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Judo's Decisive Battle
The Great Tournament Between Kodokan Judo's Four Heavenly
Lords and the Jujutsu Masters
by Wayne Muromoto
Saigo Shiro sits confidently in this photograph taken when he was a young man. (Photo courtesy of Charles K. Harada.)
Kodokan judo's future was on the line. It was a do or die test of the viability of this new martial system.
Everyone in Tokyo talked about the upcoming match between the upstart judoka and the most feared jujutsu masters of the Meiji era. Only 15 years after the beginning of Meiji and Japan's turn towards Westernization, Japan's martial arts world was at a crossroads.
On one hand was Kodokan judo, the creation of Kano Jigoro, a professional educator. Kano had synthesized what he thought was the best of the ancient jujutsu systems, blending it with Western wrestling and progressive concepts of physical education and spiritual training. Kano, a teacher from the upper ranks of society, decried the decay of many jujutsu schools in the booming city of Tokyo and attempted to salvage the ancient wisdom of Japanese martial arts by grafting it onto a scientific and progressive training system. Gone was the cruel, often sadistic treatment of beginners that Kano hated in some martial arts schools. In its place was a logical, systematic framework of training geared for the mental, physical and spiritual betterment of the individual. Kano investigated every technique from a pragmatic point of view, discarding the inefficient or dangerous, improving and improvising based on his extensive knowledge of Japanese and foreign wrestling methods. For his efforts, Kano attracted national attention and veneration. He was pegged as the typical future-thinking Meiji man.
On the other hand were the jujutsu schools that distrusted Kano's new direction. They denigrated Kano's school as being unrealistic and unproven in a real fight. In addition, they thought that Kodokan judo smacked too much of the "modern" and the foreign.
Those challenges came and were met almost daily at Kano's dojo in the Kojimachi, Fujimicho section of Tokyo. By Meiji 15 (1883), Kano had removed himself from active matches with those who showed up at the Fujimicho dojo to test judo's skills. He left the chore of wiping the tatami mats up with the challengers to his disciples, who had grown in numbers.
Kano, in his own memoirs, wrote, "It seemed that the Kodokan had to take on the whole of Japan, and had to have a spirit of being ready for anything." (1)
Such adversity, nonetheless, bred tough and superlative Kodokan judo stalwarts, masters of randori ("free training"). Among the greatest students in Kano's school were four braves, who became known as the Shitenno, the "Four Heavenly Lords" of early judo. Their names rang out proudly through the land:
Tomita Tsunejiro, Yokoyama Sakujiro, Yamashita Yoshikazu. . .
And the fearsome little scrapper from northern Aizu province, Saigo Shiro.
These four battle lords carried the banner of the Kodokan far and wide, and they become revered not only as great judoka but also as upright and straightforward men, the ideal of what Kano was striving towards with his sayings:
Seiryoku zen'yo (maximum efficiency) and jita kyoei (mutual benefit).
Kano believed that judo could be used as part of the education of a new Meiji man, a person who would contribute positively to the nation and the world. But all that high-minded philosophy would be moot if judo couldn't stand on its own against the jujutsu schools gunning for its head. Would Kano's new judo be a match for the best of the jujutsu schools?
That test came in 1883. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Station had attracted teachers from many diverse jujutsu schools and also from judo. They were invited to tutor the police force. The police headquarters sponsored an epic tournament, pitting Kodokan judo against its best jujutsu masters, and by the day of the contest, it had boiled down to a duel of giants; the Totsuka-ha Yoshin-ryu jujutsu masters against Kodokan judoka. If judo lost, then its failure would resound across the land and would have most likely spelled the death of its infant growth.
Kano knew the implications of the tournament full well. He decided to pit 15 of his best students against the students of Totsuka Eimi. The Totsuka faction was augmented by a sprinkling of four-to-five jujutsu masters from other schools, but all eyes were on the ten or so matches between Totsuka and Kodokan. It was, on the surface, an intense rivalry between the old and the new, the 'traditional" and "scientific." In actuality, Kano drew his techniques from a variety of sources, including jujutsu and Western wrestling, and wanted to turn jujutsu from an art of fighting to that of physical, mental and spiritual self-discipline. It was a change more in philosophy than technique.
