Saigō Shirō
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Saigō Shirō 西郷四郎 |
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| Born | February 4, 1866 Aizu Wakamatsu, Japan |
| Died | December 22, 1922 (aged 56) |
| Native name | 西郷四郎 |
| Nationality |
 Japan
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| Style | Judo, Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu |
| Teacher(s) | Saigō Tanomo Kanō Jigorō |
| Rank | Judo: 6th Dan |
Shiro Saigo (西郷四郎 Saigō Shirō?, February 4, 1866 – December, 1922) was one of the earliest disciples of Judo. Saigo, together with Tsunejiro Tomita, became first in history of judo to be awarded Shodan by the founder of judo Jigoro Kano, who established the kyu-dan ranking system.
Shiro Saigo was born in Feb 4, 1866 in Aizuwakamatsu, in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan, the third son of a samurai, Shida Sadajiro. During his childhood, he trained in the fighting style of the Aizu clan, called oshikiuchi. In 1882, Saigo moved to Tokyo and in August of that year, he enrolled at the Kōdōkan, becoming Jigoro Kano's second student. In 1883, along with Tsunejiro Tomita, he became one of the first two to be awarded yudansha rank in any martial art. The very day of their graduation, he would take up the challenge of Sakujiro Yokoyama, a much heavier jujutsuka, and defeated him, which moved Yokoyama to join the school as well. Takisaburo Tobari is also believed to have been defeated by Saigō before he joined Kōdōkan.
A man of extreme agility, Shiro was known for the nickname of "Cat" due to his skill to land on his feet when thrown, a skill he had observed in actual cats and that he trained by jumping off the second floor of a building. He was also known as "Octopus Feet" for his ability to avoid losing his footing. He developed a personal technique called "yama arashi", possibly related to the modern judo technique of the same name, though according to Tsunejiro Tomita it was lost after his death.
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