Kikuchi joined the Los Angeles Angels this past offseason, signing a $63.675 million contract for three years.

When Yusei Kikuchi's wife Rumi Fukatsu shared adorable snap of son Leo with exciting young talent Rintaro Sasaki

Having visited Yusei Kikuchi's former high school, Hanamaki Hagashi, in 2023, Rumi Fukastu appeared to run into up-and-coming star Rintaro Sasaki, who is also an alumni of the high school. In 2024, she shared an adorable snap of the two on Instagram.

"Last year, when I visited my husband's alma mater, Hanamaki Higashi, to greet me, Taro-kun (Rintaro Sasaki) gave me a cheerful greeting.(Hanamaki Higashi's greetings, I like it very much ). When Kataro was about Leo's age, my husband was in high school. My alma mater and my juniors whom my husband dearly treasures. I'm also rooting for Kataro-kun's work," Rumi Fukatsu captioned her Instagram post in Japanese.

Currently in the midst of his freshman season with Stanford University, Rintaro Sasaki is regularly putting in impressive performances. Shohei Ohtani, one of the best hitters on the planet, has reportedly claimed that the youngster already has a 'better swing than him.'

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Parag Jain