Seattle Dojo

On October 17, 1903, a Kodokan leader named Yoshitsugu Yamashita gave demonstrations of judo at the Seattle Theatre.

[1] This success inspired Seattle's Japanese immigrant community to organize its own judo dojo.

[4] Later, Itaro Kono joined the Royal Mikado Troupe, a traveling performance act with the Barnum & Bailey Circus that demonstrated Japanese martial arts to American audiences across the country.

Kono died of cancer in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the present-day home of the Little League World Series, on August 29, 1914, at the age of 34.

He was buried in an unmarked grave in the 'Poor Ground' section of Wildwood Cemetery in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on September 4, 1914.

The 1937 contest was held at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce's hall, because Nippon Kan wasn't big enough.

Men involved in reopening Seattle Dojo after World War II included Toru Araki, Akira "Poison" Kato, Hiromu "Kelly" Nishitani, and Dick Yamasaki.

The Nippon Kan Theatre did not reopen following the forcible relocation of Seattle's Japanese Americans, so the venue was instead the Nisei Veterans Memorial Clubhouse.

[14] During the early 1950s, Seattle Dojo had a very strong adult team, and during May 1954, a Seattle Dojo team that included Kenji Yamada, Shuzo "Chris" Kato, Charles Woo, Tats Kojima, and George Wilson took first place during the US National AAU judo championships.

[15][16][17] Instructors associated with Seattle Dojo over the years include Iitaro Kono (or Kano), Tokugoro Ito, R. Fukuda, Daisuke Sakai, Eitaro Suzuki, Masataro Shibata, Hideo Hama, Hiroshi Kurosaka, Yasuyuki Kumagai, Isamu "Sam" Furuta, Shuzo "Chris" Kato, Fred Sato, and Kenji Yamada.

[4] Well-known former students include professional wrestler Kaimon Kudo, Southern California judo leader Ken Kuniyuki, martial art historian Robert W. Smith and Japanese American Citizens League pioneer James Y.

[18] Prominent visitors to Seattle Dojo before World War II include Tsunejiro Tomita in 1910,[19] Hideichi (Hidekazu) Nagaoka in 1934,[20] and Jigoro Kano in 1932 and 1938.

Professional wrestler Setsuzo Ota was associated with the Tacoma Dojo in those days, as was his cousin Kohei Yoshida.

This club's postwar descendant is located in nearby Nampa, Idaho; Ontario's current Ore-Ida Judo Dojo was established in January 1950 by Japanese Americans from across Washington and Oregon.