was a Japanese

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 ...

ka and the fifth person to be promoted to 10th dan in

Kodokan 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"). ...

. Iizuka started judo training at Keio Gijuku in 1889, but broke off his training the following year to attend naval academy in Tokyo. Although the academy had no judo club, Iizuka saw a man carrying a

judogi ''Judogi'' (柔道着 or 柔道衣), also called keikogi or dogi, is the formal Japanese name for the traditional uniform used for Judo practice and competition. A judogi is somewhat similar to a karategi (空手着 or 空手衣, Karate uniform) ...

one day, and followed him to 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'' ( ...

; he enrolled as a student there in November, 1891. In 1906, Iizuka returned to Keio to take a job as judo coach to Keio University, where he taught Kaname Kuniyuki, Chuji Sakata and

Yoshio Sugino was a Japanese martial artist and film choreographer. Early life Sugino was born in Naruto village, Chiba prefecture, in December 1904. When he was a child, his family moved to Tokyo. He first encountered martial arts at Keio University, where ...

, among others. He was one of the first of Jigoro Kano's students to be awarded a ''judan'' (10th-dan) ranking, in 1946. As well as teaching judo, Iizuka was also an ordained ''negi'' (

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

priest) at Fukuoka Prefectural Shuyukan Senior High School, and was master of the Imperial Fisheries Institute.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iizuka, Kunisaburo 1875 births 1958 deaths Japanese male judoka Kodokan 10th dans