Scribd
Upload
186 views2 pages

Founding of The Kodokan: Tenjin Shin'yō-Ryū

Kano learned jujutsu from several teachers in Tokyo in the late 1800s. In 1882, after the death of his last teacher Iikubo Tsunetoshi, Kano founded his own school called the Kodokan at the Eisho-ji temple in Tokyo. The dojo was small with only 12 tatami mats. Kano's vision for judo emphasized maximum efficiency and mutual benefit between partners. He illustrated this with the concept of ju yoku go o seisu, where adjusting to an opponent's attack reduces their power and allows a weaker person to defeat a stronger one.

Uploaded by

Jitendra Pandey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
186 views2 pages

Founding of The Kodokan: Tenjin Shin'yō-Ryū

Kano learned jujutsu from several teachers in Tokyo in the late 1800s. In 1882, after the death of his last teacher Iikubo Tsunetoshi, Kano founded his own school called the Kodokan at the Eisho-ji temple in Tokyo. The dojo was small with only 12 tatami mats. Kano's vision for judo emphasized maximum efficiency and mutual benefit between partners. He illustrated this with the concept of ju yoku go o seisu, where adjusting to an opponent's attack reduces their power and allows a weaker person to defeat a stronger one.

Uploaded by

Jitendra Pandey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

In 1877, as a student at the Tokyo-Kaisei school (soon to become part of the newly

founded Tokyo Imperial University), Kano learned that many jujutsu teachers had been forced to
pursue alternative careers, frequently opening Seikotsu-in (整骨院, traditional osteopathy
practices).[6] After inquiring at a number of these, Kano was referred to Fukuda Hachinosuke
(c.1828–1880),[7] a teacher of the Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū (天神真楊流) of jujutsu, who had a small nine
mat dōjō where he taught five students.[8] Fukuda is said to have emphasized technique over
formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano's emphasis on randori (乱取り, randori, free
practice) in judo.
On Fukuda's death in 1880, Kano, who had become his keenest and most able student in
both randori and kata (形, kata, pre-arranged forms), was given the densho (伝書, scrolls) of the
Fukuda dōjō.[9] Kano chose to continue his studies at another Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū school, that of
Iso Masatomo (c.1820–1881). Iso placed more emphasis on the practice of "kata", and
entrusted randori instruction to assistants, increasingly to Kano.[10] Iso died in June 1881 and
Kano went on to study at the dōjō of Iikubo Tsunetoshi (1835–1889) of Kitō-ryū (起倒流).[11] Like
Fukuda, Iikubo placed much emphasis on randori, with Kitō-ryū having a greater focus on nage-
waza (投げ技, throwing techniques).[12]

Founding of the Kodokan[edit]

Eisho-ji temple, Tokyo

In February 1882, Kano founded a school and dōjō at the Eisho-ji (永昌寺), a Buddhist temple in


what was then the Shitaya ward of Tokyo (now the Higashi Ueno district of Taitō ward).[13] Iikubo,
Kano's Kitō-ryū instructor, attended the dōjō three days a week to help teach and, although two
years would pass before the temple would be called by the name Kōdōkan (講道館, Kodokan,
"place for expounding the way"), and Kano had not yet received his Menkyo (免許, certificate of
mastery) in Kitō-ryū, this is now regarded as the Kodokan founding.
The Eisho-ji dōjō was originally shoin. It was a relatively small affair, consisting of a 12 jo[14] (214
sq ft) training area. Kano took in resident and non-resident students, the first two being Tomita
Tsunejirō and Shiro Saigo.[15] In August, the following year, the pair were granted shodan (初段,
first rank) grades, the first that had been awarded in any martial art. [16]

Judo versus jujutsu[edit]


Main article: Kodokan-Totsuka rivalry

Central to Kano's vision for judo were the principles of seiryoku zen'yō (精力善用, Maximum
efficiency, minimum effort) and jita kyōei (自他共栄, mutual welfare and benefit). He illustrated
the application of seiryoku zen'yō with the concept of jū yoku gō o seisu (柔能く剛を制す - 柔能
剛制, softness controls hardness):
jūdō (柔道, "Judo"), written in kanji

In short, resisting a more powerful opponent will result in your defeat, whilst adjusting to and
evading your opponent's attack will cause him to lose his balance, his power will be reduced, and
you will defeat him. This can apply whatever the relative values of power, thus making it possible
for weaker opponents to beat significantly stronger ones. This is the theory of ju yoku go o seisu.
[17]

You might also like