Jigoro Kano

Kano Jigoro was the founder of judo.

Kano Jigoro (嘉納 治五郎 Kanō Jigorō, 28 October 1860–4 May 1938) is the founder of the Japanese martial art of judo.

Kano Jigoro was born to a sake brewing family in Mikage, Japan (near Kobe). After entering Tokyo Imperial University, he learned both Kito-ryū and Tenjin Shin'yo-ryū jujutsu, two styles focused on different aspects of traditional (koryū) fighting techniques.

About 1882, Kano established the martial art school that would, by 1886, be known as the Kodokan dojo. (The name means "the place for the study or promotion of the Way".) Over time, Kano was able to introduce his methods into the Japanese school system. His roles in Japan as an educator, promoter of amateur sport, and pioneer of modern sports are almost as famous as his founding of judo.

Kano was also a member of the the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for Japan, and throughout the 1930s, he promoted Japan's bid for the1940 Olympic Games. He hoped that international participation in these games would bring countries together and avoid war. In 1938, returning from an IOC conference, Kano died of pneumonia aboard the motorship Hikawa Maru. There was no 1940 Olympics, and Japan did not participate in the 1948 Olympics. However, in 1964, Japan finally hosted the Olympics, and in part due to the efforts of Kano's son Risei, judo was one of the demonstration sports at the 1964 Games.