Kanō Jigorō: Google slideshow Doodle celebrates Japanese ‘Father of Judo’ and Martial artist’s 161st birthday

Google slideshow Doodle celebrates the 161st birthday of Japanese Martial artist, educator, athlete, and the founder of Judo ‘Kanō Jigorō’ (嘉納治五郎), on October 28, 2021.

Who was Kanō Jigorō (嘉納治五郎)?

Kanō Jigorō (嘉納 治五郎) was born to a sake-brewing family in the town of Mikage, Japan (presently within Higashinada-ku, Kobe) on 10 December 1860 (the 28th day of the 10th month of the Man’en era, hence prompting his birthday being celebrated on October 28th).

Kanō Jigorō’s mother died when the he was nine years of age, and his father moved the family to Tokyo. The youthful Kanō was joined up with private schools, and had his own English language tutor. In 1874 he was sent to a private school run by Europeans to further develop his English and German language abilities.

At the point when Kanō went to the Tokyo Imperial University in 1877, he began searching for jūjutsu teachers. He initially searched for bonesetters, called seifukushi.

To develop strength, Kanō Jigorō became determined to study on the martial art of Jujutsu. During his time as a student at Tokyo University, he at long last discovered somebody who might teach him—Jujutsu master and former samurai Fukuda Hachinosuke.

During the mid 1880s, there was no reasonable separation between the jūjutsu that Kanō was teaching and the jūjutsu that his teachers had taught previously.

To name his system, Kanō Jigorō resuscitated a term that Terada Kan’emon, the fifth headmaster of the Kitō-ryū, had adopted when he established his own style, the Jikishin-ryū: “jūdō”. The name joined the characters jū (柔), signifying “pliancy”, and dō, which is literally “The Way”, yet metaphorically signifying ‘method.’

Kanō Jigorō’s initial work was impacted by different strategies and organizations. Nonetheless, after judo was brought into the Japanese public schools, a process that occurred somewhere in the range of 1906 and 1917, there was expanding standardization of kata and competition strategy.

Kanō Jigorō (嘉納 治五郎) additionally administered the growth and development of his judo association, the Kodokan Judo Institute. This was an exceptional effort in itself, as the Kodokan’s enlistment developed from less than a dozen students in 1882 to in excess of a thousand dan-graded members by 1911.

In spite of the fact that Kanō promoted judo at whatever point he could, he earned his living as an educator.

Kanō Jigorō (嘉納 治五郎) entered Tokyo Imperial University during June 1877. He studied political science and economics, which around then were instructed by the Department of Esthetics and Morals. He graduated in July 1882, and the next month he started work as a professor, fourth class, at the Gakushuin, or Peers School, in Tokyo.

In 1883, Kanō Jigorō was delegated educator of economics at Komaba Agricultural College (presently the Faculty of Agriculture at University of Tokyo), however during April 1885, he got back to Gakushuin, with the position of principal.

In January 1891, Kanō was delegated to a position at the Ministry of Education. In August 1891, he surrendered this position to become a dean at the Fifth Higher Normal School (present-day Kumamoto University).

Throughout the mid year of 1892, Kanō Jigorō went to Shanghai to assist with setting up a program that would permit Chinese students to study in Japan. Kanō returned to Shanghai during 1905, 1915, and 1921.

In January 1898, Kanō Jigorō was designated director of primary education at the Ministry of Education, and in August 1899, he got an award that permitted him to study in Europe. His ship left Yokohama on 13 September 1899, and he arrived in Marseilles on 15 October.

Kanō Jigorō spent about a year in Europe, and during this trip, he visited Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, and London. He got back to Japan in 1901.

Kanō Jigorō (嘉納治五郎) became active in the work of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1909.

Soon getting back to Japan, Kanō Jigorō continued his post as president of Tokyo Higher Normal School, and he stayed in this position until his retirement on 16 January 1920.

Kanō Jigorō (嘉納治五郎) additionally founded Nada Middle High School in 1928 at Kobe, which later became one of highest-ranked private high schools in Japan.

Kanō Jigorō’s educational philosophy was a mixture of both traditional Japanese neo-Confucianism and contemporary European and American philosophies, to incorporate Instrumentalism, Utilitarianism, and “evolutionary progressivism”, as Social Darwinism was then known.

Toward satisfying his duties as a member, in 1912, Kanō set up the Japan Amateur Athletic Association (Dai Nippon Tai-iku Kyokai), which had the mission of regulating amateur sport in Japan.

Kanō Jigorō (嘉納治五郎) was the official representative of Japan to the Olympics in Stockholm in 1912, and he was engaged with organizing the Far Eastern Championship Games held in Osaka during May 1917. In 1920, Kanō represented Japan at the Antwerp Olympics, and during the mid 1920s, he served on the Japanese Council of Physical Education.

From 1931 to 1938, Kanō Jigorō was likewise one of the leading international spokesmen in Japan’s bid for the 1940 Olympics.

In May 1938, Kanō Jigorō died at sea, during a journey yet Judo didn’t pass on with Kanō. Instead, during the 1950s, judo clubs jumped up all through the world, and in 1964, judo was presented as an Olympic game in the Tokyo Olympics, and was once again introduced at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Kanō’s after death notoriety was in this manner guaranteed.

Kanō Jigorō (嘉納治五郎) played a key role in making judo and kendo part of the Japanese public school programs of the 1910s.Kanō was additionally a pioneer of international sports.

Judo was the first Japanese martial art to acquire far and wide worldwide international recognition, and the first to become an official Olympic game. Pedagogical innovations attributed to Kanō Jigorō incorporate the use of black and white belts, and the acquaintance of dan ranking with show the overall ranking among members of a martial art style.

Notable mottoes ascribed to Kanō Jigorō incorporate “maximum efficiency with minimum effort” (精力善用 seiryoku zen’yō) and “mutual welfare and benefit” (自他共栄 jita kyōei).

Achievements included being the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (he served from 1909 until 1938); authoritatively representating Japan at most Olympic Games held somewhere in the range of 1912 and 1936; and serving as a first representative for Japan’s offered for the 1940 Olympic Games.

Kanō Jigorō’s official honors and achievements incorporated the First Order of Merit and Grand Order of the Rising Sun and the Third Imperial Degree. Kanō was believed as the first member of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Hall of Fame on 14 May 1999.

Kanō Jigorō (嘉納治五郎) became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1909, and in 1960, the IOC supported Judo as an official Olympic sport.

On October 28, 2021, Google featured a slideshow Doodle on its homepage for celebrating Kanō Jigorō’s 161st Birthday. Slideshow Google Doodle, represented by Los Angeles, CA-based artist Cynthia Cheng, celebrates Japan’s “Father of Judo,” Professor Kanō Jigorō, on his 161st birthday.