Mifune Kyūzō and his work

Hello guys,

it is my first post here!
To say right away, I am no jūdōka, but practice Karate and research its history, so I do not know much about the actual techniques in Jūdō. I am interested in Budō and Jūdō history however, particularly in Mifune Kyūzō 三船久蔵 as of now.

During my research I found a staggering amount of material written by him, like the books:

柔道一路 (Jūdō. One Way) - his autobiography
柔道回顧録 (Jūdō memoirs) - again something autobiographical
柔道講座 (Jūdō lectures) - I reckon something technical
柔道の真髄 : 道と術 (The essence of Jūdō : way and technique) - probably a mix of philosophy and technique
道と術 : 柔道教典 (Way and technique : Jūdō teaching guide) - see above
三船名人 : アルバム集 (The master Mifune - An album collection)

On top of that is an abundance of articles and all sorts of contributions to magazines and journals.

The most famous book in English is "Canon of Judo" I believe, apart from that the rest seems hardly to be translated at all. Can anyone of the history experts tell me a reasons for this? Is it just not worth from a business perspective or is the Kōdōkan up for something? Mifune has a good reputation in Jūdō, hasn't he?
Maybe the question seems weird but I was surprised that virtually nothing about him is available in English or any Western language.

While I am at it, does anyone have suggestions for good books on Jūdō history? German, English, Japanese - it doesn't matter.

Thanks for your time,
pipi

Below are photos of young Kyuzo Mifune from Mifune Judan Museum.

betterjudo.com - wrote:The next morning, we went back to the Mifune Judan Museum. Sensei Hisamatsu was waiting for us. He arranged free entrance for our group, which I thought was very kind of him to do. There is much to see in the museum; his gi, formal clothing, calligraphy, awards, certificates, etc. Three different video clips of Mifune, each around six minutes long, can be viewed. What truly amazed me, however, was two photos of Mifune. Everyone knows that Mifune was small; maybe 5’1’’ and 110lb. I was shocked when I realized within that small frame was the musculature of a body builder. See for yourself.

Taken when Mifune was 24 years old.


Small, not puny! Mifune is on the left.


Source http://betterjudo.com/mifune-judan/#more-867

Mifune also wrote a 5 volume, comprehensive book-set on judo -  "Judo Koza 1-5" (Matsumoto, 1955).  Not available in English.

http://artgaragejapan.blogspot.com/2011/11/judo-koza-god-of-judo-kyuzo-mifune.html

pipi wrote: While I am at it, does anyone have suggestions for good books on Jūdō history? German, English, Japanese - it doesn't matter.

Hello,
One book that you may like is : “The Fighting Spirit of Japan: The Esoteric Study of the Martial Arts and Way of Life in Japan” by E. J. Harrison.
https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Spirit-Japan-Esoteric-Martial/dp/0879511427

This is no scholarly work, but E. J. Harrison lived a long time in Japan, practiced a lot of Judo, and was a student of Mifune, amongst others.

Source: http://judoinfo.com/mifune/

Rules of the Dojo by Kyuzo Mifune, 10th dan

Have no falsehood in mind.
Ruluctance or deceit are not conducive to the inner harmony required by Judo practice.

Do not lose self-confidence.
Learn to act wholeheartedly, without hesitation. Show reverance toward the practice of Judo, by keeping your mind in it.

Keep your balance.
The center of gravity follows the movement of the body. The center of gravity is the most important element in maintaining stablility. If it is lost, the body is naturally unbalanced. Thus, fix your mind so that your body is always in balance.

Utilize your strength efficiently.
Minimize the use of strength with the quickest movement of body. Acknowledge that what is called stillness and motion is nothing but an endlessly repeated process.

Don’t discontinue training.
Mastery of Judo cannot be accomplished in a short time. Since skills depend on mental and physical application, constant training is essential.

Keep yourself humble.
If you become self-centered, you will build a wall around yourself and lose your freedom. If you can humble yourself in preparation for an event you will surely be better able to judge and understand it. In a match, you will be able to detect the weak point of your opponent and easily put him/her under control.

--------------
To master an actual technique, mental culture should come first.
Acquiring a technique requires a careful, modest, non-mean, free and attentive mind.
In other words a player should do his utmost and nothing less.
…..Kyuzo Mifune

https://judo.forumotion.com/t2026-webpage-about-kyuzo-mifune

十段　三船久蔵　
～柔道の神様と呼ばれた男～
http://www.kuukinage.com/

There are some captions from content:

三船久蔵とは About Mifune Kyuzo
三船久蔵年表 Mifune Kyuzo chronology
生まれ Born
幼少の頃 His childhood
柔道との出会い Encounter with judo
段位取得 Rank acquisition
柔道の研究 Study of judo
柔道の歌 Song of Judo
趣味と柔道 Judo and hobbies
表彰の数々The number of individual awards
郁子夫人 Mrs. Ikuko
逸話 Anecdote
学業 Academic
四方山話 Yomoyamabanashi
写真館 Photos - http://www.kuukinage.com/syasin.html - photos of some personal Mifune's objects - calligraphies, suits, judogi, certificates for 10.,8.,7.,6.dan etc.
三船十段記念館 Mifune Ju-dan Memorial

pipi wrote:Hello guys,

it is my first post here!
To say right away, I am no jūdōka, but practice Karate and research its history, so I do not know much about the actual techniques in Jūdō. I am interested in Budō and Jūdō history however, particularly in Mifune Kyūzō 三船久蔵 as of now.

