Yamashita Yoshiaki
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Yamashita Yoshitsugu 山下 義韶 |
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Yamashita Yoshitsugu, first 10th dan judoka
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| Born |
16 February 1865 Kanazawa, Kaga Province, Japan |
| Died | 26 October 1935 (aged 70) |
| Native name | 山下 義韶 |
| Style | Judo |
| Teacher(s) | Kano Jigoro |
| Rank | Judo: 10th dan Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū: Complete license |
| Notable students | Theodore Roosevelt; Imperial Japanese Naval Academy; Tokyo Imperial University; US Naval Academy; Tokyo Municipal Police |
Yamashita Yoshitsugu (山下 義韶, 16 February 1865 – 26 October 1935, also known as Yamashita Yoshiaki), was the first person to have been awarded 10th degree red belt (jūdan) rank in Kodokan judo. He was also a pioneer of judo in the United States.
Yamashita was born in Kanazawa, then the capital of the powerful Kaga Domain. His father was of the samurai class. As a boy, Yamashita trained in the traditional (koryū) Japanese martial arts schools of Yōshin-ryū and Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū jujutsu. In August 1884, he joined the Kodokan judo dojo of Kano Jigoro (嘉納 治五郎 Kanō Jigorō, 1860–1938), as its nineteenth member. He advanced to first degree black belt (shodan) rank in three months, fourth degree (yondan) ranking in two years, and sixth degree (rokudan) in fourteen years.
He was a member of the Kodokan team that competed with Tokyo Metropolitan Police jujutsu teams during the mid-1880s, and during the 1890s, his jobs included teaching judo at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and Tokyo Imperial University (modern University of Tokyo). His role as a Kodokan competitor was specially notable in the second police tournament against the Yōshin-ryū school, in 1886. He fought Enchi Kotaro, knocking him out with a hard ippon seoi nage. Later, in 1888, he fought in a third and last police tournament, in which he defeated Yōshin-ryū leader Terushima Taro.
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