Kano himself wrote that he was uncertain as to what the results would be.
"Totsuka Hikosuke was considered the strongest jujutsuka of the Bakumatsu Period (end of the shogunate). After Hikosuke, (his son) Eimi carried the name of the school, and he trained many outstanding jujutsuka. . . In truth, Totsuka's side had powerful fighters and were no blowhards. . . When you mentioned the name Totsuka, you meant the greatest jujutsu masters of that era. My own Tenshin Shinyo-ryu and Kito-ryu (jujutsu) teachers were sorely pressed when they went up against Totsuka jujutsu masters at the shogunate's Komusho dojo. . ." (2)
According to the Bugei Ryuha Daijiten (p. 642), Totsuka Hikosuke Eishun was the first son of Totsuka Hikouemon Isshinsai. At the age of 25, he inherited the Totsuka-ha (Totsuka branch) of the Yoshin-ryu from his father. He was martial arts instructor to the Numazu fief's Mizuno clan. Later, he taught at the shogunate's Komusho training hall and opened his own dojo at Atagosan. At the fall of the shogunate, his son Hikosuke moved to Chiba prefecture. Hikosuke carried on the traidition until he died in Meiji 19 (1887), at the age of 74. Hikosuke's son was Totsuka Eimi.
The lineage of the Totsuka-ha Yoshin-ryu reads thus: Miura Yoshin-Abe Kanya-Egami Shima No Suke Taketate (Egami-ryu)-Totsuka Eicho Hikouemon Isshinsai (Totsuka-ha Yoshin-ryu)-Totsuka Hikosuke Eishun-Totsuka Hikokuro Eimi-Ukiji Entaro.
How would Kano's top students fare against the fearsome jujutsuka of Totsuka Eimi?
Kano sensei reviewed the list of contestants and shook his head. His students were good. His Shitenno were exceptional. But he was going up against the most feared jujutsuka in the whole of Japan. He had to prove that his maxims of mutual help and maximum efficiency were more than just mere words. The spirit and morals of judo had to be proven in a contest of strength.
The Great Contest
"Let the matches begin!" declared the referee. The red and white curtains flapped slightly that spring day on June 11, 1886, at the Shiba Park's Yayoi shrine, where the contest was held.
Kano's trepidation proved ungrounded. The Kodokan won a resounding victory, losing only two matches and drawing one out of the scheduled 15. But what matches they must have been!
The duels were probably closer to the original intent of the word shiai, which now means "match" or tournament, but once referred to shi-ni-ai; to symbolically meet death itself. There were no yuuko or koka (half or quarter points). You scored with a full ippon point; throws, chokes, holds or arm locks that would, in an actual situation, completely overwhelm your opponent. And the time limit was up to the judge. You usually went until someone dropped from sheer exhaustion or the judge ended it, awarding the match to the clear victor. Truly, it was shi-ni-ai.
The judo masters indeed proved their mettle. But if there had been any banter or partisan cheering, it must have stopped when the last set of matches began. A hushed silence ensued.
Tomita Sakujiro won his match, as did Yamashita Yoshikazu.
Yokoyama Sakujiro, however, met Nakamura Hansuke in an epic duel that tested both contestants' mettles. Hansuke was a master of the Ryoi Shintoh-ryu. He was a strapping 176 cm. tall and 94 kg. in weight. Hansuke was called the toughest man in Japan at the time and-it was said-he could hang by his neck from a tree without feeling any pain.
The two fought tooth and nail, using every technique they knew. Against the man-mountain, Yokoyama strained every ounce of his body. The match lasted for 55 minutes, with no quarter given or taken, until the judges finally ended it and called a draw.
Yokoyama bowed to his worthy adversary, then walked off the mat. It had been the match of a lifetime, but his heart sank. He knew, deep down, that a draw was tantamount to losing in the eyes of the jujutsu old-timers. Even though Kodokan judo had won the majority of the matches, Saigo had to decisively beat his opponent in order to hammer down any remaining doubts of the assembled audience.
"The last match!" the referee announced, as if no one knew it was the climactic bout. "Kodokan judo's Saigo Shiro meets Totsuka-ha Yoshin-ryu's Ukiji Entaro!"
