Antonio Satake, born Soshihiro Satake,
was a
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 ...
ese-born
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian martial artist and teacher. One of the teachers of Brazilian martial artist
Luiz França
Luiz França Filho (1910–1982) was a Brazilian martial artist and one of the primary founders of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. França was a student of Soshihiro Satake, Geo Omori, and Mitsuyo Maeda, from whom he learned Kodokan judo (known prior to 1 ...
, together with
Geo Omori
or Geo Omori as he became known in Brazil, was a Japanese-born Brazilian martial artist who is credited for being one of the creators of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.[Mitsuyo Maeda
,Virgílio, pp. 22–25
a Brazilian naturalized as Otávio Maeda (),Virgílio, p. 9
was a Japanese ''judōka'' (judo practitioner) and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions, also being one of the first documented mixed martial artists of t ...]
, Satake was one of the primary founders of
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
(BJJ).
He pioneered
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 ...
in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
Biography
Satake started fighting as a
sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
wrestler, then he joined the Kodokan dojo academy and competed in
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
jujutsu
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 ...
for
Kanō Jigorō
was a Japanese educator, athlete, and the founder of Judo. Along with Ju-Jutsu, Judo was one of the first Japanese martial arts to gain widespread international recognition, and the first to become an official Olympic sport. Pedagogical inno ...
, the founder of judo, and for 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'' ( ...
institute.
With Mitsuyo Maeda, Satake formed the head of the second generation of Kodokan judoka, which had replaced the first by the beginning of the 20th century.
Satake, at and , was unmatched in amateur sumo but admitted that he himself was not able to match Maeda in judo. At that time, there were few graduated Kodokan judoka. Maeda and Satake were the top graduated professors at Waseda University, both ''sandan'' (3rd ''dan''), along with Matsuhiro Ritaro (''nidan'' or 2nd ''dan'') and six other ''
shodan
SHODAN (Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network) is a fictional artificial intelligence and the main antagonist of the cyberpunk-horror themed video games ''System Shock'' and ''System Shock 2''.
Character design
SHODAN is an artificial in ...
'' (1st ''dan'').
In 1903, a senior Kodokan instructor named
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 ...
traveled to the United States at the request of the Seattle businessman
Sam Hill. In Washington, DC, Yamashita's students included
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
and other prominent Americans. At Roosevelt's request, Yamashita also taught judo at the
US Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is ...
.
Capitalizing on the publicity, the Japanese Legation in the USA asked the Kodokan to send more judo teachers to America, providing continuity to Yamashita's work.
Tsunejiro Tomita reluctantly accepted the task; Maeda and Satake embraced the opportunity. Tomita, Maeda, and Satake sailed from
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
on 16 November 1904, and arrived in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on 8 December 1904.
[Green, Thomas A. and Svinth, Joseph R. "The Circle and the Octagon: Maeda's Judo and Gracie's Jiu-jitsu". In Thomas A. Green and Joseph R. Svinth, eds. ''Martial Arts in the Modern World''. Westport, Connecticut, 2003, pp. 61–70.]
Before traveling to Europe, Maeda and Satake went to Cuba along with Akitaro Ono and
Tokugoro Ito
Tokugoro Ito (1879-1938) was a Japanese judoka and professional wrestler. Ito was one of the founding fathers of mixed martial arts in Brazil.
Early years
Ito was an instructor of judo at Tokyo Imperial University in Japan. In 1911, Akitaro O ...
. All of them engaged in combats. On 8 February 1907, Maeda and Satake arrived in
Liverpool, England
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. Apparently they had planned to join up with Akitaro Ono, who had gone to London to wrestle for promoter William Bankier in London music halls.
During September 1909, a Japanese calling himself 'Nobu Taka' arrived in Mexico City for the purpose of challenging Maeda for what the ''Mexican Herald'' said would be the world jujutsu championship. After several months of public wrangling, Taka and Maeda met at the Colon Theater on November 16, 1909; Taka won. There was an immediate rematch, and four days later, Maeda was pronounced the champion. It was later revealed that Taka was, in fact, Soishiro Satake. During 1911, Maeda and Satake were joined in Cuba by Akitaro Ono and Tokugoro Ito. The four men were known as the "Four Kings of Cuba". The Four Kings were very popular in Cuba, and the Japanese media were proud of the reputation they were bringing to judo and Japan.
