Jigoro Kano (1860-1938) is the founder of judo. A small, light man, he studied two schools of jujutsu and in 1882 opened the Kodokan in Tokyo. There he codified a method of physical and moral education that later became an Olympic sport. His life covers three jobs: practitioner, educator and sports diplomat.
From Mikage to the Imperial University
Kano was born on October 28, 1860, in Mikage near Kobe. His family was connected to the sake trade. Japan was coming out of its long isolation and modernizing at speed. The young Kano followed his father to Tokyo, learned English and entered the Imperial University, graduating in 1881.
Biographers stress one detail that every coach will recognize. He was small, light and often pushed around. That is part of why he went looking for a jujutsu teacher, at a time when the old samurai schools were losing both students and prestige.
Two jujutsu schools as raw material
Kano first trained in Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū under Fukuda Hachinosuke, then under Iso Masatomo. This school gave him atemi (strikes), joint locks and very physical grappling. When Iso died in 1881, he joined the Kitō-ryū of Iikubo Tsunetoshi, a school known for its throws and breakfalls.
That is where the key insight came. Trying to throw Iikubo, Kano understood that you have to break the opponent's balance before you apply the technique. The principle of kuzushi, tsukuri and kake dates from this period: unbalance, fit in, execute. Every time you drill o-soto-gari by pulling uke onto their heels, you are applying what Kano put into words well over a century ago.
1882: the Kodokan and the great filtering
In 1882, aged 21, Kano opened a small room of twelve tatami mats on the grounds of a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, the Eishō-ji. He called it Kodokan, "the place to study the way." The story of the institute is told in our article on the Kodokan.
His founding act was not inventing techniques. He sorted them. Locks on small joints, strikes on a downed opponent and throws that drive a partner onto the head were removed from free practice or kept only in kata. What remained could be practiced at full speed without injuring a partner. Randori became the core of training, and the classification of throws later grew into the gokyo.
To see how this filter turned jujutsu into something new, read our history of judo. Without it, there would be no competition judo and no judo for kids.
An educator first
People often forget that Kano spent most of his career in schools. He taught at the Gakushūin, the school for the nobility. He then headed the Tokyo Higher Normal School, the institution that trained the country's teachers, for more than twenty years. There he developed physical education and welcomed foreign students, many of them from China.
This background explains the tone of his writing. For Kano, judo was a teaching method before it was a combat sport. Randori teaches you to make decisions under pressure. Kata passes on principles. Shiai (competition) checks the work. Competition was one of three pillars, and in his eyes not the most important one.
The first Asian member of the IOC
In 1909, with the support of Pierre de Coubertin, Kano became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee. He served until his death. He led Japan's first delegation to the Stockholm Games in 1912 and, in the 1930s, campaigned hard to bring the Olympics to Tokyo.
He died on May 4, 1938, aboard the Hikawa Maru, returning from an IOC session in Cairo. The Tokyo Games planned for 1940 never took place because of the war. Judo joined the Olympic program much later, in 1964, and in Tokyo. Our article on judo at the Olympics picks up the story from there.
Two maxims that sum up his thinking
In the early 1920s, Kano set out two principles that you still see on the walls of many dojos.
| Maxim | Common translation | On the mat |
|---|---|---|
| Seiryoku zenyo | Maximum efficiency, best use of energy | Throw with kuzushi, not with your arms |
| Jita kyoei | Mutual welfare and benefit | A good uke makes tori better, and the other way around |
The first is technical, the second social. They belong together. Nobody improves alone in judo, because you need a partner who agrees to be thrown. We go deeper into both ideas in our article on the meaning of judo, the gentle way.
What is left of Kano in a Tuesday night class
The bow at the start of class, the belt that changes color, kata at grading, breakfalls learned before the first throw: all of it comes from Kano or his direct successors. Even the judo moral code posted on the walls of many clubs, written in France long after his death, rests on his teaching.
Our advice: reread Kano when competition is going badly. He reminds you that you train first to become a sturdier person, and that a match result is only one measure among others. To start, pick a single maxim, seiryoku zenyo, and apply it for a month. In every randori, look for the throw that costs you the least effort.