Shigeya Matsumura-sensei posthumous promotion to 9 dan

Matsumura-sensei was posthumously promoted to 9 dan by the Kodokan on 17 January 2016.

Very sad to hear of his passing, but glad of this promotion.
I had the privilege of attending a ne waza clinic he gave in 2009 in Shawinigan Quebec. I believe he was about 85 years old at the time.  We were amazed at the strength and vigor he showed and I thoroughly enjoyed the technical details he passed on.  The clinic was an interesting mix of conditioning drills, specific techniques in application and discussion of general principles as demonstrated by the applications.
All of this delivered with great humour and cheerfulness.
I regret not attending the Katame no Kata clinic he gave on the same occasion, but fortunately it was captured on video and copies distributed to interested parties.
I owe a debt of gratitude to Sensei Philippe Davidson of Club de Judo Ghishintaido, for organising the visit and capturing everything on video.  Shigeya Matsumura-sensei was truly a remarkable man, and even such a short exposure has left a lasting impression on me.

He was remarkable. The posthumous promotion is a very nice touch, but I am more in favour of promoting people earlier and while alive to give them time to enjoy the grade.

Jonesy wrote:He was remarkable. The posthumous promotion is a very nice touch, but I am more in favour of promoting people earlier and while alive to give them time to enjoy the grade.

Could not agree more.

There is precedent for posthumous promotions, but I agree with Jonesy - it is best done to show appreciation for someone while they are alive. The upper rank time in grade requirements are skewed towards full time judo instructors and there are only so many of those positions; everyone else has to work for a living (not that being a full time judo instructor isn't working!)

Also there is the very practical matter of the revenue from promotions, which are expensive anywhere.

I have never understood what has been described to me as the semi-feudal Kodokan promotion system.

The bureaucracy has taken over the All Japan Judo Federation and things have apparently ground to a halt. I had students that passed their shodan tests in May 2015 and we still don't have their AJJF and Kodokan certificates.

Now I am told that both organizations are significantly tightening up the promotion standards; I don' t know what them means. One aspect I hear is some move to change the promotion requirements for women.

The Kodokan had a particular predilection for posthumous promotions to Judan which lasted for decades.  I suspect this to have resulted from a political sensitivity of that rarest of ranks and a reticence among the kudan to appear arrogant or presumptuous in seeking it.
The triple promotion in 2006 appears to have been intended to break this impasse, and one hopes that it hasn't resulted in the "No promotion alive" policy to be pushed down to kudan.
For myself, I've been waiting for my Kodokan diploma since my last successful exam in June 2015.  not sure what the holdup is.  I was expecting to get it no later than the 2016 Kagami Biraki ceremony, but strangely Judo Quebec doesn't seem to have held one this year, so I'm still waiting. They cashed my cheque promptly enough, so if no diploma is forthcoming I'll be rattling their chains soon enough.
If the Kodokan is making some changes, I do hope they harmonize the male and female requirements and drop the extra requirement for women to perform Ju no kata for shodan.  Another option would be to offer a choice of ju no kata or nage no kata to both genders.  It's 2016, and both genders fully participate in randori and shiai and often train together.  It seems nonsensical to maintain this dichotomy which may have made sense in the 1930s but doesn't seem justifiable now.

Obtaining a 9 dan or 10 dan in Japan is hugely difficult, and 8 dan is regarded as the terminal rank in almost all circumstances. Time in grade for promotion from 8 dan to 9 dan is normally 21 years, with 10 years as a minimum. Sometimes it is reduced for exceptional cases - e.g. Uemura-kancho.

Y-Chromosome wrote:The Kodokan had a particular predilection for posthumous promotions to Judan which lasted for decades.  I suspect this to have resulted from a political sensitivity of that rarest of ranks and a reticence among the kudan to appear arrogant or presumptuous in seeking it.
The triple promotion in 2006 appears to have been intended to break this impasse, and one hopes that it hasn't resulted in the "No promotion alive" policy to be pushed down to kudan.
For myself, I've been waiting for my Kodokan diploma since my last successful exam in June 2015.  not sure what the holdup is.  I was expecting to get it no later than the 2016 Kagami Biraki ceremony, but strangely Judo Quebec doesn't seem to have held one this year, so I'm still waiting.  They cashed my cheque promptly enough, so if no diploma is forthcoming I'll be rattling their chains soon enough.
If the Kodokan is making some changes, I do hope they harmonize the male and female requirements and drop the extra requirement for women to perform Ju no kata for shodan.  Another option would be to offer a choice of ju no kata or nage no kata to both genders.  It's 2016, and both genders fully participate in randori and shiai and often train together.  It seems nonsensical to maintain this dichotomy which may have made sense in the 1930s but doesn't seem justifiable now.

How about they equalize the requirements for Japanese and non-Japanese first

finarashi wrote:

Y-Chromosome wrote:The Kodokan had a particular predilection for posthumous promotions to Judan which lasted for decades.  I suspect this to have resulted from a political sensitivity of that rarest of ranks and a reticence among the kudan to appear arrogant or presumptuous in seeking it.
The triple promotion in 2006 appears to have been intended to break this impasse, and one hopes that it hasn't resulted in the "No promotion alive" policy to be pushed down to kudan.
For myself, I've been waiting for my Kodokan diploma since my last successful exam in June 2015.  not sure what the holdup is.  I was expecting to get it no later than the 2016 Kagami Biraki ceremony, but strangely Judo Quebec doesn't seem to have held one this year, so I'm still waiting.  They cashed my cheque promptly enough, so if no diploma is forthcoming I'll be rattling their chains soon enough.
If the Kodokan is making some changes, I do hope they harmonize the male and female requirements and drop the extra requirement for women to perform Ju no kata for shodan.  Another option would be to offer a choice of ju no kata or nage no kata to both genders.  It's 2016, and both genders fully participate in randori and shiai and often train together.  It seems nonsensical to maintain this dichotomy which may have made sense in the 1930s but doesn't seem justifiable now.

How about they equalize the requirements for Japanese and non-Japanese first

I never saw any different treatment or requirements when I lived in Japan.