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I just happened to stumble onto the homepage of the Meiji University Judo Club. There's a lot of interesting historical material here but even if you don't read Japanese, if you're interested in Judo history, these photographs are amazing.
Prewar: http://www.meiji-jud...tablishment.htm
Postwar: http://www.meiji-judo.com/History.htm
See also: http://www.meiji-judo.com/Hayama.htm , http://www.meiji-judo.com/Showa5.htm , and http://www.meiji-jud...m/showa8_33.htm
Enjoy!
Jon Z
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Meiji University Judo Club Webpage
fantastic historical photographs!
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#2
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Posted 03 November 2009 - 06:07 AM
The woman in the photo at http://www.meiji-judo.com/Hayama.htm is Grace B. Logan. I know this because she appears in several photos (to include that one) in "Fighting Spirit: Judo in Southern California, 1930-1941" by Ansho Mas Uchima and Larry Akira Kobayashi, 2006. The photo itself was apparently taken at Rafu Dojo, in Los Angeles, in 1936.
What I have is this:
Grace Belle Logan, born April 29, 1886, in Cherryvale, Kansas. (Also from Cherryvale, Kansas, about the same time? Billy Sandow, one of the inventers of modern professional wrestling.) Logan died October 10, 1974, in Contra Costa, California.
In 1937, Logan went to Japan to study judo. She was accompanied by Annabel Pritchett. Pritchett was born March 6, 1899, in Fairview, Utah. Pritchett was a registered voter in Los Angeles County during 1948-1950, but I don't know when or where she died.
The Japanese man is Saburo Hayama, then 5-dan or thereabouts, who was in and out of Los Angeles pretty regularly between 1936 and 1939.
Lima (Indiana) Times, June 1, 1937:
QUOTE:
AMERICAN WOMEN STUDY JAPANESE SELF-DEFENSE
KYOTO, June 1 -- Two American women are engaged here in a serious study of Judo, the Japanese art of self-defense, formerly referred to as Ju-jitsu.
They are Mrs. Grace B. Logan and Miss Annabel Pritchett, both of Los Angeles. They came to Japan to learn Judo in the country of its origin and to study Buddhism.
Taught by Prof. Teisaburo Fukushima, one of the leading exponents of the art, they devote each morning to their practice.
Judo, developing from early feudal days in Japan, is the art of using an opponent's strength to one's advantage. A literal translation means 'way of gentleness,' or of first giving way in order to ultimately conquer.
END QUOTE
What I have is this:
Grace Belle Logan, born April 29, 1886, in Cherryvale, Kansas. (Also from Cherryvale, Kansas, about the same time? Billy Sandow, one of the inventers of modern professional wrestling.) Logan died October 10, 1974, in Contra Costa, California.
In 1937, Logan went to Japan to study judo. She was accompanied by Annabel Pritchett. Pritchett was born March 6, 1899, in Fairview, Utah. Pritchett was a registered voter in Los Angeles County during 1948-1950, but I don't know when or where she died.
The Japanese man is Saburo Hayama, then 5-dan or thereabouts, who was in and out of Los Angeles pretty regularly between 1936 and 1939.
Lima (Indiana) Times, June 1, 1937:
QUOTE:
AMERICAN WOMEN STUDY JAPANESE SELF-DEFENSE
KYOTO, June 1 -- Two American women are engaged here in a serious study of Judo, the Japanese art of self-defense, formerly referred to as Ju-jitsu.
They are Mrs. Grace B. Logan and Miss Annabel Pritchett, both of Los Angeles. They came to Japan to learn Judo in the country of its origin and to study Buddhism.
Taught by Prof. Teisaburo Fukushima, one of the leading exponents of the art, they devote each morning to their practice.
Judo, developing from early feudal days in Japan, is the art of using an opponent's strength to one's advantage. A literal translation means 'way of gentleness,' or of first giving way in order to ultimately conquer.
END QUOTE
#3
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Posted 03 November 2009 - 06:22 AM
Jon Z, on Nov 3 2009, 01:28 PM, said:
I just happened to stumble onto the homepage of the Meiji University Judo Club. There's a lot of interesting historical material here but even if you don't read Japanese, if you're interested in Judo history, these photographs are amazing.
