was an early student of

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, 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 Nipponi ...

and the second person to be promoted to 10th dan. He was considered to be a ''

newaza Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

'' expert, although was also famed by his '' tachiwaza'' as well. He was an early promoter of the

kosen judo is a variation of the Kodokan judo competitive ruleset that was developed and flourished at the () technical colleges in Japan in the first half of the twentieth century. Kosen judo's rules allow for greater emphasis of than typically takes pla ...

circuit.

Biography

Isogai was born in

Nobeoka is a Cities of Japan, city located in the north of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 119,521 and a population density of 138 persons per km². The total area is . History The city was offici ...

Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kuma ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, on October 26, 1871. He was the eldest son of , hanshi of

Sekiguchi-ryū , or , is a Japanese martial arts, Japanese martial art founded in the mid-17th century, notable for its Kenjutsu, Iaijutsu, and Jujutsu, including the art of kyusho-jutsu. History The founder of Sekiguchi ryu was Sekiguchi Yarokuemon Ujimune, a ...

jūjutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

in Nobeoka. In 1891, he moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and joined the

Kodokan The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology Literally, ''kō'' ( ...

where he studied judo under

Yokoyama Sakujiro , was one of the earliest disciples of Kanō Jigorō. He was part of the Kōdōkan Shitennō or Four Guardians of the Kodokan along with Yoshitsugu Yamashita, Tsunejirō Tomita, and Shirō Saigō. Biography Early life Yokoyama was born in S ...

. In 1893, he became judo teacher at third high school in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, as well as the

Dai Nippon Butoku Kai ''Dai Nippon Butoku Kai'' (DNBK, ja, 大日本武徳会, en, "Greater Japan Martial Virtue Society") was a martial arts organization with strong ties to WWII-era Japanese government, originally established in 1895 in Kyoto. Following the end of ...

, where he competed against several local jujutsu masters. One of his best known victories was against Takenouchi-ryu master Kotaro Imai in 1897 via

hane makikomi is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano.Mifune, Kyuzo: ''The Canon of Judo'', Kodansha International Ltd. (Tokyo) 2004, , p. It belongs to the fourth group, Yonkyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo (no waza) ...

. In 1899, he was appointed professor of judo at Butoku Kai. He is often attributed the creation of the

hane goshi is a throw in judo.Mifune, Kyuzo: ''The Canon of Judo'', Kodansha International Ltd. (Tokyo) 2004, , p.74–75,204 It is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the third group, Sankyo, of the tradition ...

throw, although the move can be actually traced back to

Yamashita Yoshitsugu Yamashita Yoshitsugu (山下義韶, February 16, 1865 – October 26, 1935), also known as Yamashita Yoshiaki, was a Japanese judoka. He was the first person to have been awarded 10th degree red belt ('' jūdan'') rank in Kodokan judo, althou ...

. He was famous for his rivalry with

Fusen-ryū was a koryū, traditional school of jujutsu founded by Motsugai Takeda. It contains a complete system of martial arts, including unarmed fighting (''jujutsu''), staff (''bōjutsu''), short staff (''jojutsu''), sword (''kenjutsu''), sword drawing ...

master

Mataemon Tanabe was a Japanese jujutsu practitioner and master of the Fusen-ryū school. He became famous for defeating multiple members of the Kodokan in challenge matches, and came to be considered one of the greatest modern jujutsuka. Biography Early yea ...

, who was known for defeating multiple judokas in challenge matches thanks to his

ne-waza Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

mastery. They fought twice in

and

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

in 1899, ending in a draw in both bouts.Christian Quidet, ''La fabuleuse histoire des Arts Martiaux''Raisuke Kudo, ''Japanese Judo: Hidden Records'', 1972, The second fight was specially notable, as Isogai, knowing the field of strength of his adversary, kept the fight standing and threatened him several times with his skill at

. Still, Isogai was left convinced of the importance of working on ne-waza in order to be a complete fighter. Isogai and Tanabe fought a third and last time in May 1900, as Mataemon challenged him to meet him on a match in an exhibition in

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

. It would be an uneven fight for Hajime, as Okayama was headquarters for several jujutsu schools opposed to the Kodokan, and the referee of the fight would be Isogai's old enemy Kotaro Imai himself. However, this time Isogai had perfected his ne-waza with

Kaichiro Samura (1880–1964) was a Japanese judoka. He was one of the longest living 10th dan (belt degree) judo practitioners in the world. He joined the Kodokan in 1898 and was awarded his 10th dan in April 1948. In 1899 he became head of the judo section a ...

, a judoka expert in groundfighting who had come from Takeuchi Santo-ryū and worked as Hajime's assistant trainer at the Butoku Kai. When Isogai and Tanabe met on the tatami, both descended to the ground and began a grappling contest. Though initially even, the match started to be gradually controlled by Isogai, who neutralized all of Tanabe's movements and impeded him to try submissions or reversals. Attempting to force a restart to rethink his strategy, Tanabe dragged them both towards the bounds of the tatami, but Hajime saw his intention and dragged them back again while Tanabe's followers cried for a stoppage. At the end, Imai declared the fight a draw. Isogai was promoted to tenth dan, the highest rank in judo, on December 22, 1937. He was the second person to be awarded this grade and the first living person to be presented with it.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isogai, Hajime 1871 births 1947 deaths Sportspeople from Miyazaki Prefecture Japanese male judoka Kodokan 10th dans