Arriving at Takahiko Ishikawa’s Philadelphia dojo in July of 1968, Koji Shimada encountered a man whose courtesy and humility stood in stark contrast to his legendary status in Japanese judo. What began as formal instruction soon unfolded into a deeper education. In this conversation, Shimada offers a rare and honest perspective on Ishikawa’s years in Philadelphia and Virginia Beach, his relationships with students, benefactors, and judo organizations, and the internal conflicts that shaped his decisions.
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Thank you for joining us, Koji, to talk about Ishikawa!
Koji Shimada: I am happy to be here.
MAYTT: When did you first start training under Ishikawa and what were your first impressions of him as a person and as an instructor?
KS: It was July 1968 when I first visited Ishikawa Dojo in Philadelphia. Ishikawa Sensei was very kind and courteous to me, which really surprised me because he was a great champion of Japan, and I was a just black belt holder of third degree with no recognizable tournament records. Ishikawa always called me Shimada-san, never used my first name or family name without “san” as a sign of courtesy and respect.
MAYTT: What was the judo community like in Philadelphia? Was it a vibrant community interacting with one another or were there small pockets of schools and clubs in almost isolation from each other?
KS: I only state my experiences with Philadelphia’s case, because I had very limited experiences with Virginia Beach.
I remember vividly that there were so many loyal Judokas in Ishikawa Dojo club. I was one of them. I remember the Walters brothers, Joe and John, Louise Moyerman, David Kawajiri from Seabrook, New Jersey, Tom Blair, Tustin, and so on. They were the strong followers of Ishikawa and they all wanted to do something for him. Mr. Edward Dawson, who was a brilliant engineer working for General Electric, had a daughter Jane, who was also a student of Ishikawa. Edward offered me to act as my host family. I accepted his offer and I moved from Downtown to Ambler, Pennsylvania. Edward and his wife, Becky Dawson, were extremely kind to me, and soon they became my adopted parents. It was Edward Dawson who arranged the initial meeting with Ishikawa for me. Later years, I met Moyerman at Temple University and we became united again through the teaching of Ishikawa. It was fun all the way.
MAYTT: What was the dojo atmosphere like while training under Ishikawa? Was he a strict instructor or would there be some flexibility in his teachings?
KS: The Ishikawa Judo Club was truly traditional Japanese club with no American trace or deviations, except the cotton canvas and English. Though Ishikawa was never a linguist himself, there were no communication issues among his students. We fully understood whatever he wanted to convey in his messages, in terms of essence of skills and how to apply them. Needless to say, the judo technics that Ishikawa possessed taught were genuine and sophisticated to the extent that I never had them before. For example, Ishikawa pointed out to me how to tighten my two arms when randori started. The battle of grip in competition was so important that I should not be too casual about it. Sensei pointed out to me that often my arm control was far too loose. That advice was so valuable that I never had that type of advice before.
MAYTT: How did Ishikawa’s family view his judo endeavors? Were they supportive or did they not have much concern with it? Was his wife or son ever seen training
KS: Sensei Ishikawa was a son of Bunpachi Ishikawa who was the Muso-ryu Jujutsu master. Sensei went through very stringent training regimen from early childhood under his father. By the time he became a high school student, he earned third degree black belt in judo. In 1940, at his age of twenty, Sensei was chosen to be the contender of Tenranjiai (天覧試合) against the legendary Masahiko Kimura. Tenranjiai takes place in front of Emperor of Japan which was considered to be the highest honor for the Japanese athletes.
Sensei did not win the battle against Kimura, but he earned the high remark as top judoka. Upon graduation, he went to Kokushikan Martial Art Academy (国士舘武道専門学校) for more advanced Judo training. In 1949, Ishikawa fought against Kimura again for the All Japan Championship final, but there was no winner after two overtime battles; both Ishikawa and Kimura were declared winners. In the ensuing year, Ishikawa became the sole champion of Japan. As a result, he was awarded with seventh degree, and soon became the Head Judo Instructor of Metropolitan Police Agency. Later, he married to a daughter of the famed medical doctor, following the arranged marital traditions.
Unfortunately, Ishikawa’s married life was far from rosy expectations due to a vast difference in upbringing between him and his wife. Their two different lifestyles were never in sync or parallel. Then, Ishikawa resigned his position at the Metropolitan Police Agency and headed to America with his family. They had two children, their older daughter, Atsuko, and their younger son, Hajime.