Prewar: http://www.meiji-jud...tablishment.htm
Postwar: http://www.meiji-judo.com/History.htm
See also: http://www.meiji-judo.com/Hayama.htm , http://www.meiji-judo.com/Showa5.htm , and http://www.meiji-jud...m/showa8_33.htm
Enjoy!
Jon Z
Prewar: http://www.meiji-jud...tablishment.htm
Postwar: http://www.meiji-judo.com/History.htm
See also: http://www.meiji-judo.com/Hayama.htm , http://www.meiji-judo.com/Showa5.htm , and http://www.meiji-jud...m/showa8_33.htm
Enjoy!
Jon Z
Has been out there for some time, Jon Z.
"The world is a republic of mediocrities, and always was." (Thomas Carlyle)
"Nothing is as approved as mediocrity, the majority has established it and it fixes it fangs on whatever gets beyond it either way." (Blaise Pascal)
"Quand on essaie, c'est difficile. Quand on n'essaie pas, c'est impossible" (Guess Who ?)
"I am never wrong. Once I thought I was, and that was a mistake."
"Nothing is as approved as mediocrity, the majority has established it and it fixes it fangs on whatever gets beyond it either way." (Blaise Pascal)
"Quand on essaie, c'est difficile. Quand on n'essaie pas, c'est impossible" (Guess Who ?)
"I am never wrong. Once I thought I was, and that was a mistake."
#4
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Posted 03 November 2009 - 02:27 PM
Joseph –
Thanks. This certainly all fits with what the article by Hayama Saburō (the man who appears in the photos with Logan) says. She is indeed Mrs. Logan (as is stitched into her keikogi) and the article also mentions Mrs. Pritchett. And according to the article the trip to the US did take place in1936.
CK-sensei –
Yes, I figured this site has been around for a while. It is after all the HP of the Meiji U. judo club. But I hadn’t seen most of this stuff discussed at all on JudoForum and I thought a lot of people might find the photos interesting.
I remember you had posted at one point the photo of Mifune and Matsuda Shigeo supervising wrestling practice (the photo dates from 1934 according to the website).
I’m not sure if this website was your source or if there is a separate source for the photo. At any rate, I actually thought the deep connections between jūdō and wrestling at Meiji U. (under the direct auspices of Mifune himself) may be the most interesting aspect of what’s contained on the website. I’m not aware of this being discussed at any length anywhere else and I don’t believe it’s well known in English (or perhaps in Japanese). What’s most interesting to me is not just that jūdōka were “cross training” in wrestling in the 1930s (under the guidance of Mifune himself) or that jūdō and jūdōka in some ways oversaw the introduction of wresting into Japanese universities but that there are a series of interesting resonances surrounding wrestling from this time which, when pieced together, could form an important part of the history of Japanese jūdō in the 1920s and 30s. Consider for example that that the Ad Santel match in Tokyo takes place in 1921. Then that the first mention story of the “discovery” of kataguruma (and its relation to wrestling) appears to date from 1927. Or that Kanō himself began to study wrestling rules around 1930 (JudoSensei has posted an image on one of the threads of a manuscript of this which if memory serves was dated 1930). Then we know that Mifune was actively involved in wrestling at Meiji U. in the early 1930s and the first captain of the Meiji U. wrestling team, Matsuda Shigeo, was himself a jūdōka trained/educated under Mifune. None of this is fringe to the history of jūdō in this period and yet no one talks about it as far as I can tell (maybe you have a chapter on this in your manuscript).
Why does this matter? I think it’s interesting from an historical point of view in and of itself. But there are more practical issues for some posters as well. “Cross training” (of various kinds) comes up a lot on the forum. Does it change the way we see this activity to see the great Mifune supervising a wrestling practice? Does it change the legitimacy of those (Joshua Resnick for example) who have argued for a closer integration of the two to bolster the inclusion of jūdō in school curricula in the US? That appears to have happened in exactly the opposite direction in Japan in the 1930s. Did it work? Is Japanese collegiate wrestling more popular/better than US jūdō? I don’t know. But I think these are legitimate questions which can only be posed when the historical material is in the public. So I don’t think it’s enough to say “it’s been out there” for a long time because I don’t think anyone has really addressed the implications of what is out there.
Jon Z
Thanks. This certainly all fits with what the article by Hayama Saburō (the man who appears in the photos with Logan) says. She is indeed Mrs. Logan (as is stitched into her keikogi) and the article also mentions Mrs. Pritchett. And according to the article the trip to the US did take place in1936.
