Reason for starting Jujutsu At the age of 14, Kano started to live at Ikuei Gijuku school, where he was bullied randomly by some stronger older boys living there. His days were spent in anger but all he could do was clench his jaw and put up with it. He was mocked by his seniors and fellow class-mates for being weak, and from the extreme humiliation he felt, he developed a burning desire to have a strong physique. Years training in Jujutsu When he was a student at Tokyo University Faculty of Letters (aged 18) he started to learn Tenjin Shinyo-ryu Jujutsu under the instruction of Hachinosuke Fukuda. For Ulysses S. Grant (the 18th president of the United States) visit to Japan, Fukuda Jujutsu hall’s Jujutsu was selected. Kano was 19 at that time. He performed a free style prac-tice of Jujutsu (Randori) before the president, and his intense perfor-mance allowed the president to see its splendor. After Hachinosuke Fukuda passed away, Kano became the head of Fukuda Jujutsu Hall, also teaching there. To further his training, he studied under Masatomo Iso, of the same school of Jujutsu, building upon his train-ing. Years studying Judo In 1882, Kano started renting a house at Kitainaricho Eeisho-ji, and opened a Dojo ‘Kodokan’ in a room just under 22㎡. Changing from Jujutsu to Judo, he began ‘Kodokan Judo’. There he took on pupils, and deepened his study into Judo’s intellectual, moral, and physical education as he taught Judo. Taking the finest points of each school of Judo, furthering his study of ‘kuzushi’, the act of breaking the bal-ance of one’s opponent in Judo. And as his pupils performed well at the Metropolitan Police Martial Arts Tournament etc., the name of Kodokan Judo resounded widely. Furthermore, in 1891 at the age of 30, on his return home from an inspection tour of the state of educa-tion in Europe, he performed Judo in-front of non-Japanese passen-gers on board a ship crossing the Indian Ocean. His Judo showing how a small person can throw a large opponent drew him great at-tention. Spreading Judo Internationally Ambassadors, military personnel, and teachers who visited Japan from overseas watched and were fascinated by the splendor of Ko-dokan Judo. In 1893, a British pupil entered Kodokan. After this American and Chinese etc. pupils also joined one after the other, and by spreading the Judo that they learned at Kodokan, Judo spread throughout the world. As Judo spread overseas, there became a growing desire to have more teachers from Japan travel and teach them. Kodokan Judo not calls for a strength in terms of winning/losing, but also teaches that Judo’s appeal lies in an approach of ‘mutual prosperity’, something meaningful in character building. Conveying this essential point to those overseas who were raised differently and from a different cul-ture was an issue, but Kano did not give up. He deepened his study of Judo, and went on to train excellent Judo practitioners in Japan superior as both scholars and martial arts practitioners. He then took care of the finances required for these Judo teachers to be sent over-seas equipped to overcome this issue overseas.

As a university student (Left: While at Tokyo

University Right: As a university graduate)

Tenjin Shinyo-ryu Training Uniform

At 22 years of age

Teaching ‘uki-goshi’ at Tokyo Higher Normal School

(Currently: Tsukuba University)

Standing at ease Doing a demonstration in 1933

Source: Token Corporation, Supervision: Kodokan Judo Institute

Photographs provided by: Kodokan Judo Institute