Christopher M. Clarke

'Budo Meijin' tells the stories of three fascinating and important, but less-well-known masters of Japanese martial arts. Between them, they span the late 19th to the end of the 20th centuries. Yoshida Kotaro (1883-1966) first learned martial arts from various dispossessed samurai after the Meiji Restoration. He went on to study under the famous Takeda Sokaku (1859-1943) and introduced Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of Aikido, to Takeda, who became Ueshiba's main teacher. Yoshida likely would be completely unknown if not for the seemingly inflated stories told of him by the late Richard Kim. This book attempts to get at the facts behind the legend. The second 'martial genius' covering in 'Budo Meijin' is Konishi Yasuhiro (1893-1983), a master of jujutsu and kendo and a student of Funakoshi Gichin, Motobu Choki, Mabuni Kenwa, Ueshiba Morihei, and other great masters. It was Konishi who brought karate into the Japanese mainstream and arranged for official recognition of his teachers and many other karate masters. Mochizuki Minoru (1907-2003) was almost certainly the last student of modern Japan's 'big three' founders of empty-hand martial arts: Funakoshi, Kano Jigoro (founder of Judo), and Ueshiba (founder of Aikido). Mochizuki was one of a handful of people promoted to 10th dan in Aikido. He also held very high ranks in kendo, kenjutsu, judo, jujutsu, and Japanese kobudo and was the founder of his own 'sogo budo' (comprehensive martial arts system), 'Yoseikan Aikijujutsu.' Mochizuki is not as well known as he should be, partially because his school was not in the Tokyo area and because he focused his overseas attention on Europe. These three were true martial arts geniuses ('budo meijin') whose like will not be seen again. Read about their fascinating lives and activities in this heavily illustrated and extensively documented book, which also contains numerous text boxes of fascinating information relating to their lives and times.

Contents

Foreword
1 Yoshida Kotaro (1883-1966)
Background
Career intersects with learning
Tokeda Sokaku-Takeda Sokaku's Kyoju Dairi
Yoshida on his own
Yoshida's students
Yoshda's final years
Legends about Yoshida Kotaro
Notes on Yoshida Kotaro
2 Konishi Yasuhiro (1893-1983)
Background
Takenouchi-ryu jujutsu
Off to college
A fateful meeting
Funakoshi's karate
Beyond Funakoshi's karate-Developing Funakoshi's karate' training with Motobu; Studying with Mabuni; Working with Miyagi; Learning from Ueshiba
Konishi heavily criticized
Bringing karate into the mainstream
Recognizing his benefactors
Konishi during and after World War II
Konishi Yasuhiro: An assessment
Notes on Konishi Yasuhiro
3 Mochizuki Minoru (1907-2003)
Background
Jujutsu and judo-Toku Sambo
Entering the Kodokan
Kodokan dissent
Kano and Mochizuki
Kano's outreach and the Kobudo Kenkyukai
Mochizuki takes up aikido-Meeting the odd old Daito-ryu master, Takeda Sokaku; An odd offer
His own dojo-Aikibujutsu mokuroku
Mysterious years in Mongolia-Involvement in right-wing acivities?; Mochizuki Minoru's family; Continuing to learn and train
Returning home
Visiting France-Testing is art
Philosophical maturation-Coming full circle; Developing Yoseikan Aikido
Bulding Yoseikan in Europe-Jean 'Jim' Alcheik
Final years
Assesssment of Mochizuki Minoru-Mochizuki's ranks; Budo Meijin
Kokusai Budioin (International Martial Arts Federation)
Notes on Mochizuki Minoru… (altro)

'Monks, Madmen, and Martial Masters' is the third set of stories by Christopher M. Clarke aimed at martial artists, history buffs, and those just interested in reading good tales involving courage, honor, strategy, resourcefulness, and the sometimes brutal reality of warfare in the long history of the warrior cultures of East Asia. These include tales of courage in the face of death and tales of treachery; stories of honor and stories of greed; accounts of chivalry and accounts of brutality among warriors; stories of heroic women from ancient times until the present day; tales of kings and the tale of a wastrel who became the most famous martial arts master of his day; the tale of the Mad Monk of medieval Japan and story of the Japanese 'Little John.' In addition to the book's beautiful full-color front and back cover, 'Monks, Madmen, and Martial Masters' is packed with hard-to-find illustrations that relate directly to the stories. A must-read for those interested in martial arts or Asian history.

