Passing of Kobayashi Kiyoshi-sensei, Kōdōkan 9th dan

It is my sad duty to announce the passing of Kobayashi Kiyoshi-sensei, Kōdōkan 9th dan, at the age of 88, and one of only two Kōdōkan 9th dan-holders to have resided abroad over the past decades.

Kobayashi-sensei was born in Gumma Prefecture on April 9, 1925 (according to the Kōdōkan dan-rank register, in 1928 according to the Portuguese Judo Federation). Kobayashi-sensei was a student of Mifune, and there exists private footage showing him as an uke for Mifune in itsutsu-no-kata and public jūdō demonstrations. When Abe Ichirō visited Portugal in August 1958, he was accompanied by Kobayashi-sensei. Kobayashi-sensei left a deep impression on the Portuguese jūdō audience who presented him with an invitation to come to Portugal for an extended period of time. Kobayashi-sensei took up this invitation 3 months later. In 2004 he was promoted by the Kōdōkan to 9th dan, two years after Awazu Shōzō-sensei and became only the second Japanese teacher with such a high rank living abroad. Kobayashi-sensei must have felt his end nearing as some time ago he decided to return to his home country. Kobayashi-sensei was also one of only two Japanese with an IJF-recognized high-dan rank.





In this picture dating from 2008, Kobayashi is at Kanô Yukimitsu's left side.





Many of you will know Kobayashi-sensei from the book "The sport of judo", which he co-authored with Harold Sharp:




Some background info on Kobayashi-sensei on the website of the Portuguese Judo Federation (in Portuguese only):


http://www.fpj.pt/noticias/geral/kiyoshi-kobayashi-homenageado-no-kodokan

He was the "father" of portuguese Judo... it's a sad day for us.

He lived here in Portugal for about 50 years...

May he rest in peace.

I still have the first edition of he and Hal Sharp's book. Wow, we were so young then. R.I.P. Sensei.

The EJU has published a brief obituary for Kobayashi-sensei:

http://www.eju.net/news/?mode=showNewsItem&id=2589

Some of the information contained in the obituary, regrettably, is inaccurate. For example, it says that Kobayashi-sensei was promoted by the Kôdôkan to 9th dan in 1999. That is not true; perhaps by the Portuguese Judo Federation. Kobayashi-sensei was promoted by the Kôdôkan Heisei 16, which is 2004. Given the extremely long minimal time-in-grade required for a Kôdôkan 9th dan (21 years), and the rarity of this high rank the EJU's information would have been unlikely anyhow. Perhaps a small detail, but Kobayashi's legacy requires we do a good job describing his contributions and merits.