Kanō Jigorō

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Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Kanō is the family name, Jigorō the first name.
Kanō Jigorō

Kanō Jigorō ( Japanese 嘉納 治 五郎 , Kanō Jigorō ; * December 10, 1860 in Mikage ; † May 4, 1938 ) was a Japanese Jiu Jitsu and judo professor ( Sensei ), founder of the martial art Jūdō .

Youth and education

Jigorō Kanō was born on December 10, 1860, as a descendant of a sake brewing family, in the city of Mikage, in the prefecture of Hyōgo (near Kyoto ). When Kanō was 10 years old, his mother died and his family moved to Tokyo in 1871 . Kanō showed himself gifted for foreign languages ​​and attended a foreign language school in Tokyo from the age of 15. In 1877 Kanō began to study at the University of Tokyo .

He taught from 1893 for 23 years at the Higher Normal School Tokyo (later Tokyo Pedagogical University ) and was its rector for three terms.

During his youth, Kanō Jigorō had a weak physical constitution, which made him repeatedly a victim of other youths of his age. He then decided to strengthen himself as much as possible. At the age of 17 Kanō therefore began to study Jiu Jitsu, which was a martial art widespread in Japan in the mid-19th century. Most of the Jiu-Jitsu schools existed in Tokyo at the time. Yagi Teinosuke , a doctor from the Nihonbashi neighborhood, promised to introduce him to a jiu-jitsu master in the neighborhood.

Although he by no means had ideal physical conditions, he learned in a short time the "techniques of holds and throws" from his first teacher Katagiri Ryuji . Since Ryuji Katagiri did not challenge him enough in training due to his still weak constitution, he continued his training with better recognized masters from 1877 onwards. These included Fukuda Hachinosuke and Iso Masatomo from the Tenjin Shinyo School. During his training, Fukuda Hachinosuke concentrated on Randori , on free combat training between two partners. Formal exercises such as kata , the tracing of precisely defined sequences of different techniques, were neglected by him. Such a tendency is later noticeable in Kanō Jigorō as well.

When Fukuda Hachinosuke died in 1879 at the age of only 52, Kanō joined the group of Iso Masatomo. Iso mainly concentrated on performing kata during his training. His dōjō , located in the center of Tokyo, was known for the perfection of these movements. During the following two years Kanō Jigorō only carried out the Jiu-Jitsu training of the Tenjin Shinyo School and was practiced in such a way that he was entrusted by his master with the supervision of a training group of 20 to 30 students.

When Iso Masatomo fell ill just like Master Fukuda in 1881, Kanō Jigorō decided to switch to another school in order to develop further. He went to Iikubo Kuwakichi from Kito School. Like Fukuda Hachinosuke, Iikubo Kuwakichi was a proponent of the Randori. He was particularly specialized in throwing techniques ( nage waza ). The influence of this master was an important factor in the later development of Jūdō by Kanō Jigorō. During this time Kanō began to develop his own techniques, including throwing techniques such as the Uki-goshi and the Tsuri-komi-goshi. These techniques are still part of every Jūdō and Jiu-Jitsu training today. Attributed to him Kata guruma borrowed Kano a book with Western Ringer techniques.

The Kōdōkan-Dōjō and the making of the Jūdō

Studying the techniques of the various Ju-Jitsu styles (especially the throwing techniques of the Kito-Ryu) gave Kanō Jigorō the idea of ​​creating his own Ju-Jitsu system and making it more attractive to young people than the previously practiced combat system . Attention should not only be given to fighting techniques. Rather, training the students' minds should be given equal importance. Kanō set himself the task of developing a system that, based on scientific principles, combined the physical and mental training of the students with one another.

In addition to the Nage Waza, this system consisted of floor techniques Katame Waza as well as punching, kicking and impact techniques Atemi Waza , which u. a. the system of Kito-Ryu and Tenjin Shinyō-ryū (traditional Ju-Jitsu schools, in which Kanō Menkyo-Kaiden held the universal teaching license or master degree) were taken. Kanō selected all the techniques that contradicted the highest principle he had found, "the most effective possible use of mental and physical energy". It is a widespread misconception that in doing so he would have removed all "bad" techniques that are capable of seriously injuring or killing a person. At the latest when studying Katas such as Kimeno-Kata or Kodokan Goshin-Jitsu, this error comes to light.

