Tag: Shokichi Natsui
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Who Was the First Judo World Champion in History?
The first World Judo Champion in history was Shokichi Natsui of Japan, who won the inaugural World Judo Championships on May 3, 1956, at the Kuramae Kokugikan in Tokyo. Natsui, a Japanese police officer holding the rank of 6th dan, defeated 30 other competitors from 21 nations in a single-day open-weight tournament to claim the…
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History of the Judo World Championships: The First Edition in 1956
The Judo World Championships held their first edition on May 3–5, 1956, at the Kuramae Kokugikan in Tokyo — a single day of competition that drew 31 athletes from 21 nations and crowned Japan’s Shokichi Natsui as the first world judo champion in history. That event looks almost unrecognizable by today’s standards: no weight classes,…