In 1913, Maeda and Satake went to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In El Salvador, the president was assassinated while they were there, and in Panama, the Americans tried to pay Maeda to lose, and, in response, they kept moving south. In Peru they met Laku, a Japanese jujutsuka who taught the military, and invited him to join them. They were then joined by Okura in Chile, and by Shimitsu in Argentina. The troupe arrived in
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
on 14 November 1914.
and then moved throughout the country for a year. On 26 August 1915, Maeda, Satake, Okura, Shimitsu, and Laku were at
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
, during October 1915, they were in Belém, finally arriving in
Manaus
Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...
in the Brazilian state of
Amazonas on 18 December 1915. Tokugoro Ito arrived some time later. On 20 December 1915, the first demonstration in Belém took place at the Theatro Politheama. The ''O Tempo'' newspaper announced the event, stating that Conde Koma would show the main ''jiu-jitsu'' techniques, excepting the prohibited ones. He would also demonstrate self-defense techniques. After that, the troupe would be accepting challenges from the crowd, and there would be the first ''sensational'' match of ''jiu-jitsu'' between Shimitsu (champion of Argentina) and Laku (Peruvian military professor).
On 22 December 1915, according to ''O Tempo'', ''jiu-jitsu'' world champion Maeda, head of the Japanese troupe, and Satake, New York champion, performed an enthusiastic and sensational ''jiu-jitsu'' match. On the same day, Nagib Assef, an Australian Greco-Roman wrestling champion of Turkish origin, challenged Maeda.
On 8 January 1916, Maeda, Okura, and Shimitsu boarded the SS ''Antony'' and left for Liverpool. Tokugoro Ito went to Los Angeles. Satake and Laku stayed in Manaus teaching, according to ''O Tempo'', ''jiu-jitsu''. After 15 years together, Maeda and Satake had finally split up.
Of this last trip to Europe, little is known. Maeda went from England to Portugal, Spain, and France, coming back to Brazil in 1917 alone. Satake would become the founder, in 1914, of the first historically registered judo academy in Brazil. He and Maeda are considered the pioneers of judo in Brazil. In January 1916, Satake won the first jiu-jitsu tournament in the Amazon.
In Manaus Satake opened his own academy in 1916, at the
Atlético Rio Negro Clube
Atlético Rio Negro Clube, usually known simply as Rio Negro is a traditional Brazilian football club from Manaus, Amazonas state.
Rio Negro is the second oldest club of Amazonas state, and is eleven months younger than its rival, Nacional.'' ...
, which became the first Japanese to open a judo and jiu-jitsu academy in Brazil.
Satake became a Brazilian citizen and changed his name to Antônio Soshihiro Satake.
On 19 September 1921, Satake, Maeda, and Okura were briefly in New York City. They were aboard the Booth Line steamship SS ''Polycarp''. All three men listed their occupations as professors of "juitso". After leaving New York, the three men went to the Caribbean, where they stayed from September to December 1921. In Havana, Satake and Maeda took part in some contests. Their opponents included Paul Alvarez, who wrestled as Espanol Icognito. Alvarez defeated Satake and Yako Okura—the latter being billed as a former instructor at the Chilean Naval Academy—before being himself beaten by Maeda. Maeda also defeated a Cuban boxer called Jose Ibarra, and a French wrestler called Fournier.
[''Diario De La Marina'', Havana, various dates, September–December 1921.]
In 1922, Satake embarked to Europe and nothing was known about him after that.
See also
*
Oswaldo Fadda
Oswaldo Baptista Fadda (August 1, 1920 – April 1, 2005) was a practitioner of jujutsu and developer of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, reaching the rank of "nono grau", a 9th degree red belt. In 2014, he was posthumously awarded the 10th degree ("décimo ...
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Satake, Soshihiro
19th-century births
Year of birth missing
Place of birth missing
20th-century deaths
Year of death missing
Place of death missing
Japanese emigrants to Brazil
Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Japanese male judoka
Japanese jujutsuka
Japanese practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu