James H Takemori Inducted 2015 James H. Takemori wrote the following about his judo experiences. In 1937 at the age of 11, I had my first taste of judo in the small town of Parlier, California. My sensei was a Buddhist reverend. When I first started practicing ukemi...

Kayla Harrison Inducted 2015 Kayla Harrison made history at the 2012 Olympics in London by winning the first Gold Medal by any American (man or woman) in the history of the sport of judo. Her victory marks another step in a career characterized by success at the...

Kyu Ha Kim Inducted 1994 Kyu Ha Kim began his martial arts training in his home village at the age of five; his first teacher was his elder half-brother, Kyu Tae Kim. At fifteen, Kyu Ha Km entered Tae Jon High School and began formal martial arts training under Han...

Hideo Hama Inducted 1993 Tak Mizuta wrote: The following are anecdotal incidents regarding Sensei Hama. During the mid and late 1930s, I practiced judo at the Yakima (Wapato, Washington) Dojo. Sensei Hama occasionallly dropped in to our practices. I remember him...

Jim Onchi Inducted 1994 In 1932 Jim met and attended a Judo clinic that Japan’s Judo founder, Professor Jigoro Kano, presented when he came to Portland. This must have been a pivotal time for Jim to meet and train directly from the founder of Judo and to learn his...

Eichi Koiwai Inducted 1993 Eichi Karl Koiwai, M.D. (February 21, 1920 – February 23, 2009) was the president of the United States Judo Federation (USJF) in 1973 and 1974 and the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee in 1973. Koiwai was the chairman of the...

Joseph Fitzsimmons Inducted 2016 Dr Fitzsimmons tells his own story. I was born in Piqua, Ohio, a small farming community, on January 31, 1924. I am now 92 years of age. I attended St. Mary’s Grade school. I flunked the second grade, probably because I was deaf in the...

Mas Yamashita Inducted 1994 Beyond his devotion to family, Mas had two passions: judo and service to youth. For more than seventy years, Mas combined these two passions as an instructor of judo to the youth of Treasure Valley. In 1939, Mas was instrumental in founding...

Hayward Nishioka Inducted 2015 Hayward Nishioka is the retired Professor of Kinesiology and Health, Los Angeles City College for 41 years teaching judo as a credit course. His education culminated in an MA. in Physical Education and MA. Administrative Education,...

Isamu Shishido Inducted 1994 In 1976, he and two other local residents — Genkichi Okazaki and Kizo Suzuki — were honored by the emperor of Japan for their contributions toward promoting Japanese martial arts in Hawai’i. Each was awarded a kun rokuto zunihosho (sixth...