Jigoro Kano
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Dr. Jigorō Kanō (嘉納 治五郎 Kanō Jigorō, 1860 in Kobe, Japan - 1938) is the founder of Judo. He was a perfectionist, a disciplinarian and a traditionalist. But, at the same time, an innovator, an internationalist and a man of great generosity. More important, he was a famous educator and the father of modern sports in Japan. But above all, Jigoro Kano was the founder of Judo.
Jigorō Kanō was born to a family that operated a small sake brewery hence they were in a good financial status. Never physically strong, he suffered from various illnesses as a child and was constantly bullied. He tried to learn jujutsu to get even, but was opposed by his parents who feared he could be seriously injured. His parents instead had him study rigorously and in 1877, Kanō enrolled in Imperial University. Away from his parents, he finally started learning jujutsu. He studied two different jujutsu styles each focusing on different aspects of fighting techniques.
Jujitsu was flourishing during Jigoro's boyhood. It is fair to say mid-19th century was the golden age of jujutsu. So it was with rather anxious expectation that Jigoro looked forward to moving to Tokyo, where most of the jujutsu activity was going on. When he was 17, his father ordered him to go to the capital on board one of the sake-carrying steel ships, but he insisted on traveling by land. His father relented -- and a good thing, too, because the vessel he was to sail broke up in stormy seas en route to Tokyo and sank.
The University Years
Jigoro Kano started his training in jujutsu at the age of 17 under the supervision of his first instructor, Ryuji Katagiri. Katagiri felt he was too young for serious training. As a result, Katagiri gave him only a few formal exercises for study. The determined young man was not about to be put off so easily, however, and finally wound up at the dojo of Hachinosuke Fukuda, a master in the Tenjin-Shinyo School of Jujutsu who had been recommended by Dr. Yagi.
Fukuda stressed technique over formal exercises, or kata. His method was to give an explanation of the exercises, but to concentrate on free-style fighting in practice sessions. Jigoro Kano's emphasis on "randori" in Judo undoubtedly found its beginnings here under the influence of Fukuda. It would be mainly from Fukuda and later from sensei Iikubo that he would develop the idea of teaching "randori" first and as the students achieve strenght introduce the kata.
In 1882, Kanō founded Kōdōkan Judo. His system of martial arts (judo) all but replaced its parent art of jujutsu in Japan. Kano also successfully introduced judo into the Japanese school system. Also a member of the International Olympic Committee for Japan, Kanō believed in the Games as a way to bring countries together. When World War II was imminent, he lobbied for having the 1940 Olympic Games organized in Japan. This finally happened in 1964, after his death, when the Games were held in Tokyo. For this occasion, Judo became an Olympic discipline, which raised a controversy in the Judo world. Indeed, Kano had always been opposed to organized competition in Judo, for he believed it would taint the non-opposition spirit of his art.
Kano died of pneumonia in 1938, aboard the SS Hikawa Maru after attending an IOC conference, promoting Judo as an Olympic sport. There are, however, allegations that he actually died of food poisoning. Supporters of this hypothesis claim that, since Japan was engaging in World War II, the government had plans to turn the Kōdōkan into a military academy. Critics argue that this is impossible, however, since Japan did not enter the war until three years later in 1941, whereas the hypothesis claims that Japan was involved in the war at the time of his death. Kanō was outspoken in his opposition to the militarization of the Kōdōkan and he stated that there was no place for militarism in the Kōdōkan. It is alleged that after his death, a few weeks later, the Kōdōkan indeed became a military academy. The myth also falls down here as the Kodokan was not made into a military academy until after the end of the war.
References
- Brian Watson's biography of Kano: ISBN 4770025300
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