ContentsScope and Contents of the Collection
Mr Kamaguchi -- Mr. Kitagaki -- Prof. Yamashita -- Mrs. Yamashita 1904 Children's class: Margaret Perrin -- Miss A. Lee 1904 Uchi mata (rotation [arrow]) 1904 Yoko gake [photo loose, laid into album] 1904 Dai roku kyo: Giyaku maki komi (a) 1904 Dai shi kyo: Utsuri goshi 1904 Dai go kyo: Uchi maki komi 1904 Dai raku kyo: kube nage (a) 1904 [Prof. Yamashita, Mrs. Yamashita, unidentified American] 1904 [Prof. Yamashita seated between unidentified Americans] 1904 [Prof. Yamashita seated between unidentified Americans] 1904 Receipt for $50 to Yoshiaki Yamashita 1904 Address in Washington, D.C. 1904 Instructions on judo throws 1904 |
Yoshiaki Yamashita Photograph Album, ca.1904Finding AidFinding aid prepared by rsc.2008
Administrative InformationGift of Caroline Watson, December 2007. Processed by rsc, February 2008. Preferred CitationCite as: Yoshiaki Yamashita Photograph Album (PH 006). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst. The collection is open for research. Return to the Table of Contents Historical NoteYoshiaki and Fude Yamashita, ca.1904Seeking to strengthen his nine-year old son's "character," Samuel Hill, sought out a suitable man to provide instruction in an exotic art he had seen during a business trip to Japan: judo. A wealthy Seattle railroad executive, Hill had the contacts -- and funds -- to hire the best and in February 1903, Kazuyoshi Shibata, a Yale student and friend of a Japanese acquaintance, recommended Professor Yoshiaki (Yoshigutsu) Yamashita as the best man for the manly job. Born in Ishikawa Prefecture on Feb. 16, 1865, the son of a minor samurai, Yamashita had a basic grounding in the traditional martial arts before joining the new Kodokan dojo of Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, in August 1884. Yamashita rose steadily, even rapidly, through the ranks, achieving his sixth degree black belt in 1898 and gaining wide respect for his technical mastery. By the turn of the century, his reputation earned him a position teaching judo at the Japanese Naval Academy and Tokyo Imperial University. Having long believed that making judo better known abroad would be good for Japan, Yamashita was an outstanding choice to spread the discipline in America, and he quickly responded to Hill's inquiry. Accepting the offer in August 1903, Yamashita sailed for Seattle the following month, bringing with him his wife, Fude, and a 19-year old assistant, Saburo Kawaguchi (or Kamaguchi). Barely a week after their arrival, the trio gave a private judo exhibition for Hill and prominent invited guests, which historian Joseph Svinth believes may have been the first Kodokan judo exhibition for a non-Japanese audience in North America. From Seattle, Yamashita and his party traveled across country by rail to Washington, D.C., where Hill's son, John Nathan Hill, was then living. Offering demonstrations and lessons through the Japanese Legation, Yamashita found an eager audience of students in the nation's capitol, and a surprisingly strong interest among the daughters of the nation's political and corporate elite. Among the many who took notice was the President, Theodore Roosevelt, who had a well-known passion for what he considered manly pursuits. Through the Japanese Naval Attaché, Isamu Takeshita, Yamashita was introduced to Roosevelt at the White House in 1904 and by the spring, he had Roosevelt adding judo to his regular fitness regimen. In January 1905, Yamashita left Washington to accept a position instructing midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. At the same time, representatives of the Army visited Annapolis to investigate the potential of Japanese martial arts, but while these representatives were favorably impressed, the Academy opted instead to hire a wrestling champion to train the cadets, a man who preferred the traditional western sports of boxing and wrestling. From this point forward, Yamashita's American sojourn wound down. His contract with the Naval Academy was not renewed for the fall 1905, but after Roosevelt personally intervened, Superintendent James H. Sands agreed to rehire him for another year. At the end of this second term, however, Sands recommended that the judo program be discontinued as not essential to shipboard life. Yamashita returned to Japan in the fall 1906 and continued to teach judo until his death on October 26, 1935. He was posthumously awarded the 10th degree black belt, the first ever so honored. