Prince Tokugawa and his allies vigorously advocated that the 1940 Olympics take place in Japan, hoping it would encourage peaceful international relations. Regrettably, that event was canceled due to the expanding conflict in Europe leading to WWII. Since then, the event was been staged in Japan several times, and Tokugawa would be delighted to know that 80 years after his passing, the Olympics is once again coming to his nation, to be shared with the world.
Prince Tokugawa was a devoted fan of American Baseball and encouraged its introduction into Japan from the early 1900s. This sport has been intermittently part of the Olympics in past years and will be in Summer Olympics in Japan in 2020. Prince Tokugawa is quoted as saying:
“How much better to compete on the playing field, than on the battlefield!”
Prince Tokugawa also had enthusiasm for wrestling and judo, sports that are also part of the Olympics.
The above Jan. 12, 1937 press photo presents the Members of the Japanese Olympic Committee. Left to right in photo: Mayor of Tokyo Torataro Ushizuka; Kanō Jigorō; Count Michimasa Soyejima; Prince Tokugawa Iesato (aka Prince Iyesato Tokugawa); and Dr. Taku Iwahara. They are in conference at the Tetsudo Hotel in Tokyo to discuss Tokyo as the probable site for the 1940 Olympic Games.
Of Interest: Kanō Jigorō (Dec. 10, 1860–May 4, 1938) also known as Jigorō Kanō, was a Japanese martial artist who founded the sport of Judo. Source of the below pre-1938 photo: the Japanese book Kano Sensei Den (嘉納先生伝)
Judo was the first Japanese martial art to gain widespread international recognition, and the first to become an official Olympic sport. Kanō introduced the use of black and white belts, and the dan system to show the relative ranking among members of a martial art style.
Well-known mottoes attributed to Kanō include:
“Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort”
“Mutual Welfare and Benefit”
The illustrated biography The Art of Peace highlights the life and many accomplishments of the truly amazing international statesmen Prince Tokugawa and his allies, offering a new window to this fascinating period of history.
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