CK-sensei –
Yes, I figured this site has been around for a while. It is after all the HP of the Meiji U. judo club. But I hadn’t seen most of this stuff discussed at all on JudoForum and I thought a lot of people might find the photos interesting.
I remember you had posted at one point the photo of Mifune and Matsuda Shigeo supervising wrestling practice (the photo dates from 1934 according to the website).
I’m not sure if this website was your source or if there is a separate source for the photo. At any rate, I actually thought the deep connections between jūdō and wrestling at Meiji U. (under the direct auspices of Mifune himself) may be the most interesting aspect of what’s contained on the website. I’m not aware of this being discussed at any length anywhere else and I don’t believe it’s well known in English (or perhaps in Japanese). What’s most interesting to me is not just that jūdōka were “cross training” in wrestling in the 1930s (under the guidance of Mifune himself) or that jūdō and jūdōka in some ways oversaw the introduction of wresting into Japanese universities but that there are a series of interesting resonances surrounding wrestling from this time which, when pieced together, could form an important part of the history of Japanese jūdō in the 1920s and 30s. Consider for example that that the Ad Santel match in Tokyo takes place in 1921. Then that the first mention story of the “discovery” of kataguruma (and its relation to wrestling) appears to date from 1927. Or that Kanō himself began to study wrestling rules around 1930 (JudoSensei has posted an image on one of the threads of a manuscript of this which if memory serves was dated 1930). Then we know that Mifune was actively involved in wrestling at Meiji U. in the early 1930s and the first captain of the Meiji U. wrestling team, Matsuda Shigeo, was himself a jūdōka trained/educated under Mifune. None of this is fringe to the history of jūdō in this period and yet no one talks about it as far as I can tell (maybe you have a chapter on this in your manuscript).
Why does this matter? I think it’s interesting from an historical point of view in and of itself. But there are more practical issues for some posters as well. “Cross training” (of various kinds) comes up a lot on the forum. Does it change the way we see this activity to see the great Mifune supervising a wrestling practice? Does it change the legitimacy of those (Joshua Resnick for example) who have argued for a closer integration of the two to bolster the inclusion of jūdō in school curricula in the US? That appears to have happened in exactly the opposite direction in Japan in the 1930s. Did it work? Is Japanese collegiate wrestling more popular/better than US jūdō? I don’t know. But I think these are legitimate questions which can only be posed when the historical material is in the public. So I don’t think it’s enough to say “it’s been out there” for a long time because I don’t think anyone has really addressed the implications of what is out there.
Jon Z
This post has been edited by Jon Z: 03 November 2009 - 03:32 PM
#5
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Posted 03 November 2009 - 03:39 PM
Jon --
For the wrestling, track the Olympics and the Far Eastern Championship Games.
Thumbnail sketch? In 1924, Japan got a bronze medal in Olympic freestyle. The winner was Naito, who wrestled for Penn State, and later became a pioneer of Kodokan judo in Brazil. In 1932, Kotani (and a Seattle Kibei named Eitaro Suzuki) were part of the Japanese team; they got blown out. Sarah Mayer's friend Hatta was one of the leaders of international freestyle in Japan; his revolutionary thought was training in wrestling, as wrestling, rather than simply as a branch of judo. After WWII, Hatta was the Japanese Olympic team's coach.
The Berlin policeman Lehmann provided training in wrestling during the late 1930s, and the San Jose State teams that Mel Bruno was on (and that Pop Moore coached) came to Japan, in part, to wrestle; the Japanese teams wanted international exposure as part of their buildup to the 1940 Olympics.
Finally, if you follow by name through the Japanese newspapers, you will quickly notice that many of Japan's best freestyle wrestlers of the 1930s were ethnically Korean.
For the wrestling, track the Olympics and the Far Eastern Championship Games.
Thumbnail sketch? In 1924, Japan got a bronze medal in Olympic freestyle. The winner was Naito, who wrestled for Penn State, and later became a pioneer of Kodokan judo in Brazil. In 1932, Kotani (and a Seattle Kibei named Eitaro Suzuki) were part of the Japanese team; they got blown out. Sarah Mayer's friend Hatta was one of the leaders of international freestyle in Japan; his revolutionary thought was training in wrestling, as wrestling, rather than simply as a branch of judo. After WWII, Hatta was the Japanese Olympic team's coach.
