Google Celebrates the 161st Birthday of Father of Judo Kano Jigoro

Today Google honoured Japan’s father of Judo ‘Kano Jigoro’, on his 161st birth anniversary with a delightful Doodle. 

You can catch a glimpse of the professor in the Google Doodle and there are couple of interesting slides dedicated to him and his martial art. 

Judo literally means “The Gentle Way.”

When Kano was an adolescent he was often bullied in school as he weighed only 41 kg and was small in stature. 

Once his mates dragged him out of the school building and beat him. For this reason he had a deep desire to become stronger. 

He was introduced to Jujitsu by a friend who was a member of the Shogun’s guard and it was not late before Kano mastered this form of art. 

With all his knowledge and training over the years in various institutions coupled with his own discoveries, Kano created “Judo” in 1882 also known as “Kano Jiu-Jitsu.”

Judo works on the principle of throwing or taking down the opponent to the ground. It also involves the opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke. 

Kano was the person behind introducing Judo into Japanese public schools.  Judo is also an event at the Olympic games and Paralympic games. 

In his professional life Kano was an educator and served as a director of primary education for the Ministry of Education. 

He was the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee and officially represented Japan in most Olympic games. 

There are legends that Judo is inspired and  based on the principle of the Willow tree. 

 

“Like the willow tree which bends before the fury of the tempest, so that at the end, its flexible branches remain unbroken, whereas the rigid oak tree is broken or uprooted.”