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Kitō-ryū jūjutsu and the desolation of Kōdōkan jūdō’s Koshiki-no-kata : remembering Inoue Shōji (1927-2018)

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Inoue Shōji (1927-2018) was born in Tokushima prefecture, Japan. As a youngster he took up jūdō. Later, he studied Kitō-ryū jūjutsu for some time with Odaka Shigeru. During his professional career as a prison guard he followed up on an offer to become a jūdō therapist. In a dōjō in the Yamashina-ku ward in Kyōto he taught both jūdō and a limited catalogue of Kitō-ryū that included exercises that were adopted into Kōdōkan jūdō under the name koshiki-no-kata [The Antique Forms]. With Kōdōkan jūdō continuing to deteriorate into an ordinary sport and losing its core values and purpose, Inoue increasingly appreciated the traditional martial arts values preserved in Kitō-ryū jūjutsu. His enthusiasm was reflected in beginning to give public demonstrations at various events in Japan and becoming a representative of Kitō-ryū in the Nihon Kobudō Kyōkai. Inoue’s supreme moment of glory likely was his public demonstration in 2013 at the occasion of the Fifth International Judo Federation (IJF) World Kata Judo Championships held in Kyōto. It was this performance that introduced him to the international jūdō community and brought him certain fame. For most foreign jūdōka this was their first contact with Kitō-ryū. Irrespective of the quality of Inoue’s display, his approach offered a counterweight against the Kōdōkan’s historic reinvention and the IJF sports kata caricature. Several video clips publicly available on YouTube remain as a lasting memory of his art. Inoue Shōji held the rank of Kōdōkan 8th dan, and peacefully died in Kyōto on October 30th, 2018.
Tijdschrift: REVISTA DE ARTES MARCIALES ASIÁTICAS
ISSN: 2174-0747
Issue: 2
Volume: 13
Pagina's: 155 - 171
Jaar van publicatie:2018
Toegankelijkheid:Closed