During my research I found a staggering amount of material written by him, like the books:

柔道一路 (Jūdō. One Way) - his autobiography
柔道回顧録 (Jūdō memoirs) - again something autobiographical
柔道講座 (Jūdō lectures) - I reckon something technical
柔道の真髄 : 道と術 (The essence of Jūdō : way and technique) - probably a mix of philosophy and technique
道と術 : 柔道教典 (Way and technique : Jūdō teaching guide) - see above
三船名人 : アルバム集 (The master Mifune - An album collection)

On top of that is an abundance of articles and all sorts of contributions to magazines and journals.

The most famous book in English is "Canon of Judo" I believe, apart from that the rest seems hardly to be translated at all. Can anyone of the history experts tell me a reasons for this? Is it just not worth from a business perspective or is the Kōdōkan up for something? Mifune has a good reputation in Jūdō, hasn't he?
Maybe the question seems weird but I was surprised that virtually nothing about him is available in English or any Western language.

While I am at it, does anyone have suggestions for good books on Jūdō history? German, English, Japanese - it doesn't matter.

Thanks for your time,
pipi

There is plenty of info about Mifune sensei on the internet. Some of it is even true.

Many prewar judo technical books would likely not sell well today. In fact, few judo books sell well period.

Yes, Mifune sensei has the reputation as one of the greatest judo technicians in history.

Do you read Japanese at a fairly high level?

In English I highly recommend Brian Watson's Judo Memoirs of Kano Jigoro to start. Every judoka should have it.
https://www.amazon.com/Judo-Memoirs-Jigoro-Brian-Watson/dp/1425163491

NBK wrote:
There is plenty of info about Mifune sensei on the internet. Some of it is even true.

Many prewar judo technical books would likely not sell well today. In fact, few judo books sell well period.

Yes, Mifune sensei has the reputation as one of the greatest judo technicians in history.

Do you read Japanese at a fairly high level?

In English I highly recommend Brian Watson's Judo Memoirs of Kano Jigoro to start. Every judoka should have it.
https://www.amazon.com/Judo-Memoirs-Jigoro-Brian-Watson/dp/1425163491

Hello!

Thanks and sorry for the late replies here. I have not been so active here and only saw the replies now.

I cannot comment on Mifune's technical level, but it seems he is famous but his works simply not translated into English.

I can understand that many books on Budo (especially old ones) would probably not sell so well these days. All of the book shops and antiquarian shops I frequent in Tokyo, rarely sell their stock of Budo books. Only really rare one's seel quickly it seems. (Same is true for online auctions).

Yes, I do read Japanese and would be interested in book recommendations on Kano and/or Mifune.
The Judo books I have now are:

- Kōdōkan: 嘉納治五郎 (1964 version)
- Makino Noboru: 史伝・西郷四郎
- Murata Naoki: 嘉納治五郎師範に学ぶ
- Tōdō Yoshiaki: 柔道・その歴史と技法
- Iizuka Ichiyō: 柔道を創った男たち
- Ōtaki Tadao (edt.): 嘉納治五郎・私の生涯と柔道
- Mifune Kyūzō: 柔道一路

Any recommendations are welcomed. Have a good day!

You have a good selection.

Finarishi has the best judo book list - simply awesome.

If you can read those you're in good shape. Where did you learn Japanese?

One of the issues seems to be that when Mifune sensei died a different faction took over the Kodokan training and thought leadership, taking it in a different direction. It was not in their interest to continue the thoughts and training style of Mifune sensei.

I would add one to that list 柔道講座 Jûdô Kôza, a multi volume set published in 1955.

If you're in Tokyo and you can't find a set, I have an extra I might sell. The covers are not in great shape but the books are good to very good. PM me if interested.

For general Judo history I like Judo : A sport and a way of life, Brousse Michel (1952 - ) Matsumoto, David, Seoul, Korea, International Judo Federation, 1999, 165p, and A History of Judo, Hoare Sydney R. (1939 - 2017), United Kingdom, Yamagi Books, 2008, 160p, ISBN13 9780956049803

Scolary work of high quality of Kano is Leben und Werk Kanô Jigôros (1860 - 1938): Ein Forschungsbeitrag zur Leibeserziehung und zum Sport in Japan, Niehaus, Andreas, Würzburg, Germany, ERGON, 2003, 382p, ISBN 3899133102

AFAIK there are only histories and biographies of Kano but very few of others, Yamashita and Matsumae come into mind. About Mifune? no.

There is fair amount of national Judo histories especially french.