If Nakamura Hansuke was a giant compared to other Japanese of his day, Ukiji Entaro, who ultimately inherited the Yoshin-ryu mantle, was a behemoth, especially compared to the diminuitive Saigo. A murmur ran through the audience. Was this a mismatch? In spite of Saigo's vaunted technique and speed, what chance would he have against such a mass of sheer muscle and bulk?
The records of the duel are hazy and incomplete, but if we piece together the various documents and consider that the novel Sanshiro Sugata was fashioned after the factual accounts of Saigo's life and matches, then perhaps we can recreate the final, decisive match.
For some reason, Shiro appeared lethargic in the beginning of the match. Entaro managed to get a firm grip on Shiro's judogi and quickly flung him through the air. The crowd held its collective breath, waiting for the sickening thud of Shiro's back against the nether reaches of the tatami. -- A thud that never came. Saigo completed a somersault in mid-air and landed on his forearm and knees.
"Wha. . . !" The crowd gasped.
Ukiji strode over to finish the job, but suddenly his arm and collar was grasped in a vise-like grip by Shiro, whose demeanor had changed. Fire blazed in Shiro's eyes, perhaps a fire fanned all the way from distant Aizu; a fire first sparked by his foster father, Saigo Tanomo Chikanori (some books call him Chikamasa), a former elder clan advisor to the Aizu Matsudaira clan. After the wars that marked the end of the shogunate, the elder Saigo became a Shinto priest, passing on the remnants of the proud clan's fighting tradition to Takeda Sokaku-who went on to spread the oshikiuchi grappling method as Daito-ryu aikibudo-and to his adopted son, Saigo (formerly Shida) Shiro. In the tradition of yoshi, Shiro married Tanomo's daughter but took the Saigo name, to carry on the lineage.
When Saigo moved to Tokyo to further his schooling at the Seijo Gakko, he joined the Tenshin Shinyo-ryu school of jujutsu. There, he attracted the attention of another student of the school, Kano Jigoro, who recruited him to become an assistant instructor at his new judo dojo.
What really inspired Saigo? Was it his never-say-die fighting spirit? Was it the fact that he represented Kodokan judo? Or did the old pride as a member of the Aizu swell his chest?
Whatever it was that burned in his heart, it brought Saigo's courage to the forefront.
A photograph of the jujutsu masters connected with the Metropolitan Police training staff, taken circa 1889.
Saigo Shiro disbalanced Ukiji and spun him in a small circle, the center of which was Saigo's own seika tanden, or lower center of gravity.
"It's his yama arashi (mountain storm)!" the crowd gasped. Indeed, this technique, which probably had its roots in the oshikiuchi of Saigo Tanomo, was unique to Saigo Shiro. No one since his time has ever been able to replicate this throw. Yama arashi was Saigo Shiro's signature method. It was unique to him, and it died with him. Some say that it looked like a variation of the hane-goshi hip throw, but no one truly knows to this day how Saigo's yama arashi was accomplished.
On that day, Saigo's yama arashi moved a mountain. The gargantuan Ukiji Entaro was suddenly flipped head over heels, landing with a crash on his back!
Dazed, Entaro rose up, hurt, confused and angered.
"No one gets up after yama arashi that fast!" Yokoyama Sakujiro whispered. "Entaro's a tough one!"
"Watch out, Saigo-san, watch out!" Yamashita Yoshikazu hissed.
Before Entaro could regain his bearings, Saigo bore into him. He leaned into Entaro, perhaps executing another devastating throw, like an osoto-gari (large outer reaping sweep), and slammed him again to the tatami. The impact was felt throughout the crowd.
Entaro didn't rise up this time. He shook his head, trying to shake away the stars that danced in front of his eyes. The judge halted the match. Saigo had won the greatest victory of the youthful Kodokan judo.
The Aftermath
The glory days of the early Kodokan slowly faded as the generation of the Shitenno aged and judo mellowed like fine wine. No longer the upstart whelp, judo matured to become the preeminent Japanese martial art and sport. Kano Jigoro, ever the eclectic student of budo, became respected by other martial arts masters for his temperament and magnanimity. In turn, Kano used his high social position to help other martial artists, including jujutsu practitioners, preserve and develop their martial arts systems.
