Title: Saving Japan’s Martial Arts
Author: Christopher M. Clarke
Publisher: Clarke’s Canyon Press
Publication Date: 2011
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 284, 5 ½ in by 8 ½ in
Cover Price: print-on-demand for $16.95
ISBN: 9781466211728
Content
Dr. Christopher M. Clarke is a prolific author, having written or edited three dozen books on the martial arts — some of which I also plan to read and review later. He earned a PhD in political science after serving in the United States Air Force. Dr. Clarke holds rank in multiple armed and unarmed Japanese martial arts styles. He retired from the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where he was chief of the China division. Dr. Clarke wrote Saving Japan’s Martial Arts because, as he stated in the preface, he “was unable to find any full-length biography of [judo founder Jigoro] Kano in English.” Dr. Clarke was apparently unaware of Brian N. Watson’s 2000 book The Father of Judo, a title which I will also review shortly.
Dr. Clarke’s book combines three sets of material. First is a history of Japan around the time of professor Kano’s birth. This shows how the country was transitioning from its feudal past to a more industrialized and global future. Second is a history of professor Kano himself, with some information on his family but mostly details about his life and pursuits. Third is a history of those associated with the rise of judo in Japan, such as professor Kano’s instructors, students, and peers. Dr. Clarke packs a lot of detail into this 284 page book, mixing photographs, mini-biographies, and stories into the text.
Pros
There is plenty to like about Dr. Clarke’s book. I appreciated his thorough yet compact background on relevant Japanese history. Dr. Clarke mentions many of the key figures in the history of judo and other aspects of professor Kano’s life. He offers notes on relationships with other arts, like kendo, and how professor Kano encouraged and assisted them. This sort of activity is the genesis for the book’s title, “Saving Japan’s Martial Arts.” Without the reform- and organization-minded activity of Kano, Japanese jujutsu and kenjutsu schools might have withered and disappeared. In some places, Dr. Clarke acknowledges that different accounts exist for various historic events, like the presumed 1886 Tokyo Metropolitan Police matches or the fate of Saigo Shiro. This is important, as there is really no definitive agreement on what happened during some of those critical events in the mid 1880s.
Cons
Dr. Clarke’s book, while citing many references, in too many cases relies on poor sources. I winced every time I saw a reference to a Wikipedia entry or to an article on the Internet which itself offered no sources. For example, on page 224 Dr. Clarke recounts a tale involving the “God of Judo,” Mifune Kyuzo sensei. The source of that article is a 4 page newsletter with no sources of its own. I saw a similar problem with citing an article on the “aidajudo” site on page 144 — another reference without sources. Dr. Clarke also cites Internet threads, such as from sites like E-Budo, but doesn’t appear to investigate the sources they discuss.
Beyond sourcing woes, the book gets some details wrong. Dr. Clarke repeatedly says the Kodokan awarded Fukuda Keiko sensei her 10th dan rank in August 2011. However, the Kodokan only ranked her to 9th dan. USA Judo is the organization which ranked her to 10th dan in 2011. On page 162, Dr. Clarke says that the photo of professor Kano applying a joint lock shows that the uke is Mitsuyo Maeda. However, Kano is clearly in his 60s or 70s, when he had no chance to meet Maeda. The uke is really Kano’s son-in-law, Masami Takasaki, and the photo was taken during a trip to Europe in 1933. There is also a bit too much copying and pasting of other text.
Dr. Clarke occasionally forgets that he set the standard in his text to be “Japanese surname, given name.” Sometimes he refers to Japanese people using their given name and then surname. This might be the result of the copying of other texts. I admit that it can be confusing to keep this straight!
A few other errors worth correcting include the following:
Lafcadio Hearn was not one of Kano’s professors, as stated on page 115. Hearn was a teacher at the Fifth Higher Middle School in Kumamoto when Kano was the school’s principal, as stated in Jigoro Kano and the Kodokan.
Kano did not receive a degree in ethics in 1893. Rather, the book Legacy of Kano Jigoro notes on page 327 that in 1893 Kano was appointed principal of the First Middle School. He served through September, at which time he was appointed principal of the Higher Normal School, serving through 1897.
On page 118 Dr. Clarke claims, without citation, that “in 1895, he [Kano] received his Doctorate from the Gakushuin.” This is not true. See this Martial History Team post for details.
Finally, on page 119 Dr. Clarke states (without citation) that by “1895… Kano left the agricultural college to become principal of the Gakushuin (Peers School).” In reality, Kano worked at Gakushuin from 1882 – 1889, went abroad, then formally resigned from Gakushuin in 1891. In 1895 he was principal of the Higher Normal School.
Conclusion
I give this book 3.5 out of 5 ninja stars.
I enjoyed reading Saving Japan’s Martial Arts. Partway through the book I started to lose some confidence in the text. When I encounter errors, or shaky sources, I begin to question what I am reading. I still appreciate the spirit of the book and I agree with the general thesis. Dr. Clarke offers many pointers for those without knowledge of Dr. Kano’s background. These are good starting points for deeper research. However, it is important to be wary of some of the statements made in the book. Hopefully he might take this review as constructive criticism, revising his text and releasing a second edition.
What did you think of Saving Japan’s Martial Arts? Tell me what you thought in the comment section. Don’t forget to check out other reviews and commentaries here on Martial Journal.
- Book Review: Worth Defending - November 25, 2020
- Book Review: See You on the Mat - November 24, 2020
- Book Review: Flashing Steel, 25th Anniversary Edition - November 23, 2020
Leave a Reply