Kano's sons hated judo?

Caught this bonmot on another forum. Could one of our history buffs comment?

"None of the Kano sons practiced judo, and two of them seemed to have hated it. The first son, Rishin (1897-1934) was a painter. He studied in Europe, and took the drastic step of giving up the Kano name, taking his mother's family name instead, become Rishin Takezoe. Kano did not shed a tear when Rishin died, and went to work as usual the day after his son's death."

(Source seems to be "The way of Judo")

If that's from Stephens' book, he never bothers to provide footnotes.

There is a regular practice in Japan of adopting sons to continue the family name - Kano shihan's father was adopted into the Kano family when he married the (eldest?) daughter of a wealthy sake brewer family. You can't ascribe hatred to that act; in fact it is a great honor and responsibility.  The adopted son inherits the family's name, wealth, and ancestral tomb. I believe Takezoe, a famous Chinese scholar, diplomat, and successful businessman, had only daughters. One of my judo instructors was adopted when he married the eldest daughter of a businessman to run the family business.

Often there is a practical motive, too, when the sons don't present the right temperament for the family business.  Kano's father was meant to take over the Kano family sake business but declined in favor of seeking his own way doing business with the young Meiji government.

Kano's family history is not clear. Sometimes he is cited as the second or third son; even a grandson wrote an essay citing conflicting info. I've seen info that cited a Kano Tokusaburo as a son while my research clearly indicates he was a nephew. And to confuse things more it seems one child was adopted back in the father's famous Shinto priest family, name of Shogenji.

NBK wrote:If that's from Stephens' book, he never bothers to provide footnotes. ....

Why Brother with footnotes or references if they come in a way of a good story!

Thank you NBK!

Is Stevens book having (if for entertainment value alone?)

Creamy creamy baileys wrote:Caught this bonmot on another forum. Could one of our history buffs comment?

"None of the Kano sons practiced judo, and two of them seemed to have hated it. The first son, Rishin (1897-1934) was a painter. He studied in Europe, and took the drastic step of giving up the Kano name, taking his mother's family name instead, become Rishin Takezoe. Kano did not shed a tear when Rishin died, and went to work as usual the day after his son's death."

(Source seems to be "The way of Judo")

Kanô's family is detailed in note 15, page 111 of an article on Joshi jûdô goshinhô that appeared in Archives of Budo 7, 3: OF105-123, 2011, and that is downloadable for free from the journal's home page: www.archbudo.com

I believe that Kanô Tokusaburô legally was a son of Kanô, irrespective of what 'naturally' might have happened.

And therein lies part of the problem of figuring this all out. A good number of folks intertwined for life. And Kano shihan is entombed without descendants, in a large tomb.

Kano was very close to his sisters and brothers, at least two who moved to Tokyo and married. An elder sister married into the family of a famous navy admiral, and had Nango Jiro, the Imperial Navy admiral who became the second Kodokan kancho. Before he married Kano apparently spent a lot of time with that family, and both Nango and the nephew Kano Tokusaburo, and Kano's younger brother, joined the Kodokan in the very early days and also joined Kano's juku, a private academy in the ancient neo-Confucian manner, which meant they lived with Kano for years. Offhand I think another brother joined the Kodokan but not the juku. Kano's own other sons sort of scattered to the winds. One joined the KDK for years but became a banker, moving to the Korean colony, another a businessman in Hokkaido, and from there I can't find a trace. Rishin Kano / Takazoe died in his 30's, I think from complications from an auto accident.

All this would be recorded on the koseki, the family registry, but Japan's draconian new privacy laws mean they aren't accessible outside the families without permission, and today I'm not even sure who you could approach for permission. There haven't been any males born in the family for a long time. Kano Yukimitsu is the last male I know and he's in his 70's. Maybe I'll ask him next time I see him.

Don't forget to mention Kanô's son who was arrested, made front page news, and then was smuggled out of the country heading for the US to stay out of the claws of the Japanese police. Yes, he wasn't much into jûdô either, but admittedly one of the more interesting characters. Kanô obviously pulled his weight to get him out of the country in this way also trying to avert a scandal that might have brought Kanô's own political career down. With his many connections and friends at foreign embassies and other aristocratic connections, Kanô here too was able to pull off things that many mere mortals would not have been successful at.

CK is right - Kano shihan knew a stunning number of people. He and his classmates from his earliest days went on to build the new Japan from the rubble of the Tokugawa ancien regime. Imagine Washington Carver / Andrew Carnegie / Rockfeller / George Washington all going to school and growing up together - that's the caliber of people Kano knew intimately.

Creamy creamy baileys wrote:Thank you NBK!

Is Stevens book having (if for entertainment value alone?)

I have very mixed emotions about it - it superficially introduces a handful of bit players in Kano's world. There is a thread here on it.

My planned book will cover a lotofthis.

Cichorei Kano wrote:Don't forget to mention Kanô's son who was arrested, made front page news, and then was smuggled out of the country heading for the US to stay out of the claws of the Japanese police. Yes, he wasn't much into jûdô either, but admittedly one of the more interesting characters. Kanô obviously pulled his weight to get him out of the country in this way also trying to avert a scandal that might have brought Kanô's own political career down. With his many connections and friends at foreign embassies and other aristocratic connections, Kanô here too was able to pull off things that many mere mortals would not have been successful at.

What crime was he accused of?

seatea wrote:

Cichorei Kano wrote:Don't forget to mention Kanô's son who was arrested, made front page news, and then was smuggled out of the country heading for the US to stay out of the claws of the Japanese police. Yes, he wasn't much into jûdô either, but admittedly one of the more interesting characters. Kanô obviously pulled his weight to get him out of the country in this way also trying to avert a scandal that might have brought Kanô's own political career down. With his many connections and friends at foreign embassies and other aristocratic connections, Kanô here too was able to pull off things that many mere mortals would not have been successful at.

What crime was he accused of?

He was arrested for being a Communist (Reference: Japan Times, Sep. 23, 1933, page 1.)

You may find it interesting that he then was sent to the US ...

Generally male sons are against what are related to their fathers.

Emanuele2 wrote:Generally male sons are against what are related to theri fathers.

You are assuming that Kanô was not a communist ? Fair enough. However, he was certainly influenced by socialism, although this part has also been carefully excised from most of his biographical information, which now suggests that his inspiration solely came from British and American pedagogues and utilitarian, social Darwinian, and liberal philosophers. This is, however, not complete and he also was inspired by several French socialists. However, in the 1930s relating yourself to communism was a dangerous thing to do, and several communists who were arrested by police 'disappeared' or "sadly commited suicide under unclear circumstances" ...

All the overlap between the national socialist movements, fascists and communism makes my head hurt - the Japanese who led pre-war Japan were very suspicious of the Communist and the Comintern, but in the end advocated, and got, essentially single party rule with a directed economy, social integration and watch organizations into every village and city block, a government intervening in every aspect of life from education to clothing (Kano was supposedly a fan of the Mao jacket type people's uniform clothing proposed and adopted in Japan that never took off to the point it did in China).

I guess at the end of the day the difference comes down to Who is in Charge? The proletariat under the Communists or Emperor worshipping elites under the Japanese system.

NBK wrote:My planned book will cover a lot of this.