While the tournament brought on the desired result of securing judo's future, an incident occurred some time hence that touched Kano's heart.
Kano journeyed to Chiba prefecture to demonstrate judo teaching methods with some of his students, including Nishimura Teisuke, at the Chiba prefectural office. Saigo Shiro was engaged in randori when Totsuka Eimi walked up to Kano. By that time, Eimi had become the jujutsu instructor to the prefecture's police force. Kano and Eimi greeted each other respectfully, as former opponents and now hoary old wise men.
Eimi paused in his conversation with Kano, to watch Saigo. Perhaps recalling the epic match against his own student, Ukiji Entaro, Eimi said to Kano, "That (Saigo) is a man of greatness, I think."
"When I heard those words," Kano wrote, "I was very elated. . . When I heard Totsuka (Eimi) say that about Saigo, I couldn't believe my ears. Certainly others never spoke about this incident, but I treasure those words as one of my greatest memories." (3)
Saigo had conquered not just his opponent that day of the tournament. By his fighting spirit, his nobility and his humbleness, he had conquered and won over even his adversary's master, Totsuka Eimi.
In the years that followed, judo blossomed, and the Shitenno passed the mantle of greatness on to succeeding generations of judoka. Yokoyama Sakujiro lived to train the great 10th dan master Mifune Kyuzo, dying in Taisho Gannen (1912) at the age of 50. Yamashita Yoshikazu became the Kodokan's first 10th dan. He passed away in 1936, at the age of 71. Tomita Tsunejiro lived to the age of 73, dying in 1938. His son Tsuneo was the author of the novel Sugata Sanshiro, which was based on the life of Saigo Shiro. The novel was later turned into a movie by a novice film director, Kurosawa Akira. (4)
Four years after the epic match, Saigo Shiro left the Kodokan for reasons still yet unknown, and lived the rest of his life in Nagasaki, Kyushu, in southern Japan. In 1899, he rose to become vice-president of the Hinoda Newspaper Company, and immersed himself into a study of kyujutsu (the art of the bow), attaining a hanshi rank (master teacher). (5) Saigo died in Taisho 11 (1923), at the age of 57.
It is said that Kano never again nurtured the equal of those four students, the Four Heavenly Lords of judo. In Showa 5 (1931), Kano observed a demonstration of Ueshiba Morihei's new art, which was called aikido. Ueshiba derived his art in great part from the Daito-ryu taught to him by Takeda Sokaku, a student of Saigo Tanomo. Perhaps it reminded Kano of the masterful techniques of Saigo Shiro, Tanomo's adopted son. Kano exclaimed, "This (aikido) is my concept of what judo should be!"
After his Shitenno passed on, Kano Jigoro himself shuffled off this mortal coil in 1939, at the age of 79, a man who had lived through the Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras. He had seen his judo rise to become considered a world-class sport worthy of being included in the Olympics. (World War II interrupted that dream, which was not to be fulfilled until the Tokyo Olympics of 1964.) But perhaps, what Kano carried in his heart of hearts to his last days were the honorable words of Totsuka Eimi, spoken from one great warrior to another. -And the vision of his Shitenno, fighting not for themselves but for the glory of Kodokan judo and the ideals that Kano had espoused.
References:(1) P. 63, Kano Jigoro Chosakushu, by Kano Jigoro, Gogatsu Shobo, Tokyo, Japan. 1984.
(2) P. 64. Ibid.
(3) P. 65. Ibid.
(4) P. 333. Nihondensho Bugei Ryuha Dokuhon, Betsuron Rekishi Dokuhon #36. Shinjin Oraisha publishers, Tokyo, Japan. 1994.
(5) P. 240. Modern Bujutsu and Budo, by Donn F. Draeger. John Weatherhill, Inc. New York and Tokyo, Japan. 1974.
Other reference:
Bugei Ryuha Daijiten, by Watatani Kiyoshi and Yamada Tadashi, Tokyo Koppi Shuppanbu, Sarugakucho 2-1-16, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 101. 1979 edition.