In addition to the significant change to the Kito school, the year 1881 brought Kanō the completion of his university studies and soon afterwards a job in the Gakushuin (noble school) for children from privileged families as a literature teacher. As a result of this employment, Kanō's work and training hours took up such a large part of his daily routine that he often only got to sleep in the early hours of the morning.

In February 1882 Kanō Jigorō took nine of his students from the Kito-Ryu and opened his own Dōjō in the Eishoji Temple, which was located in the Shitaya district. The dōjō was extremely small and designed with only 12 tatami (mats). Among his first students were Tomita Tsunejiro and later because of his throw Yama Arashi famous Saigo Shiro . The master Iikubo Kuwakichi from the Kito school came to the temple two to three times a week to support Kanō in his practice sessions. This training group was the origin of the later known Kōdōkan-Dōjōs. The martial art taught by Kanō at that time was not a completely new system, but a reformed Jiu Jitsu. The transition to the new combat system Jūdō took place as a steady process during the following two years. Kanō was so practiced during this time that he managed to beat Master Iikubo Kuwakichi in the Randori with the help of his Nage Waza. Then Kanō was officially appointed a master of the Kito school. Iikubo Kuwakichi continued to take part in training in the Kōdōkan-Dōjō.

Kanō Jigorō, both as a literature teacher and as a Jiu-Jitsu master, attached great importance to the discipline of his students and was accordingly strict. On the other hand, however, Kanō's students did not have to pay anything for the lessons and were treated as guests by Kanō and served tea and rice by him. He provided some of his poorer students with exercise clothing, which he even washed himself.

In 1883 Kanō had to relocate his dōjō because the priests of the Eisho Temple were no longer willing to tolerate the noise caused by the uke hitting the tatami and the destruction - some of the temple's floor slabs broke and were repaired by Kanō. The dōjō first moved to a plot of land near the temple before it was finally moved to Kanō Jigorō's apartment. It was now so big that there was room for 20 tatami.

In 1884 the development process of the fighting style taught by Kanō was so advanced that Kanō began to record the principles of the new fighting system in the statutes of the Kōdōkan-Dōjōs. Kanō Jigorō declared his new combat system in the following words: “By combining all the benefits I have gained from different schools of Jiu Jitsu and adding my own techniques, I have a new system of physical fitness, mental training and competition found. I call this system Kōdōkan-Jūdō. "

The enforcement of Jūdō as a martial art in Japan

Kanō called the sport taught in Kōdōkan "Jūdō", which means "flexible / adapted path" or "soft path". It is made up of the syllables "Jū" and "Do". With " Do " (way) he wanted to refer to the spiritual and moral principle of his Jūdō. The practitioner is never at the goal of his training, he is always on the way there, always a learner. The syllable "Jū", which was already contained in Jū-jutsu earlier, is intended to clarify the principle of "winning by adapting flexibly to the opponent or, under certain circumstances, also giving in". Kanō was not only concerned with the craftsmanship (jūtsu) of the techniques.

However, there was already Jūdō, because the Jikishin school also called their martial art that. To distinguish itself from this system, the martial art taught by Kanō was called "Kōdōkan Jūdō": the Jūdō, which was taught in the Kōdōkan. In the first issue of Kodokan Jūdō magazine from January 1915, Kano answered his own question “What is Judo?”: “Jūdō wa shinshin no chikara o mottomo yukō ni shiyō suru michi de aru” - “Jūdō is the way, its spiritual and to use physical strength most effectively. "

Many of the old samurai fighting techniques had been deleted without replacement in the new Jūdō. New techniques were developed. In the end, a martial art emerged that could also be practiced safely as a one-to-one sport and is now recognized worldwide. However, it is sometimes forgotten that Kōdōkan-Jūdō still includes blows (Atemi) and weapon techniques, which is still evident in the Kime-no-Kata. However, these techniques are prohibited in competition.

Jūdō should not only be martial arts, but also mental training. Body and mind should be placed in a state of harmony and balance. It was a long time before the Kōdōkan and the Jūdō taught there were recognized. Competing schools viewed the Kōdōkan in a negative sense as a "school for intellectuals". Jūdō was not taken seriously.

The leaders of other schools publicly stated that the kōdōkan lacked practical skills. They referred to Kanō as a bookworm who stole his techniques from the real masters of the martial arts. Kanō and the Kōdōkan were particularly attacked by the school "Ryoi shinto-Ryu". The leader of this school, Totsuka Hikosuke , drew press articles about the Kōdōkan. Clashes between his students and Kano's students were deliberately provoked.

