Mataemon Tanabe
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Mataemon Tanabe 田辺又右衛門 |
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| Born |
1869 Okayama, Japan |
| Died |
1942 Japan |
| Native name | 田辺又右衛門 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Style | Fusen-ryū |
| Teacher(s) | Torajirō Tanabe |
| Notable students | Taro Miyake, Yukio Tani, Sadakazu Uyenishi |
Mataemon Tanabe (田辺又右衛門 Tanabe Mataemon, 1869-1942) was a Japanese jiu-jitsu practitioner and master of the Fusen-ryū school. He was famous for defeating multiple members of the Kodokan in challenge matches.
Tanabe was born in Okayama to Torajiro Tanabe, head of the Fusen-ryū founded by Motsugai Takeda. He started training in jujutsu at 9 years old, and at 14 he started accompanying his father to competitions and challenges, often fighting grown-up men and much heavier opponents. Over the years, he devised a personal strategy of enduring his enemies' holds long enough to get them tired, and then coming back and making them submit with chokes and joint locks. His main field of strength was ne-waza, being nicknamed "Newaza Tanabe" for his mastery of ground techniques, although he was also skilled in tachi-waza. He defined his style as devised by "practicing catching eels in his bare hands and watching snakes swallow frogs." At 17 he received his menkyo kaiden, and he and his father became teachers of their art around the country.
In 1890, Tanabe travelled to Tokyo, where he was appointed hand-to-hand instructor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department under the recommendation of Senjuro Kanaya of the Takenouchi-ryū school. Here he trained with him and other Takenouchi-ryū masters like Kotari Imai and Hikosaburo Oshima. It would be in January 1891, however, when he became famous due to a challenge fight against a fellow police instructor, 3rd dan Kodokan judoka and former Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū exponent Takisaburo Tobari. The fight happened at the Hisamatsu police station and was refereed by Kanaya. During the match, Tanabe pulled Tobari to the ground, where he was the better man, and after pinning him with kami-shiho-gatame he made him submit with a juji-jime choke. The match was the hardest defeat suffered by the Kodokan school against a jujutsu challenger, and it was soon made public that Tanabe had found the style's weak point thanks to his dexterity at groundfighting.
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