was an early student of

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"). ...

and the third person to be promoted to 10th dan.

Biography

Nagaoka was born in Okayama Prefecture September 17, 1876. He trained in Kito-ryu

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 ...

under in Okayama before moving to Tokyo in 1892. In January 1893 he started training at 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'' ( ...

, earning his first dan in September 1894. He was considered a "

child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

" due to his fast rising, being compared to the legendary

Shiro Saigo was one of the earliest disciples of Judo. Saigo, together with Tsunejiro Tomita, became first in history of judo to be awarded Shodan by the founder of judo Jigoro Kano, who established the kyu-dan ranking system. He was one of the Kōdōkan ...

.外編２−古流と講道館流
/ref> His favourite techniques were

sutemi-waza In martial arts, a throw is a grappling technique that involves off-balancing or lifting an opponent, and throwing them to the ground, in Japanese martial arts referred to as ''nage-waza'', 投げ技, "throwing technique". Throws are a subset o ...

. In 1899, Nagaoka faced Fusen-ryu

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 ...

in a special match. Tanabe was famous for submitting judokas thanks to his skill at

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 ...

, but Nagaoka was able to resist his groundwork. At one point, Mataemon attempted and almost locked a

juji-gatame An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

, but Nagaoka's defense and their position near the bounds of the tatami impeded the technique. The match was declared a draw. In 1902 as a fifth dan, Nagaoka moved to Kobe with the mission of the spreading judo in and taught at the "Hyogo constable Driving School". He was made professor of judo at Dai Nihon Butokukai in 1903. In May 1913 Nagaoka became a mentor at the Kodokan and was made judo head instructor at Tokyo Vocational High School as well as at the Metropolitan Police and Chuo University and was awarded the title of

hanshi The Japanese language makes use of a system of honorific speech, called , which includes honorific suffixes and prefixes when referring to others in a conversation. Suffixes are often gender-specific at the end of names, while prefixes are att ...

in judo from the Dainippon Butokukai in 1914. He was promoted to tenth dan on 27 December 1937, the third person to be afforded the honour, and the last person to be promoted to that rank by Kano Shihan. He died November 22, 1952, aged 77.

References

1876 births 1952 deaths Sportspeople from Okayama Prefecture Japanese male judoka Kodokan 10th dans {{Japan-judo-bio-stub