Another great collection of stories. This particular volume tells the colorful, but not so honest side of some of the ancestors of martial arts. The illustrations are excellent in this book.

Contents

Introduction
Courage in the face of death-A failed plot; An unexpected turn of fate
Treachery-'If only...'; A father's pity; Hunter and hunted
Honor before greed
Brutes
Two roads to the throne-The supreme ancestor; The reluctant emperor; Zhao Zuangyin and the martial arts
Have a cup of tea!-Bun and Bu; Zanshin; A turnaround
More women warriors-Strong women; The age of war; The age of peace
War of national liberation
Indomitable will-'Treated like a dog'; :Waring brocade to go home'; 'Three trails of bubbles'; Armed with enlightenment; Off with his head!
Warrior monks-the mnks of Mount Hiei; Japan's 'Little John'; Heaven's gift, heaven's censure
A tale of two princes-A prince saved; A prince lost
Coming of age
Taiji's prodigal son-Yang and Taiji weapons; Yang Chengfu's '10 points'
Notes and acknowledgments… (altro)

Being the story of how a young school teacher helped spark the rescue of Japan's ancient martial arts from the brink of oblivion, built Japan's Olympic movement, and became a driving force behind modern education in Japan.

'Saving Japan's Martial Arts' is the story of how a young school teacher helped spark a martial arts revolution in Japan, rescue Japan’s ancient martial arts from the brink of oblivion, built Japan’s Olympic Movement, and became a driving force behind modern education in Japan. It is the only comprehensive biography in English of the remarkable Jigoro Kano (1860-1938), founder of Kodokan Judo. 'Saving Japan's Martial Arts' also contains biographical sketches of more than a dozen top Judo students including Maeda Mitsyo, who taught Judo and Jujutsu to the Gracies in Brazil; Yamashita Yoshiaki, who taught President Theodore Roosevelt Judo in the White House; Shoriki Matsutaro, Judo master, founder of the Yomiuri media empire, creator of professional baseball in Japan, and Japan's first nuclear energy commissioner; and many others. 'Saving Japan's Martial Arts' contains a detailed history of the bloody end of the Tokugawa shogunate, including the political struggles, assassinations and duels, and battles portrayed in the blockbuster 2003 Tom Cruise movie, 'The Last Samurai.' 'Saving Japan's Martial Arts' is chock-full of rare, vintage pictures and descriptions of the training and masters of the ancient Japanese martial arts. It should be required reading for anyone interested in the development of the Asian martial arts and for those who want to understand how those arts survived one of the most tumultuous centuries in Japanese history, a century that saw Japan emerge from an isolated and backward feudal autocracy to a modernized, industrialized major power.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, Saving Japan's Martial Arts which is a biography of Judo founder Jigoro Kano. With so little written about Sensei Kano's life this book offers a wealth of information. Beginning with a section detailing Japan's political struggles from the time of Commodore Perry's emergence in Tokyo Bay , through the time of Sensei Kano's birth, the meat of the book brings to light the indefatigable life of Mr. Kano, his indomitable spirit and passion, as he raised Japan's martial arts from near extinction and his untiring work to bring the Olympics to Japan. Also contained within the pages are short 'interludes' giving the reader a snapshot of many of Kano's top students including his last remaining direct student, Fukuda Keiko. The book is a wealth of information packed into 281 easily read pages and a must have for the shelf of any interested martial artist and Judoka hungry for information of their favorite masters.-Michael Pepe

