The International Judo Federation has made a sad announcement regarding the death of the Honorary President of the Kodokan Judo Institute and the All Japan Judo Federation (AJJF), Kano Yukimitsu.
Yukimitsu passed away on March 8 in Tokyo due to pneumonia at the age of 87. He was the grandson of Kano Jigoro, the founder of judo.
In 1882, Kano Jigoro created judo, when he was only 22 years old. 135 years later, judo became a major Olympic sport and Paralympic sport and an educational tool for the youth of the world. While constantly evolving, it has remained committed to the values that Kano has defined.
During the summer of 2017, the International Judo Federation had the privilege of meeting Kano Yukimitsu. In that exclusive interview, he recalled memories of his grandfather and explained his own vision of judo, as Mr. Kano Yukimitsu has also played an important role in judo in Japan as well as in the rest of the world.
Mr. Kano explained that when he said in front of his grandfather that he wanted to find a role model and become like that person later, the founder of judo replied: “You should not try to be like somebody else. You are who you are.“ This is a perfect illustration of how judo can help to build better citizens, to grow a better society. Kano Jigoro was not only teaching the theory, but he also made sure everybody could understand the fundamentals and he wanted his students to put his teachings into practice in society.
Source: www.ijf.org
