History of Judo in Japan

History of Judo in Japan

• Judo transformed from a martial art into a modern sport
• Jigoro Kano dedicated his life to educating the youth in Japan, blending tradition and modernity
• Judo's origins are intertwined with Japanese combat and life arts, as well as Kano's life

From Jujutsu to Judo

• Judo and jujutsu are written with ideographs that represent their founding principles
• Ju means gentleness or giving way and is opposed to Go ,meaning strength
• Do, the way, signifies spiritual development

Samurai's Role in Martial Arts History

• Samurai were central to the history of martial arts
• Historical studies of martial arts distinguish three stages in Japan's history
• Classical bujutsu corresponded to the period from the establishment of the military government to the Tokugawa shogunate (1192-1603)
• During the Tokugawa shogunate, combat systems were created for individual protection
• The term jujutsu is a generic term for bare-hand confrontation or with minimal weapons
• Jujutsu includes the use of feet, fists, knees, projections, disarticulations, and small arms

Classical Budo

• Classical budo emerged during the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868)
• Relative peace in the Edo period decreased opportunities for samurai to engage on the battlefield
• Bujutsu masters emphasized ethical and philosophical principles to combat samurai idleness resulting in a change of orientation
• In bujutsu, control depends on technical expertise, while control leads to wisdom in budo
• During the Tokugawa shogunate, more than 700 schools existed
• The evolution involved specialization of studied forms and strengthening the defensive aspect, which faded wartime realism
• Modern bujutsu and budo are part of the Meiji era, incorporating classical forms and reflecting Japanese societal changes
• At the beginning of the Meiji era, martial arts and traditional Japanese culture were not favored
• Donn Draeger noted that many jujutsu applications involved altercations in tea rooms, gambling dens, and other entertainment venues frequented by commoners

Dai Nippon Butoku Kai

• Reconstruction of martial arts included the transmission of values, discipline, and morality
• Dai Nippon Butoku Kai created in 1895 to revive bushido spirit, promote bujutsu among soldiers, and strengthen national military power
• Grew rapidly and was present including 42 prefectures with 1,300,000 members
• The practice of martial arts was boosted by the social and political environment at the end of the last century

Jigoro Kano's Early Life

• Jigoro Kano was born on October 28, 1860, in Mikage.
• Kano received rigorous education with Western and Oriental influences early in life
• In the 1860s, Kano's father served as a senior official for the shogunate Government.

Kano's Education

• In 1870, Kano moved to Tokyo and studied classics and English.
• He developed a fondness for mathematics and languages.
• Kano studied with older and stronger classmates, but was frequently bullied.
• He started studying jujutsu to overcome bullying and defend the weak.

Kano's Instruction and Achievements

• He found Hachinosuke Fukuda to be one of the old jujutsu masters,
• After two years of practice, he was selected to participate in a demonstration during U.S. President Ulysses Grant's visit to Tokyo
• After Fukuda dies, he continued practice under Masatomo Iso until Iso died in 1881
• Kano studied jujutsu from the Kito School with Iikubo Tsunetoshi and focused on the spiritual aspect
• Koshiki no kata is from the Kito School and demonstrates techniques of fighting in armor, was his favourite and he demonstated to the Emperor in 1929

Kano's Educational Institutions

• In 1882, as a student at the Tokyo Imperial University, Jigoro Kano established Kano Juku which was a private preparatory school and a school of English
• Kano opened the Kodokan in May, it was a "school for studying the way", within a Buddhist monastery set withing a 12-tatami room rented at a Tokyo Buddhist monastery
• Kano taught a new practice, "judo" and his nine students and friends, met in a small 20 sq metre room
• They practiced throws, pins, strangulations, and armlocks, and submission techniques

Kano's Method

• Kano's method was designed around ancient jujutsu forms. However, he removed the intent to kill or injure. Judo grasping was compulsory.
• By doing this, Kano reduced violence and improved ways to fall
• The technical content came primarily from the Kito school for projections and the Tenjin Shin Yo school for blows and locks
• Kano was inspired from the Kito school for projections, and from the Tenjin Shin Yo school for blows and locks
• Kano improved the ways to fall, reducing the level of violence.

Kodokan Dojo

• Kodokan dojo developed and grew
• Kano's method was adopted by the police and the Navy
• Kano's method introduced into a number of schools and universities

Kano's Philosophy

• Kano's philosophy is rooted in three principles which include the acquisition of knowledge, the teaching of ethics and the development of the body through the practice of physical education
• Physical health enabled spiritual activity, and one's existence is realised when put at the service of society
• Effective use of the mind and body leads to self-realization, with a Confucian concept that social obligation leads to helping others

Kano's Maxims and Judo Methods

• Founding principles summarised by maxims Seiryoku Zenyo & Jita Kyoei
• They were enacted at the founding of the Kodokan cultural society in 1922
• Seiryoku Zenyo & Jita Kyoei states that energy must be used in a just and physical and mental way, for the good of all in search for self-realization
• Randori and kata are the elements of education at Kano
• Shiai or competition and mondo, or discussions, are complementary forms of training.
• Randori, a common exercise, allows freedom of choice during training
• The habit of mental attitude develops a high degree of control and lucidity

Kata

• In 1880's considered bodily specialty, kata was complemented and refined with pre arranged forms
• Kata formed and balanced the physical demands of randori

Judo History

• By the early 1900s the kata of Kodokan were created in 4 categories which are free exercise, confrontation, physical preparation, theory.
• Aim was for physical development of the body, the shaping of the spirit, and training in combat efficiency

Judo development

• Developed by combining schools of jujutsu and modern science in 1882
• The technical gestures are studied, analyzed with a constant effort of justification.
• The gokyo no waza are five principles of judo that formed content of education.
• Gokyo no waza established in 1895 then revised in 1920 which was based on complexity and difficulty of gestures.
• Judo is a system of education that balances intellectual, physical and moral with education being the most important.
• Stressed importance of do (Way) in judo from j jutsu (Art)