I been studying the martial arts for thirty one years and I have always been fascinated not only with the physical techniques of the arts but with their history as well. I know quite a bit about the history of most martial arts but judo was one that I never really bothered to research extensively. I new the basic history and origin of the art but always wanted a more thorough understanding of how it came about. This book educated me very nicely. If you wish to know the who, what, when where and why of the art of judo and get to know the founder of the art then look no further. This book is for you. 'Saving Japan's Martial Arts' is an excellent book that gives detailed information on the history and very nature of judo. Why its different from its parent art of jujutsu, how Jigoro Kano developed the art and his long journey in establishing the art across the world. I absolutely loved this book. If you're interested in judo or its founder then this book will make an excellent addition to your library. Happy reading.-T. Freeland

Highly Recommended
Well illustrated and with copious annotations throughout, this 281-page book gives much biographical information on Jigoro Kano. Unlike others, it portrays in some detail the political, social and economic environment that influenced the course of Kano’s life. Other chapters are devoted to the effect of the Meiji Restoration on martial arts, Kano’s role in assisting Kendo, Jodo and Karatedo, and the battle that put judo on the map, together with biological aspects of Kano’s famous students. Furthermore, Clarke, a well-known scholar of martial arts, explains Kano’s impact on Olympic sports and on his efforts to modernize Japanese education. This fascinating and informative book will appeal to all those who wish for an understanding of how Japan’s martial arts have developed since the 19th century.-Brian N. Watson

Contents

Preface
Introdiuction
Chapter 1-Japan during Kan's lifetime
A. The Bakumatsu
Two opposing schools
Violence-Attack on the British Legation, 1861; Burning of the American Legation, 1863
The West strikes back
Internal rebellions
Organized violence
The last samurai
B. The Meiji reforms
C. Taisho democracy-The great Kanto earthquake of 1923
D. The Early Showa Period
E. Notes to Chapter 1
Chapter 2-The impact of the Meiji Restoration on Japan's martial arts
Notes to Chapter 2
Chapter 3-Kano's early years
A. Off to school-Young Jigoro Kano
B. Taking up jujutsu
Tenjin Shinyo-ryu-Tenjin Shinyo jujutsu
Tenjin shinyo jujutsu lineage
Fukuda Keiko (b. 1913)
C. Moving on to Kito-ryu
D. Starting his own dojo
Kito-ryu jujutsu
A story from Kito-ryu jujutsu history
The origins of the word 'judo'
E. Notes to Chapter 3
Chapter 4-Kano builds a base for the future
Kano's next step
Notes to Chapter 4
Chapter 5-The battle that put judo on the map
The Great Contest of 1886
Notes to Chapter 5
Interlude One-Judo greats of the Kodokan's early years
Tomita Tsunejiro (1865-1937)
Saigo Shiro (1866-1922)
Yamashita Yoshitsugu (Yoshiaki) (1865-1935)
Yokoyama Sakujiro (1864-1935)
Maeda Mitsuyo (1878-1941)
Notes to interlude one
Chapter 6-Kano builds for the future
Growing responsibilities
Educating Chinese
Continuing to develop judo
Notes to Chapter 6
Chapter 7-Kano, the indispensible man
The Butokukai-Bringing together Japan's martial arts
Judo: Still under construction
The apotheosis of judo
The Butokukai Committee of jujutsu masters, 1906
Kan's role in assisting kendo, spreading jodo, and introducing karatedo
Next step: Into the schools
Kano, the father of Japan's amateur and olympic sports movement
The Imperial rescript on education, 1890
Kano's true Olympic goal
Notes on Cahtper 7
Interlude Two-Judo greats of the Early 20th century
Yuasa Takejiro (1871-1905)
Hirose Takeo (1868-1904)
Mifune Kyuzo (1883-1965)
Shoriki Matsutaro (1885-1969)
Inokuma Isao (1938-2001)
Notes to interlude two
Chapter 8-Kano and consolidation of the Kodokan
Chapter 9-Kan's final years
Accounts of Jigoro Kano's last days
Notes to Chapter 9
Conclusion-Kano's Legacy… (altro)