The Kodokan: teaching, technique and organisation

The Kodokan explains technique through tsukuri and kake. Tsukuri includes disturbing the partner’s balance—kuzushi—and placing one’s own body in a useful position and posture. Kake applies the decisive action at the moment those conditions have formed. This directs attention to balance, distance, posture and timing, not just force, and makes the partner’s participation central to learning.

Kata fixes roles, methods and sequences so partners can study a particular relationship of attack and defence. Randori leaves the choice and application of techniques open within its practice rules, confronting changing responses. Nage-no-kata studies throwing; katame-no-kata studies holds, strangles and joint locks. Other kata preserve self-defence, physical exercises or older traditions. A method excluded from free practice can still have a place in this broader curriculum.

The Kodokan’s published list contains 68 throwing techniques and 32 grappling techniques. Throws are grouped by hands, hips, legs and two kinds of sacrifice throws; grappling includes holds, strangles and joint techniques. A technical vocabulary and the rules governing a particular competition serve different purposes.

The older gokyo-no-waza syllabus, established in 1895, contained 42 throws. It was revised to 40 in 1920. This grouped teaching syllabus is narrower than the later catalogue of 68 named throwing techniques. The two totals refer to different selections and purposes.

After Kanō’s death in 1938, Jirō Nangō became the second president. The cultural association ceased activity and Sakkō stopped publication, while Judo continued. An advanced teacher-training institute was established in 1940. That year, the Kodokan also studied a new kata incorporating several forms of combat, renewing attention to jujutsu techniques. Teacher education, publication and technical research each changed in this wartime setting.

School judo was prohibited after the war. In 1946 the Kodokan submitted a proposal to the prime minister calling for its restoration, working on the institutional conditions for teaching as well as the dojo itself. Its dan-holders’ association initiated preparations for a national body in 1948, leading to the All Japan Judo Federation in 1949. The Judo Science Research Society was also formed in 1948. Kodokan Goshin-jutsu, established in 1956, organised a postwar self-defence curriculum in kata. Organisational links, research and technical instruction developed together.

Women’s classes began at the Kaiunzaka dojo in 1926. Early instruction included kata and randori but excluded competition, reflecting contemporary ideas about women’s bodies and social roles. Institutional arrangements later changed: women’s grading regulations were established in 1977, and the Kodokan hosted an All-Japan women’s championship in 1978. A special measure published in 2016 still acknowledged historically limited opportunities to compete, permitting other evidence—including kata, refereeing, teaching and contributions—or practical tests and written work in specified promotion cases.

The Kodokan, All Japan Judo Federation and International Judo Federation are distinct organisations. The Kodokan focuses on teaching, technical tradition, research and grades; the IJF oversees the international competitive structure. Japan’s national federation works with both. Joint championships and expert participation in international instructor education are examples of cooperation.

The Kodokan school groups instruction by skill and proficiency. Its fiscal-2024 report describes progression from basic movements to partner skills and then contests, alongside goals for etiquette, fairness, respect and safety. Monthly and red-and-white matches help assess progress and sustain motivation, while regular kata training develops another aspect of practice. Instruction combines repetition, observation and further work rather than placing every learner in one undifferentiated free-practice session.

The Kodokan Judo Science Research Society studies history, technique, physical fitness, psychology and teaching methods; its twentieth bulletin was issued in fiscal 2024. The monthly Judo magazine circulates teaching material, institutional and international reports, and archival discussions. The museum and library collect books, periodicals, competition programmes and recordings, and respond to researchers’ and students’ enquiries. Preservation, investigation and the circulation of knowledge are related institutional tasks.

The Kodokan moved to its present Kasuga site in 1958. Its international judo centre was completed in 1984, combining training, study and accommodation. Institutional offices and other judo bodies occupy the main building. Fujimicho, Shimotomisaka and Kasuga belong to the history of its premises, which is related to—but distinct from—the history of its work.