is a Japanese

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

ka. She was born in

Ageo, Saitama 260px, Ageo Maruyama Park is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 229,517 in 103,709 households and a population density of 5000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ageo i ...

, and began judo at the age of a second grader. She entered the

Komatsu Limited or () is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures construction, mining, forestry and military equipment, as well as diesel engines and industrial equipment like press machines, lasers and thermoelectric generators. Its headquart ...

after graduating from

Saitama University Saitama University (埼玉大学, ''Saitama Daigaku'') is a Japanese national university located in a suburban area of Sakura-ku, Saitama City, capital of Saitama Prefecture in Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1873, it became a national uni ...

in 1998. She was known as a rival of Ryoko Tamura. She fought with Tamura 10 times and was defeated 10 times, but never by

Ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In Judo In Judo, an ippon may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the four ...

. In 2000, after Tamura won gold medal at

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, Nagai retired. As of 2008, Nagai coaches judo at Komatsu Limited, and

Ayumi Tanimoto born August 4, 1981, in Anjo, Aichi, is a Japanese judoka. She was coached by Toshihiko Koga, who is a gold medalist at the Barcelona Olympics and a silver medalist at the Atlanta Olympics Men's Judo. Tanimoto won the Women's -63 kg c ...

, one of her pupil, inherits the skill of Uchimata that Nagai was good at.

References

Japanese female judoka 1974 births People from Ageo, Saitama Martial artists from Saitama Prefecture Living people Komatsu Limited Saitama University alumni Summer World University Games medalists in judo FISU World University Games gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1999 Summer Universiade 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese women {{Japan-judo-bio-stub