Funding sources for the research involved included in the preparation of this article included the Japanese American National Museum and the King County Landmarks and Heritage Commission and its Hotel/Motel Tax Revenue Program. Complete individual acknowledgments appear in the manuscript version at the University of Washington and other archives.

Further Reading:

For a list of the author's published and online articles relating to Pacific Northwest judo, sumo, and kendo, go to http://ejmas.com/svinthsponsor.htm.

See also:

Smith, Robert W. A Complete Guide to Judo (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1958)

-----. Martial Musings: A Portrayal of Martial Arts in the 20th Century (Erie, PA: Via Media Publishing, 1999)

Notes:

1. Promotions announced during this tournament included Eitaro Suzuki advancing to fourth dan, Yasutaro Miyazawa and John Shibata advancing to third dan, Jutaro Gondo, Yoshiharu Kanda, Kaimon Kudo, Masaichi Maniwa, Goro Mochizuki, Kenji Nojiri, and Seisaku Takita advancing to second dan, and Kiichi Hamamoto, Kinji Kanno, Tatsuo Miyamoto, and Michio Shinoda advancing to first dan.

2. "From 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.," Simeon Doria Arroyo wrote in Seattle's Philippine Advocate in December 1934, "a parade of drunken couples (sometimes a carload of them) which ... must have come from respectable American homes, give color to the enchanting shadows of [Seattle's] Chinatown ... Stray girls, destitute widows and washed up ladies of joy furnish their streamlined waistlines to the lascivious embraces of the pleasure seekers." Local dance clubs included the mixed-race Black and Tan located next to Tazuma's 10-cent store on the corner of 12th and Jackson; the mostly African American Ubangi, 411 Club, Two Pals, Green Dot, Congo Club, and Colored Elks; and the mostly Asian Rizal's Cafe, where the Nisei Theresa Kumagai danced with lonely sailors and cannery workers for a dime per dance. Plus there were assorted multiethnic gambling clubs--"Seattle's Chinatown operates some of the most efficiently organized gambling rackets on the Pacific coast," Larry Miranda wrote in the Philippine Advocate in July 1935--and more than a few brothels. But, as Japantown low-life didn't start jumping until after 11:00 p.m., community leaders like Seattle Dojo's Yasuyuki Kumagai (no relation to Theresa) patrolled the local streets and bathhouses each night around 10:00 p.m., asking all the young Nisei they found why they weren't home in bed. After the war, the Issei no longer tucked in the Nisei, and in July 1949, the returning Nisei journalist Budd Fukei discovered that "after midnight, Jackson Street is like a beaten up prostitute; she is gruesomely 'purty' and spiritually lost."

3. There were 23 members of the Northwest team. The players included two third dans (Kaname ["Ken"] Kuniyuki and Kiyoshi ["Kelly"] Uno), seven second dans (Takeo Horiuchi, Mitsuo Hiranaka, Kenji Kamada, Susumu Nitta, Seisaku Takita, Hisato ["Frank"] Takeshita, and Masato Tamura), and thirteen first dans (Kaneo Abe, Toshio Higashi, Hiroshi Kato, George Kawasaki, Tadashi Kumagai, Akira ["Frank"] Nakayama, Yoshio ["Jack"] Ohashi, Hisao ["Tom"] Osaki, Matsuo Sakagami, Toshio ["Ted"] Takeshita, Hikaru ["Polka"] Tamura, Takuzo Tsuchiya, and Mitsuru Yano.) Koichi Furukawa, first dan, was an alternate.

4. Although prewar judoka who were not of Japanese descent were unusual, they were hardly unknown. Vancouver, British Columbia, for example, had several Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables who earned black belts during the 1930s, and in Seattle, Stanley McDonald earned a black belt in 1934. (Seattle's city directory lists a Stanley D. McDonald as living at 2125 Weston Avenue. He listed his occupation as laborer.) On Saturday, September 18, 1937, the Seattle Dojo had a special meeting to decide whether other hakujin, or white Americans, should be allowed to learn judo. Some said that the organization was established for second generation Japanese, which in turn meant that its membership should be limited to people of Japanese descent. Others said that the club should teach anyone showing a genuine interest in judo without a regard for color or race. Bill Hosokawa of the Japanese-American Courier hoped the latter sentiment would prevail. And apparently it did, as Shuzo ("Chris") Kato recalled several white children training at the club during the late 1930s. Photos also show many African American children training at the Seattle Dojo during the mid-1950s.

5. In individual competition, Northwest winners included Sunji Dogen, Toshio Higashi, Mitsuo Hiranaka, Masaru Nitta, Masato Tamura, Haneomi Tominaga, Kanezo Torigoye, Takuzo Tsuchiya, and Mitsuru Yano.

6. Kesamaru probably told his listeners that the Japanese were not in China to conquer, but to restore order and eliminate banditry. He undoubtedly added that the Japanese were helping defend the world from international Communism, and that the Japanese had no desire to attack either the Philippines or Singapore. For examples of such speeches, see the editorial in the North American Times, January 15, 1938, or the speeches given by Admiral Shingiro Yamamoto in Seattle in early November 1938. Kesamaru was originally from Selleck, a lumber town about sixteen miles from Enumclaw. At Seattle's Broadway High School, he became an all-city shortstop, and after graduation, he attended Bofu Commercial School in Japan, where he continued playing baseball. Upon his return to the United States he was a reserve second baseman for the University of Washington varsity, and after World War II he became an important community league baseball coach.

7. The 1939 Northwest team included four third dans (Hiroshi Kato, Matsuo Sakagami, Masato Tamura, and Mitsuru Yano); thirteen second dans (Sunji Dogen, Yukio ["Art"] Koura, Mitsuo Mizuki, Daitaro [" Joe"] Nakatsu, Dairoku ["Tike"] Nishimori, Hank Ogawa, Kazuo Ogura, Yoshio ["Jack"] Ohashi, Hikaru ["Polka"] Tamura, Hiroshi Tamura, Toshio ["Punchy"] Yamanaka, Masao Yamashita, and Katsumi ["Jim"] Yoshida); and twelve first dans (Yasuo ["Pete"] Fujino, Terumasa ["Ted"] Hachiya, Shigeo Hasegawa, Akira ["Poison"] Kato, Iwao ["John"] Kusakabe, Hiroshi Mizokawa, Hiroshi ["George"] Nagasaka, Takeo Nakawatase, Akira Shibukawa, Toshio Taniguchi, Iwao ["Dick"] Yamasaki, and Chiaki ["Jack"] Yoshihara.) Hachiya and Yoshihara were from Portland, Oregon. Ogura was from Salem, Oregon. Although originally from Auburn, Washington, Yamashita had recently moved to Caldwell, Idaho. Everyone else was from Washington State.

8. Three women were from Portland. They were Betty Kesta, Irene Eudaly, and Mertie Muller. The other two women were from Vancouver, British Columbia. They were Loma Booth and Avril Yockney. Yockney was British, and a Budokwai 3rd kyu. In non-tournament matches, Muller threw Yockney for ippon (full point), Eudaly drew with Booth, and Yockney and Kesta had a draw.

9. In 1959, Woo became one of Bruce Lee's first wing chun students. Lee in turn learned judo from Woo and other members of the Seattle Dojo. James Halpin later described Woo as the "gentlest and best-liked guy in Lee's gang. He had trained diligently to defend himself against the huge people he saw all around him, but he was kicked to death by a skittish horse a few years after he joined the group." See James Halpin, "The Little Dragon: Bruce Lee (1940-1973)," in Washingtonians, edited by David Brewster and David M. Buerge (Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 1988).