Google posted a few doodles representing Professor Kano's narrative, created by Los Angeles, CA-based artist Cynthia Yuan Cheng, to commemorate his birthday.
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Judo means "gentle method," according to the Google Doodle blog, and the sport is based on concepts such as fairness, kindness, safety, and humility. The site said, "Kano regarded martial arts as a way to bring people together, even while tossing opponents to the mat.”
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Who was Kanō Jigorō?
On October 28, 1860, Kano Jigoro was born in Mikage (now part of Kobe). When he was 11 years old, he and his father went to Tokyo.
Kano desired to master the martial art of Jujutsu in order to increase his power. During his tenure at Tokyo University, he met Jujutsu teacher and former samurai Fukuda Hachinosuke, who would train him.
During a Jujutsu bout, Kano used a western wrestling manoeuvre to put his much larger opponent to the mat, and so Judo was formed.
"He established "Judo," a safe and cooperative sport based on Kano's own philosophy of Seiryoku-Zenyo (most efficient utilisation of energy) and Jita-Kyoei (mutual prosperity of self and others)," according to the Google Doodle blog.
In 1882, Kano founded the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo, where he spent years working on the creation of Judo. In 1893, he also welcomed women into the sport.
In 1909, Professor Kano Jigoro became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He was the IOC's first Asian member. In 1960, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) authorised judo as an official Olympic sport.
Slideshow by Google Professor Kano Jigoro’s birth anniversary.
