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Joseph R. Svinth: Pacific Northwest Judo: The Seattle
Dojo, 1924-1953
In June 1928 the Seattle Dojo established a parental
advisory council (fukei kai). Original members included
Messrs. Gondo, Kimura, Kuniyuki, Nakashima, Ogishima,
Shinoda, Suda, Togasaki, Watanabe, and Yorita. According
to the Japanese-American Courier, the idea was
to change the club from "an organization managed by
individuals with ultra strict disciplinary inclinations"
into something "more lenient and progressive."
Unfortunately, club and council leaders did not agree
about how this was to be accomplished, so around
October 1928 the Seattle Dojo's chief instructor,
Hiroshi Kurosaka, split away to form what would
become Tentoku Kan Dojo.
Following the split, leading players remaining at the
Seattle Dojo included three third dans (Saito, Shiraji,
and Suzuki) and three first dans (Kudo, Maniwa, and
Mochizuki), all of whom had been born in Japan. In
each of these clubs, most subsequent yudansha,
or judo grade holders, would be American-born.
During the 1928-1929 season, the Seattle Dojo held two
tournaments. One was on Sunday, November 18, 1928. The
other was on Sunday, March 24, 1929. The venue for both
tournaments was the Nippon Kan theater. Junior members
belonging to Boy Scout Troops 55 and 56 also put on a
judo demonstration during a jamboree held at the University
of Washington pavilion on March 22 and 23, 1929.
Seattle Dojo's president in 1929 was Kaimon Kudo, first dan.
George Maniwa and Kinji Kanno were treasurers, and Michio
Shinoda and Haruo Fujino were junior captains. Also,
reported the Japanese-American Courier:
The Dojo has eighty members out of town, forty-five
at White River and thirty-five at South Park. In
Seattle proper there are 119 members making a total
membership list at 199 names... The income for 1928
was $2,035.28 while the expenses amounted to $1,900.
Perhaps because of financial problems, there do not
seem to have been any tournaments in October or November
1929. There were, however, tournaments in Vancouver,
British Columbia, on Sunday, February 9, 1930 and in
Seattle on Sunday, March 30, 1930.
The Japanese-American Courier did not report any
tournaments in the fall of 1931. Again, this does not
mean that there weren't any tournaments, only that
there weren't any tournaments in Seattle. That said,
there was an all-Northwest tournament at the Nippon
Kan theater on Sunday, January 18, 1931. One hundred
fifty players came. According to the Japanese-American
Courier:
[Masato] Tamura of the Fife Dojo copped the juvenile
title by downing all comers. Gondo of the Seattle
Dojo took the men's brown while Kurosaka [of Kurosaka
Dojo] had an easy time taking the 'Yodan' or fourth
grade title by defeating eight men in about seven
minutes. [Canada's Shigetaka] Sasaki copped the second
grade crown.
Seattle Dojo hosted its twenty-fourth anniversary tournament
on Saturday, February 7, 1931. Highlights included Coach Len
Stevens bringing three University of Washington varsity
wrestlers to the competition. In the ensuing exhibition
matches, Yoshiharu Kanda defeated 120-pound freshman
Everett McKellar in both judo and catch-as-catch-can.
Goro Mochizuki beat 135-pound senior Ernest Newland in
both judo and catch. Finally, Seisaku Takito got a draw
with 150-pound freshman Melvin Borgerson, winning in judo
and losing in catch.1
The Seattle Dojo hosted its twenty-fifth anniversary
tournament on Sunday, February 7, 1932. Junior competition
began at 1:00 p.m. and senior competition finished whenever,
probably late at night. (As the Nippon Kan had room for
only one mat, the events were single elimination.) In the
Red and White (Kohaku Shobu) team contests, the White Team
was Seattle Dojo, South Park, and White River, while the
Red Team was Kent, Tentoku Kan, Tacoma, and Fife. The names
of the competitors were written in large characters on
strips stretched around the hall, and the winning team
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