Kodokan Institute
Statue of Jigorō Kanō outside The Kodokan Institute
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| Date founded | 1882 |
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| Country of origin | Japan |
| Founder | Kanō Jigorō |
| Arts taught | Judo |
| Ancestor schools | Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū and Kito-ryū |
| Practitioners | Mitsuo Maeda, Kyuzo Mifune, Keiko Fukuda, Masahiko Kimura, Gene LeBell, Anton Geesink, Yasuhiro Yamashita, Neil Adams, Hidehiko Yoshida, Vladimir Putin, Kosei Inoue, Minoru Mochizuki, Ronda Rousey |
| Official website | http://www.kodokan.org/ |
Kodokan (講道館 Kōdōkan), or the Kodokan Institute, is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. Literally, kō means "to lecture", dō means "way," and kan is "a public building" together translating as "a place for the study of the way." The Kodokan was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo.
The Kodokan Institute offers classes for those who want to master judo. The program is authorized as a non-regular school by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Its courses include the theories and practice of judo, and matters of general education. The course is divided into two parts: a general course for novices, and special courses for those who have completed the general course or its equivalent.
The Kodokan also issues ranks, and many judoka (practitioners of judo) around the world become Kodokan members and have their ranks registered with the Kodokan.
The Institute was founded with only nine disciples. The growth of judo in its early years is demonstrated by the growth of the Kodokan itself:
Today, the Kodokan has 1,206 mats across the five main dojo (training halls)—Main, School, International, Women's, and Boys'—plus a special dojo for retired judoka and special technique study purposes.
There are eight floors and a basement to the Kodokan dojo, each serving purposes for housing, training, and research by judoka. The basement holds the cafeteria and some conference rooms. The first floor has parking, a bank, and a store. The second floor contains a library and more conference rooms. The third floor is for judoka and visitors who are living in the dojo. The fourth floor contains dressing rooms. The fifth, sixth, and seventh floors are all used for training space (the seventh floor is called the Main Dojo), and the eighth floor is for spectators and has seats that look down into the main space of the seventh floor.
The Kano Memorial Hall, Historical hall, exhibition room, and material stock room are located on the second floor. The halls contain posters of the development of judo, as well as information on some of the great masters of the system, written documents, photographs, and other information on the life of Kano and the people he met through his travels. The extensive library on the second floor holds over 7,000 books pertaining to judo, and is planned to be increased eventually.
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Wikipedia