Source: gantdaily.com --- Friday, December 01, 2017
In an unassuming Tokyo tower block sits the headquarters of a sport at a spiritual crossroads. A stone’s throw from the Japanese capital’s space age domed Baseball stadium, and in the shadow of a nearby theme park’s roller coaster, is the Kodokan International Judo Center. From the lobby, it appears like any of Tokyo’s countless high-rise buildings. A sign for a café in the basement and a small merchandise stand offer little hint of what’s above. But an elevator ride to the second floor reveals the home of a sport with competitive and philosophical roots stretching back over 130 years. It’s this floor that is home to the Kodokan’s library and museum, where writings and images from judo’s history are displayed in glass cabinets to be studied and revered. The curator of this collection is Noaki Murata, someone who has built his life around judo and who cherishes the values first preached by its founder Jigoro Kano in 1882. “The ultimate goal is to put inside our mind two principles,” explains Murata, who — despite his 68 years — boasts broad shoulders and a strong posture that speak to his past athletic prowess. “The principle of maximum efficiency and the principle of mutual welfare and benefit, that’s the spirit of judo.” The Kodokan is an eight-storey training mecca for aspiring and elite-level judokas willing to eat, sleep and breathe the sport. While not exactly modern, every inch of the building is pristine. Spread between t ...
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