The Berlin policeman Lehmann provided training in wrestling during the late 1930s, and the San Jose State teams that Mel Bruno was on (and that Pop Moore coached) came to Japan, in part, to wrestle; the Japanese teams wanted international exposure as part of their buildup to the 1940 Olympics.
Finally, if you follow by name through the Japanese newspapers, you will quickly notice that many of Japan's best freestyle wrestlers of the 1930s were ethnically Korean.
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Posted 03 November 2009 - 03:57 PM
Joseph Svinth, on Nov 3 2009, 10:39 AM, said:
Jon --
For the wrestling, track the Olympics and the Far Eastern Championship Games.
Thumbnail sketch? In 1924, Japan got a bronze medal in Olympic freestyle. The winner was Naito, who wrestled for Penn State, and later became a pioneer of Kodokan judo in Brazil. In 1932, Kotani (and a Seattle Kibei named Eitaro Suzuki) were part of the Japanese team; they got blown out. Sarah Mayer's friend Hatta was one of the leaders of international freestyle in Japan; his revolutionary thought was training in wrestling, as wrestling, rather than simply as a branch of judo. After WWII, Hatta was the Japanese Olympic team's coach.
The Berlin policeman Lehmann provided training in wrestling during the late 1930s, and the San Jose State teams that Mel Bruno was on (and that Pop Moore coached) came to Japan, in part, to wrestle; the Japanese teams wanted international exposure as part of their buildup to the 1940 Olympics.
Finally, if you follow by name through the Japanese newspapers, you will quickly notice that many of Japan's best freestyle wrestlers of the 1930s were ethnically Korean.
For the wrestling, track the Olympics and the Far Eastern Championship Games.
Thumbnail sketch? In 1924, Japan got a bronze medal in Olympic freestyle. The winner was Naito, who wrestled for Penn State, and later became a pioneer of Kodokan judo in Brazil. In 1932, Kotani (and a Seattle Kibei named Eitaro Suzuki) were part of the Japanese team; they got blown out. Sarah Mayer's friend Hatta was one of the leaders of international freestyle in Japan; his revolutionary thought was training in wrestling, as wrestling, rather than simply as a branch of judo. After WWII, Hatta was the Japanese Olympic team's coach.
The Berlin policeman Lehmann provided training in wrestling during the late 1930s, and the San Jose State teams that Mel Bruno was on (and that Pop Moore coached) came to Japan, in part, to wrestle; the Japanese teams wanted international exposure as part of their buildup to the 1940 Olympics.
Finally, if you follow by name through the Japanese newspapers, you will quickly notice that many of Japan's best freestyle wrestlers of the 1930s were ethnically Korean.
Joseph --
Thanks! This is all super interesting to me on a number of levels. It would be great to really piece some of this together.
I knew that Riki Dōzan was Korean but I didn't realize that this was more widespread. I would love to look into that. Is your sense that they were Korean ryūgakusei (students studying in Japan)? Were they affiliated with Universities? The university I did graduate work at in Japan (Hōsei) has one of the oldest connections with Korean students and had one of the largest population of Korean ryūgakusei during this period.
Also, is there a connection with the YMCA in Korea? Ie. were the Korean wrestlers exposed earlier on in Korea than would Japanese students have been? My understanding is that the YMCA played an important role in introducing jūdō in Korea during the first decade of the 20th century but maybe the connection with wrestling is more interesting? I believe the archives are at the University of Minnesota and I had wanted to take a look at them some time.
The info you have is simply amazing. Thanks!
Jon Z
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Posted 04 November 2009 - 05:03 AM
Jon --
Japan Times on microfilm was my source for most of this. San Jose State Special Collections might be useful, too, because the SJS boxing and wrestling teams went to Japan during the late 1930s. If you physically go to San Jose State archives, also see what they have in their police science archives, as SJS began offering jujutsu-based police defensive tactics course from the inception of that program, back in the 1930s.
There should be judo pix at San Jose State. Online, see, for example, http://digitalcollec...d...BOX=1&REC=1 ; this image shows a "jiu jitsui" class at Portland Relocation Center (better known as the Portland International Livestock Exposition Center; e.g., the racetrack) in 1942. There is also a nice photo of freestyle wrestling at Santa Anita Relocation Center in 1942 -- http://digitalcollec...d...BOX=1&REC=1 and sumo at http://digitalcollec...d...BOX=1&REC=3 .
