Judo: Jigoro Kano's educational legacy explored in Tsukuba

An international conference on the educational legacy of Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, was held in Japan from 1 to 3 October, at the University of Tsukuba and then at the Kodokan in Tokyo. The International Judo Federation (IJF) published its report on 21 October. Titled "Jigoro Kano and Education: His Legacy and the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century", the event was part of Tsukuba Global Science Week 2026 and was supported by the IJF and the Kodokan Institute.

The venue was no accident. The University of Tsukuba grew out of the Tokyo Higher Normal School, which Kano led for more than twenty years. The conference came out of a long-standing partnership between Tsukuba and the University of Bordeaux in France.

A French historian gives the keynote

Michel Brousse, a judo historian at the University of Bordeaux, gave the keynote on the second day, on passing on Kano's legacy from the Meiji era to today's Reiwa era. According to the IJF, he stressed that it was the first time the university, the IJF and the Kodokan had come together on a single project, with participants from every continent.

The first day featured contributions from twelve countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Korea. Speakers covered women's education, the philosophical foundations of Kano's thinking, Olympic education and judo's role in conflict management. One paper looked at how judo supported people on the Noto Peninsula after the January 2024 earthquake.

From the mat to the lecture hall

The second day, focused on education, dealt with judo as a tool for peace, social skills in early childhood, character education, social psychology and physiology. One talk even compared judo with esports.

The final day moved onto the mat. Participants watched a training session in Tsukuba and practised Itsutsu-no-kata, one of the Kodokan kata, which represents the forces of nature. At the Kodokan they attended a lecture on Kano, a workshop on teaching through kata, a museum visit and a children's class.

Kano founded the Kodokan in 1882 and always presented judo as a method of education, built on two principles: maximum efficiency with minimum effort, and mutual welfare and benefit. In 1909 he also became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee. The IJF has not announced a further edition of the conference.