judoka
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"). ...
. Before his death, he was the only living
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'' ( ...
10th
dan
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
(and one of only 15 to have attained this rank), having been promoted at the New Year
Kagami Biraki
is a traditional Japanese ceremony where are broken open. It traditionally falls on January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan). The term also refers to the opening of a cask of sake at a party or ceremony.
Histor ...
Ceremony, 8 January 2006 along with Toshiro Daigo and
Ichiro Abe
was a Japanese judoka. He was head of the Promotions Panel at the Kodokan and former international chairperson of the All Nippon Judo Federation. He was one of only fifteen judoka to have attained Kodokan 10th dan rank, having been promoted at ...
.
Biography
Ōsawa was born 6 March 1926 in Munakata Village,
Inba District
is a district located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
As of 2011, the district has an estimated population of 43,480 and a density of 845 persons per km2. The total area is 51.48 km2.
There are two towns within the district.
* Sakae
*Shisui ...
,
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...
,
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 ...
(now part of
Inzai
file:Inzai city hall.JPG, 260px, Inzai City Hall
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 105,463 in 42,388 households and a population density of 850 persons per km². The total are ...
City). He was educated at
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902.
The university has numerou ...
and later became a
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 ...
instructor there. Osawa weighed in at 145 lbs. but competed against all sizes. Although at times he went as big as 5' 6", 160 lbs. He was highly regarded as a Judo technician, particularly for his ashi-waza and, although a lightweight, was considered a favourite to win the
All-Japan Judo Championships
is a judo tournament held every year in Japan. The men's tournament is held in Nippon Budokan on 29 April and the women's tournament (dubbed "Empress cup All-Japan women's Judo championships") is held in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in April. T ...
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 ...
tournament in November 1948. After he retired, he made a trip to Brazil. He was challenged by
Helio Gracie
Helio may refer to:
* Helio AU-24 Stallion
* Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008
* ...
, who had previously been defeated by Kimura. As a coach, he was forced to decline the match. Osawa was a primary author of the book Kodokan Judo: A Guide to Proficiency. Osawa was the head instructor at Waseda University. Osawa was considered to be one of the top technicians in Judo post World War II.
Ōsawa died from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...