- About the Founder of Judo
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- Professor Jigoro Kano
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Jigaro Kano was born on October 28th, 1860 in the village of Mikage located close to Kobe. He was the third son of Jerosaku Kano, a merchant in shipping equipment. At the age of 11 Jigoro moved with his family to Japan’s capitol Tokyo. Here, at the age of 17, he enrolled in the Imperial University where he got a degree in economical and political sciences.
Since he knew that a job in the political area would be unsatisfactory, he transferred to the pedagogic faculty. After obtaining his degree he taught philosophy a year later. He worked himself up from teacher to professor and finally vice-president of the school for the nobility.
Jigoro Kano was a small and frail man, even for a Japanese. Several of his less civilized fellow students made themselves heard by being rough and using brute force. The small and silent Jigoro Kano was one of their favorite victims. The frail student was however to self-conscious to let himself be walked over without any kind of resistance. An iron will resided in him with the characteristics of a steel spring, resisting more when put under greater stress, but never breaking.
Jigoro had to find some way that would enable him to fight his assailants on equal terms, and win. He found what he was looking for.
- First acquaintance with Judo
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Purely by coincidence he learned of JuJitsu, introduced to him to be a means for a small man as himself to fight of a giant of an opponent. At that time Jigoro Kano took the decision to learn JuJitsu to perfection. Because of the decline in JuJitsu education most schools were however empty and abandoned leaving many JuJitsu teachers no other choice than to find a job elsewhere. It was therefore not easy to find a good teacher but, at the age of 18, he found Teinosuke Yagi who taught him the first principles. Through mediation of Teinsuke Yagi, Jigoro Kano came into contact with Hachinosuke Fukuda, principal of the Tensjo-Shinyo school. Hachinosuke Fukuda was a very noble person from whom Jigoro Kano learned a lot. On his turn Hachinosuke Fukuda had a great sympathy for his pupil, manifesting itself in leaving all school scriptures to Jigoro, after Hachinosuke Fukuda’s death in 1879.
Hachinosuke Fukuda’s successor was Iso, at that time already 64 years of age, but still incredibly strong and flexible. Jigoro Kano had the utmost respect for Iso and later testified: “Never did I see a more beautiful posture than that of my teacher Iso”. Like Fukuda before him, Iso left the school scriptures to Jigoro Kano upon his death in 1881.
In that same year Jigoro Kano became a student of Jikubo, head of the Kito School. The technique of this school was more complicated and often difficult to understand. However, after 1 year Jikubo had to confess to Jigoro Kano that he could teach him nothing more.
- Eishoji temple
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- Jigaro Kano Sensei
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- Beginning of Kodokan
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In 1882, at the age of 22, Jigoro Kano opened his own school in Tokio named Kodokan. “Kodo” means “proclaiming the truth” and “Kan” means “gathering”. Teaching came naturally to Jigoro and in the name of his school he mentioned his goal. He taught Jujitsu according to his own beliefs, which was based on the wisdom of his teachers but yet again very different. Full of energy and with a strong will he pursued his eagerness to learn new things.
Sometimes traveling for days visiting other teachers he learned the secrets from other Jujitsu schools and improve his own techniques. In the end Jigoro Kano reached a height unheard of in Judo in those days.
- Kodokan
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The Kodokan was originally located in four rooms of the Eishoji temple. The largest of the rooms, 4 by 6 meters was used as Dojo (i.e. practice room).
- Eishoji temple
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In the first year Jigoro Kano only had 9 pupils. Today the Kodokan has a Dojo, which is almost 45 times larger (± 1100 square meters). Millions of pupils, both male and female from a wide variety of nationalities, have visited the Kodokan-dojo to date.
- Kodokan Dojo
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