YMCA archives should be very useful for documenting the origins of Korean sport. Check Canadian YMCA archives, too, as a lot of the missionaries to Korea were Canadian. Also look at Shanghai, as that is where the socialist Koreans hung out. For a little on this, see http://ejmas.com/jcs...svinth_0801.htm . There are some errors in that article, but the moving hand, and all that.
In 1952, Ichiro Hatta was coach of the Japanese Olympic freestyle wrestling team. Some stories of Hatta, from Budokwai Quarterly Bulletin, following a visit to London. http://ejmas.com/jcs...hatta_1205.html . During the 1920s, Hatta was part of a Japanese squad that toured the USA; the team's stops included University of Washington. For a wee mention of that visit, see http://ejmas.com/jcs...vinth1_0100.htm .
For leads to archival sources that you can cite in a professional paper, try:
Ha, Nam-Gil and J.A Mangan 2002. “Ideology, Politics, Power: Korean Sport–Transformation, 1945-92,” International Journal of the History of Sport 19(2-3), June-September, 157-188, via http://www.ingentaconnect.com/, accessed October 16, 2009.
Lee, Seungsoo. 2006. “The Invention of Korean Ethnic Sport,” International Journal of Sport and Health Science 4, 125-130, via http://www.jstage.js.../4_125/_article, accessed October 16, 2009.
Ok, Gwang. 2007 “Coercion for Asian Conquest: Japanese Militarism and Korean Sport, 1938-45,” International Journal of the History of Sport 24(3), 338-356, DOI: 10.1080/09523360601101329, via http://www.ingentaconnect.com/, accessed October 15, 2009.
At University of Minnesota, Special Collections may have material of interest. There was the MI unit there during WWII, and lots of relocated Japanese Americans stayed in the Midwest after the war. (The Sansei guy in the movie Fargo is quite realistic, ya shure, ya betcha.) The role of the JACL would be particularly interesting in this regard. For instance, in 1951, a relocated Episcopalian minister named Daisuke Kitagawa publicly urged wrestling Tony Stecher to tell the Great Togo to quit portraying Japanese as sneaky and treacherous. However, in the words of Pacific Citizen (the JACL house organ) Stecher was "quite insensitive" to the request. I believe that Mas Oyama, as Mas Togo, was part of Stecher's promotion in those days.
Also look a few years earlier, again in pro rassling history. Specifically, pro wrestler Seizo Takahashi was teaching judo or jujutsu in the Duluth area around 1931. This is the same Takahashi as had been in Hawaii, BC, and Washington State in the 1920s. IMO, all jujutsu and judo teachers in the Midwest are worth tracking, if only because there were so few of them until the 1940s.
Finally, a local trivia item. Yamashita Yoshitsugu gave a demonstration in St. Paul on his way to the Other Washington on November 12, 1903. For details, see St. Paul Globe, November 13, 1903; see also Washington Times, December 3, 1903. I ran across those two articles while spending a happy afternoon on that Library of Congress web site you recommended the other day.
Joe
http://ejmas.com
Japan Times on microfilm was my source for most of this. San Jose State Special Collections might be useful, too, because the SJS boxing and wrestling teams went to Japan during the late 1930s. If you physically go to San Jose State archives, also see what they have in their police science archives, as SJS began offering jujutsu-based police defensive tactics course from the inception of that program, back in the 1930s.
There should be judo pix at San Jose State. Online, see, for example, http://digitalcollec...d...BOX=1&REC=1 ; this image shows a "jiu jitsui" class at Portland Relocation Center (better known as the Portland International Livestock Exposition Center; e.g., the racetrack) in 1942. There is also a nice photo of freestyle wrestling at Santa Anita Relocation Center in 1942 -- http://digitalcollec...d...BOX=1&REC=1 and sumo at http://digitalcollec...d...BOX=1&REC=3 .
YMCA archives should be very useful for documenting the origins of Korean sport. Check Canadian YMCA archives, too, as a lot of the missionaries to Korea were Canadian. Also look at Shanghai, as that is where the socialist Koreans hung out. For a little on this, see http://ejmas.com/jcs...svinth_0801.htm . There are some errors in that article, but the moving hand, and all that.
