Fukuda, Keiko, 1913-2013

The highest ranking female judoist in the world, Keiko Fukuda was the granddaughter of a samurai who taught jujitsu in Tokyo. One of his students, Jigoro Kano, transformed jujitsu into judo and in the 1930s he invited Fukuda to study at his school. Although she had already earned a degree in Japanese literature, Fukuda found her calling in judo and devoted the rest of her life to its teaching and study. When judo was recognized as an Olympic sport in 1964, she received worldwide recognition by demonstrating her art at the Olympic games. She moved to the San Francisco area in the 1960s, teaching at local colleges, at her Women's Judo Club in San Francisco, as well as around the world. She became an American citizen after training dozens of women who were then newly entering the police force, arguing to the immigration authorities that her work was vital to the defense of the country. In 1973 she published the authoritative book on women's judo, Born for the Mat, republished in 2004 as Ju-No-Kata: A Kodokan Textbook.

From the description of Papers of Keiko Fukuda, 2004-2009 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 542095102