History
The Samurai and Their Martial Arts: From Bujutsu to Budō
How Japan’s warrior class rose with the bow, ruled with the sword, lost both to rifles and a law, and left behind judo, kendo and aikido.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
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History
How Japan’s warrior class rose with the bow, ruled with the sword, lost both to rifles and a law, and left behind judo, kendo and aikido.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
The life of Jigorō Kanō (1860–1938): the bullied boy from Mikage who built the Kōdōkan, ran Japan’s teacher training and became Asia’s first IOC member.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
The life of Mas Oyama (1923–1994): Korean-born, trained under Funakoshi, hardened on a mountain, famous for fighting bulls, founder of full-contact Kyokushin.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
How the samurai fencing schools invented armour and the bamboo sword, survived the end of their class, and became kendo, practised by millions.
7 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
How Okinawan te absorbed Chinese boxing, became karate-dō in Japan, split into styles, spread through the world and reached the Tokyo Olympics.
10 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
How a farmer's son from Tanabe learned Daitō-ryū from Takeda Sōkaku, found religion with Ōmoto-kyō, and built aikido, the Japanese art that refuses to compete.
8 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
How Kanō Jigorō turned samurai jujutsu into judo in 1882, why the Kōdōkan beat the old schools, and how the gentle way became an Olympic sport.
10 min read · 17 Sept 2026