The Kanō Chronicles® - Copyright 2020 – All rights reserved – See LGatling@NexialResearch.com for questions Lance Gatling - The Kanō Chronicles® - Copyright 2021 – All rights reserved As presented to the Society for the Study of Philosophy and the Martial Arts, March 2021 The Historical Background and Philosophic Basis of Kanō Jigorō’s Jūdō Principles Seiryoku Zenyō Jita Kyōei (Best Use of Energy / Mutual Prosperity) Efforts to ascribe philosophical meaning to various martial arts seem perennial, but documents supporting origin claims are often transparently contrived or unsupported. Notable exceptions are China’s Shaolin kung fu, developed centuries ago and still taught at the Chan (Japanese: Zen) Buddhist Shaolin temple in China, and Japan’s Shorinji Kempō, developed to popularize the school’s Zen practice. Many koryū (ancient Japnaese martial arts) claim unique philosophies but cite tales of inspiration by intense, training-inspired visions or even visitations by tengu (long-nosed goblins). But the genuine philosophical roots of one modern Japanese martial art practiced worldwide were misunderstood, overlooked, then finally lost to history. That art is jūdō, a modernized version of jūjutsu, the ancient samurai martial art of fighting barehanded. In 1915, in Jūdō magazine of the Kōdōkan Jūdō Institute, founded by Kanō Jigorō 1 (1860- 1938) in Tokyo in 1882, in a series of articles entitled “Outline of Kōdōkan Jūdō”, Kanō, the founder of jūdō, wrote that “Jūdō is The Way to the most effective use of body and spirit”. But to what ends? Was this for the sake of effectiveness alone or something more? And why would anything Kanō taught be of interest today? To answer the last question first, Kanō was a senior member of Japan’s Ministry of Education from the late 1880s to 1920, and participated in key decisions including incorporating the Imperial Rescript on Education into the education system, structuring its philosophic, ethics and morals instruction, revolutionizing sports and physical education, and even creating the artificial “Japanese language” itself. In the cultural world, he and his colleagues created, developed, and helped export much of modern Japan’s culture, including budō martial arts, the modern contrivance called bushidō, and Imperial Shintō. After retiring, the Emperor nominated him to the House of Peers for life, where he served from 1922 during the tumultuous years as Japan militarized. Asia’s first member of the International Olympic Committee from 1909, Kanō was Japan’s Olympic ambassador to the world and was critical to Tokyo winning its 1940 Olympic Games bid; only months after his death, those Games were canceled as Japan plunged deeper into war with China, which he warned was the greatest danger to Japan in its 2600-year history. While Kanō used a number of different approaches to explain jūdō philosophy up to the mid-1920s, later speeches and writings referred to two principles he used to explain the significance of jūdō. Their final, shortest form is known to many jūdōka (jūdō 1 Throughout this paper, Japanese and Chinese names are given in Japanese fashion: family name, given name.