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Contents of the CollectionThe Yamashita photograph album consists of 53 silver developing out prints of Yamashita's tour of the United States in 1903-1905. Laid onto stiff cardboard pages in a canvas-bound album, the images appear to have been used as teaching aids or as promotional material for classes taught by Yamashita in Washington, D.C., during the early months of 1904. A small number of images show Yamashita, Yamashita's wife, Saburo Kawaguchi, and their students, but the majority are intended to depict particular judo holds and throws. Laid into the album are four documents: a list of judo exercises (2p.); Yamashita's address ("kindness of Lt. [Isamu] Takashita" of the Japanese Legation); a receipt in Japanese and English for payment by George de Geofroy, (presumably for judo lessons); and instructions for various judo throws (6p.). Yamashita's calling card is included in an envelope laid into the front of the album. Many of the images are numbered in the negative and appear to have been photographed in a rather elaborate setting. Return to the Table of Contents Search TermsReturn to the Table of Contents Mr Kamaguchi -- Mr. Kitagaki -- Prof. Yamashita -- Mrs. Yamashita 1904 Silver developing out printChildren's class: Margaret Perrin -- Miss A. Lee 1904 Silver developing out printNage no kata: Uki Otoshi 1904 Silver developing out printSe oi Nage 1904 Silver developing out printSukui Nage 1904 Silver developing out printUki Goshi 1904 Silver developing out printHarai goshi 1904 Silver developing out printTsurikomi goshi 1904 Silver developing out printUchi mata (rotation [arrow]) 1904 Silver developing out printTomoe nage (a) 1904 Silver developing out printTomoe nage (b) 1904 Silver developing out printUra hage 1904 Silver developing out printTsuri otoshi 1904 Silver developing out printYoko gake [photo loose, laid into album] 1904 Silver developing out printYoko gake 1904 Silver developing out printYoko guruma 1904 Silver developing out printUki maza (a) 1904 Silver developing out printUki maza (b) 1904 Silver developing out printDai i kyo: Tai otoshi 1904 Silver developing out printOsoto gari 1904 Silver developing out printDa ashi harai 1904 Silver developing out printYoko otoshi 1904 Silver developing out printDai san kyo: Harai goshi 1904 Silver developing out printDai shi kyo: Kata guruma 1904 Silver developing out printDai roku kyo: Giyaku maki komi (a) 1904 Silver developing out printGiyaku maki komi (b) 1904 Silver developing out printDai i kyo: Tai otoshi 1904 Silver developing out printDai hi kyo: O goshi 1904 Silver developing out printSumi gaeshi 1904 Silver developing out printDai san kyo: Obi otoshi 1904 Silver developing out printDai shi kyo: Utsuri goshi 1904 Silver developing out printTawara gaeshi 1904 Silver developing out printDai go kyo: Uchi maki komi 1904 Silver developing out printSe oi otoshi 1904 Silver developing out printSe oi otoshi 1904 Silver developing out printOsoto guruma 1904 Silver developing out printDai raku kyo: kube nage (a) 1904 Silver developing out printKube nage (b) 1904 Silver developing out printHiza guruma 1904 Silver developing out printKueki raoshi (a) 1904 Silver developing out printKuyeki raoshi (b) 1904 Silver developing out printUchi konei (a) 1904 Silver developing out print[Uchi konei] (b) 1904 Silver developing out printTsuki komi (a) 1904 Silver developing out print(same) 1904 Silver developing out printKe komi 1904 Silver developing out printYoko uchi 1904 Silver developing out print[unidentified throw] 1904 Silver developing out print[unidentified kick] 1904 Silver developing out print[unidentified throw] 1904 Silver developing out print[Prof. Yamashita, Mrs. Yamashita, unidentified American] 1904 Silver developing out print[Prof. Yamashita seated between unidentified Americans] 1904 Silver developing out print[Prof. Yamashita seated between unidentified Americans] 1904 Silver developing out printReceipt for $50 to Yoshiaki Yamashita 1904 Receipt, 1p.In Japanese and English, signed "Received payment, Prof. Y. Yamashita." Address in Washington, D.C. 1904 AMs, 1p.In English, listed as c/o Japanese Legation and "kindness of Lt. Takashita" and "Jiu dow in London, Ukio Tani, co. Jap. Embassy." Instructions on judo throws 1904 AMs, 6p.In English, includes detailed information on how to perform throws, parrys and counters. List of judo holds and throws 1904 AMs, 2p.In English, organized by kata and roughly equivalent to the images in the album. Return to the Table of Contents |
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