In 1952, Ichiro Hatta was coach of the Japanese Olympic freestyle wrestling team. Some stories of Hatta, from Budokwai Quarterly Bulletin, following a visit to London. http://ejmas.com/jcs...hatta_1205.html . During the 1920s, Hatta was part of a Japanese squad that toured the USA; the team's stops included University of Washington. For a wee mention of that visit, see http://ejmas.com/jcs...vinth1_0100.htm .
For leads to archival sources that you can cite in a professional paper, try:
Ha, Nam-Gil and J.A Mangan 2002. “Ideology, Politics, Power: Korean Sport–Transformation, 1945-92,” International Journal of the History of Sport 19(2-3), June-September, 157-188, via http://www.ingentaconnect.com/, accessed October 16, 2009.
Lee, Seungsoo. 2006. “The Invention of Korean Ethnic Sport,” International Journal of Sport and Health Science 4, 125-130, via http://www.jstage.js.../4_125/_article, accessed October 16, 2009.
Ok, Gwang. 2007 “Coercion for Asian Conquest: Japanese Militarism and Korean Sport, 1938-45,” International Journal of the History of Sport 24(3), 338-356, DOI: 10.1080/09523360601101329, via http://www.ingentaconnect.com/, accessed October 15, 2009.
At University of Minnesota, Special Collections may have material of interest. There was the MI unit there during WWII, and lots of relocated Japanese Americans stayed in the Midwest after the war. (The Sansei guy in the movie Fargo is quite realistic, ya shure, ya betcha.) The role of the JACL would be particularly interesting in this regard. For instance, in 1951, a relocated Episcopalian minister named Daisuke Kitagawa publicly urged wrestling Tony Stecher to tell the Great Togo to quit portraying Japanese as sneaky and treacherous. However, in the words of Pacific Citizen (the JACL house organ) Stecher was "quite insensitive" to the request. I believe that Mas Oyama, as Mas Togo, was part of Stecher's promotion in those days.
Also look a few years earlier, again in pro rassling history. Specifically, pro wrestler Seizo Takahashi was teaching judo or jujutsu in the Duluth area around 1931. This is the same Takahashi as had been in Hawaii, BC, and Washington State in the 1920s. IMO, all jujutsu and judo teachers in the Midwest are worth tracking, if only because there were so few of them until the 1940s.
Finally, a local trivia item. Yamashita Yoshitsugu gave a demonstration in St. Paul on his way to the Other Washington on November 12, 1903. For details, see St. Paul Globe, November 13, 1903; see also Washington Times, December 3, 1903. I ran across those two articles while spending a happy afternoon on that Library of Congress web site you recommended the other day.
Joe
http://ejmas.com
This post has been edited by Joseph Svinth: 04 November 2009 - 05:04 AM
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Posted 04 November 2009 - 05:17 AM
Jon Z, on Nov 3 2009, 06:27 AM, said:
Joseph –
Thanks. This certainly all fits with what the article by Hayama Saburō (the man who appears in the photos with Logan) says. She is indeed Mrs. Logan (as is stitched into her keikogi) and the article also mentions Mrs. Pritchett. And according to the article the trip to the US did take place in1936.
CK-sensei –
Yes, I figured this site has been around for a while. It is after all the HP of the Meiji U. judo club. But I hadn’t seen most of this stuff discussed at all on JudoForum and I thought a lot of people might find the photos interesting.
I remember you had posted at one point the photo of Mifune and Matsuda Shigeo supervising wrestling practice (the photo dates from 1934 according to the website).
wrestling.jpg
I’m not sure if this website was your source or if there is a separate source for the photo. At any rate, I actually thought the deep connections between jūdō and wrestling at Meiji U. (under the direct auspices of Mifune himself) may be the most interesting aspect of what’s contained on the website. I’m not aware of this being discussed at any length anywhere else and I don’t believe it’s well known in English (or perhaps in Japanese). What’s most interesting to me is not just that jūdōka were “cross training” in wrestling in the 1930s (under the guidance of Mifune himself) or that jūdō and jūdōka in some ways oversaw the introduction of wresting into Japanese universities but that there are a series of interesting resonances surrounding wrestling from this time which, when pieced together, could form an important part of the history of Japanese jūdō in the 1920s and 30s. Consider for example that that the Ad Santel match in Tokyo takes place in 1921. Then that the first mention story of the “discovery” of kataguruma (and its relation to wrestling) appears to date from 1927. Or that Kanō himself began to study wrestling rules around 1930 (JudoSensei has posted an image on one of the threads of a manuscript of this which if memory serves was dated 1930). Then we know that Mifune was actively involved in wrestling at Meiji U. in the early 1930s and the first captain of the Meiji U. wrestling team, Matsuda Shigeo, was himself a jūdōka trained/educated under Mifune. None of this is fringe to the history of jūdō in this period and yet no one talks about it as far as I can tell (maybe you have a chapter on this in your manuscript).