In 1886 the Imperial Police Administration ordered a decisive battle between the two schools. It was determined to bring order to the educational system in the country. The aim was to select a single, particularly effective school as the norm. This decisive battle should serve this purpose. Both schools each had 15 of their best masters. Kanō's students won, with the exception of two ties, all fights. The superiority of the new system over other Ju-Jitsu schools could hardly be any clearer. Kanō perfected and supplemented his Jūdō techniques. Systems like the "Go-Kyo" were created. Until 1894 Kanō ran his school alone. Then a body, the "Kōdōkan Council" was launched. In 1900 the “Association of Danträger ” was added as a further organ .

From 1909 Kanō Jigorō was involved in the Olympic movement . He was an official envoy of Japan to the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912 and helped organize the Far Eastern Games in Osaka in 1917. He was not present at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924, but he represented Japan at the Games in Amsterdam (1928), Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin (1936). Between 1931 and his death, he served on the Japanese Olympic bid committee for the 1940 Tokyo Games .

Due to his declining health, Kanō Jigorō gave no more public screenings from 1934. In early May 1938 he died on board the Hikawa Maru at sea.

During the Second World War , the Kodokan was infiltrated by nationalist currents, which led to the Kodokan sometimes serving as an academy for Japanese naval officers. After the Allied victory in 1945, the Kodokan (like most martial arts schools) was therefore closed for some time at the behest of the Americans. Secretly, however, they continued to train. After a while, the school was allowed to reopen in 1946 under certain conditions. The Kodokan's official focus on peaceful, non-fatal competitive sports would certainly have been very helpful. At the same time, however, it also paved the way for judo to be established as an international competitive sport.

  • In 1909 the Kōdōkan received the status of a foundation. Kanō Jigorō became president.
  • In 1911 Kanō founded the Dai-Nippon Taiiku Kyōkai (English Japan Amateur Sports Association ), a forerunner of today's Japanese Olympic Committee , and became its first president.
  • 1920 Gunji Koizumi (then 2nd Dan) began to teach Jūdō in England after he founded the "Budokwai" in London in 1918.
  • In 1930 the first national Jūdō championships took place in Japan.
  • 1934 Awarded the Asahi Prize .
  • 1936 Kanō awards a European, Moshé Feldenkrais , the black belt for the first time (then 1st Dan).
  • 1936 Mikinosuke Kawaishi (then 4th Dan) began to teach Jūdō in France.
  • In 1938, on May 4, Kanō died at the age of 77 of pneumonia while traveling back from Europe to Japan on the Japanese ship Hikawa Maru . On this trip he had given Mikinosuke Kawaishi permission to undertake Dan graduations in Europe in the name of the Kōdōkan. Jiro Nango succeeded Kanō as President of the Kōdōkan.
  • 1946 Jiro Nango made his office as President of the Kōdōkan in favor of Kanō's son, Risei Kano , available.
  • 1952 Sumiyuki Kotani (then 8th Dan) taught foreign Jūdōka (the American Air Force) in Kōdōkan for the first time.
  • In 1958 the Kōdōkan was relocated again. A completely new dojo was created in Tokyo.
  • In 1964, at the Summer Games in Tokyo , Jūdō became an Olympic sport for the first time.

After the Kōdōkan’s new dōjō was no longer sufficient, a new training wing was added from 1982 to 1984. You can practice Jūdō there on seven floors. The 8th floor is expanded as a gallery with 460 seats. From there you can see the dojo with 420 tatami on the 7th floor.

The Jigoro Kano Cup is held in honor of Kanō Jigorō .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kano, Jigoro | Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures. Retrieved on August 24, 2020 .
  2. ↑ 嘉納 治 五郎 . Tsukuba University, accessed July 17, 2012 (Japanese).
  3. ^ Brian N. Watson: Judo Memoirs of Jigoro Kano ; Trafford Publishing, 2008; ISBN 1-4251-8771-4

Web links

Commons : Kanō Jigorō  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Kanō, Jigorō
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 嘉納 治 五郎 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese Jiu Jitsu and judo professor, founder of the martial art Jūdō
DATE OF BIRTH December 10, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Mikage
DATE OF DEATH May 4, 1938