Why does this matter? I think it’s interesting from an historical point of view in and of itself. But there are more practical issues for some posters as well. “Cross training” (of various kinds) comes up a lot on the forum. Does it change the way we see this activity to see the great Mifune supervising a wrestling practice? Does it change the legitimacy of those (Joshua Resnick for example) who have argued for a closer integration of the two to bolster the inclusion of jūdō in school curricula in the US? That appears to have happened in exactly the opposite direction in Japan in the 1930s. Did it work? Is Japanese collegiate wrestling more popular/better than US jūdō? I don’t know. But I think these are legitimate questions which can only be posed when the historical material is in the public. So I don’t think it’s enough to say “it’s been out there” for a long time because I don’t think anyone has really addressed the implications of what is out there.
Jon Z
Thanks. This certainly all fits with what the article by Hayama Saburō (the man who appears in the photos with Logan) says. She is indeed Mrs. Logan (as is stitched into her keikogi) and the article also mentions Mrs. Pritchett. And according to the article the trip to the US did take place in1936.
CK-sensei –
Yes, I figured this site has been around for a while. It is after all the HP of the Meiji U. judo club. But I hadn’t seen most of this stuff discussed at all on JudoForum and I thought a lot of people might find the photos interesting.
I remember you had posted at one point the photo of Mifune and Matsuda Shigeo supervising wrestling practice (the photo dates from 1934 according to the website).
wrestling.jpgI’m not sure if this website was your source or if there is a separate source for the photo. At any rate, I actually thought the deep connections between jūdō and wrestling at Meiji U. (under the direct auspices of Mifune himself) may be the most interesting aspect of what’s contained on the website. I’m not aware of this being discussed at any length anywhere else and I don’t believe it’s well known in English (or perhaps in Japanese). What’s most interesting to me is not just that jūdōka were “cross training” in wrestling in the 1930s (under the guidance of Mifune himself) or that jūdō and jūdōka in some ways oversaw the introduction of wresting into Japanese universities but that there are a series of interesting resonances surrounding wrestling from this time which, when pieced together, could form an important part of the history of Japanese jūdō in the 1920s and 30s. Consider for example that that the Ad Santel match in Tokyo takes place in 1921. Then that the first mention story of the “discovery” of kataguruma (and its relation to wrestling) appears to date from 1927. Or that Kanō himself began to study wrestling rules around 1930 (JudoSensei has posted an image on one of the threads of a manuscript of this which if memory serves was dated 1930). Then we know that Mifune was actively involved in wrestling at Meiji U. in the early 1930s and the first captain of the Meiji U. wrestling team, Matsuda Shigeo, was himself a jūdōka trained/educated under Mifune. None of this is fringe to the history of jūdō in this period and yet no one talks about it as far as I can tell (maybe you have a chapter on this in your manuscript).
Why does this matter? I think it’s interesting from an historical point of view in and of itself. But there are more practical issues for some posters as well. “Cross training” (of various kinds) comes up a lot on the forum. Does it change the way we see this activity to see the great Mifune supervising a wrestling practice? Does it change the legitimacy of those (Joshua Resnick for example) who have argued for a closer integration of the two to bolster the inclusion of jūdō in school curricula in the US? That appears to have happened in exactly the opposite direction in Japan in the 1930s. Did it work? Is Japanese collegiate wrestling more popular/better than US jūdō? I don’t know. But I think these are legitimate questions which can only be posed when the historical material is in the public. So I don’t think it’s enough to say “it’s been out there” for a long time because I don’t think anyone has really addressed the implications of what is out there.
Jon Z
It's not uncommon for Iizumi sensei a student of Mifune to demonstrate no gi throws.
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