I met his daughter, Atsuko two times in the United States, once in Philadelphia and other time in Virginia Beach in 1970. I never had a chance to meet his wife, because by the time I knew Sensei in 1968, his wife already left her family, and returned to Japan for good. I do not know the reason for her departure, but the impact of motherless home was devastating to their young son, Hajime. He committed suicide at his age of thirteen. I never asked about this tragedy with Sensei, and Sensei never spoke about it.
As to judo, both Atsuko and Hajime were engaged in judo practice at father’s dojo for a several years, but I personally had never seen them practice. Though, I heard that Hajime was an excellent practitioner, and his potential was highly regarded.
I can only guess that judo was not the true bonding factor for Ishikawa family. Atsuko told me once that despite her strong affection for her father, she shown much less interest in judo because the art tended to play a role of isolating their family from the real life, outside of judo. In other words, judo stood as huge barrier between her mother and father.
Incidentally, I did not have any personal interaction with Hajime. All I heard was that Hajime was a bright kid and loved judo. Many American students in Ishikawa’s school thought that someday, Hajime would someday become a judo champion in the US.
MAYTT: Tell me about his relationship with Helen Foos, his benefactor in both Philadelphia and Virginia Beach. How did Foos meet Ishikawa and how close were they?
KS: Prior to my first meeting of Helen, my understanding of Helen was that she loved judo and thus she became a patron for Ishikawa. It was more like a business for her to run. However, this notion had changed to some degree. I saw her more personally committed to judo and Sensei.
Helen loved Ishikawa, like a mother loving her child. It is spontaneous. I was happy to find the relationship between Ishikawa and Helen was cordial in nature. Also, I found that Helen became wealthy because she was the only child of Foos Family that owned the coal mines in Virginia.
Helen built the dojo for Ishikawa in Virginia Beach, which I visited several times, and Helen always welcomed me and my friends. I remember well that she liked big dogs, so she kept two to three Great Danes all the time. She also is very fond of publishing books on judo and Ishikawa. I had kept those books for a while, but I threw them away as we moved around. Do you have any one of those books? It shows the Helen’s passion for judo and Ishikawa through the photo books.
MAYTT: There was some tension between Ishikawa and Eichi Koiwai almost ever since the former arrived in Philadelphia. What do you think prompted such conflict and why do you think it lasted so long?
KS: I am not going into much detail on this question because the information that I have are all from secondary sources and hearsay. Besides, I never fully understood the nature of the personal conflict between Sensei Ishikawa and Dr. Koiwai. All I knew was that Sensei did not like Dr. Koiwai because he was too manipulative. But I did not have any evidence to prove his claim.
I knew Dr. Koiwai’s father very well, who was an immigrant from Japan, and he told me that he strongly encouraged his son to become a medical doctor while they were having a difficult time in [Japanese American] Relocation Camp [during the Second World War] in the West. Obviously, Dr. Koiwai, who experienced the hard life experience in the Camp, should understand the difficulties that Sensei had in US, but they never got along well.
MAYTT: When he became the head of his own club, both the Philadelphia Judo Club and the Ishikawa Judo Club, what was his administrative practices like? Was he one to take on full responsibility or to delegate such duties to other members?
KS: Honestly, I don’t think that Sensei Ishikawa was a good bookkeeper. He never had experiences in his managerial domains in Japan. As to accounting responsibility of Ishikawa Dojo, he designated almost all book responsibilities to his secretary Trudy. In my opinion, Trudy was a loyal person who was the right person for the right assignment.
MAYTT: The climax of the Ishikawa-Koiwai feud came to a head when Ishikawa left the United States Judo Federation (USJF) after unknowingly participating and failing a referee exam. How did Ishikawa’s exodus effect the standing of the USJF and, in your opinion, was this course of action something Koiwai almost wanted to happen?
KS: I was aware of this matter; however, I was not sure how this incident ended. I am not sure, if the referee exam was a paper test or physical skill test. Either way, my inclination was that Sensei did not like it, because he would interpret it as a lack of respect for him.
MAYTT: What was Ishikawa’s relation to both the USJF and United States Judo Association (USJA)? How did he help grow and further judo by being a part of each organization?
KS: I do not have definitive opinion regarding how Ishikawa perceived two judo organizations. If you know Larry Miyamoto, back then a leader of the USJF, you may find more accurate information on this matter.
Once, Ishikawa complained to me that the American judo organizations were a mess. They were constantly fighting each other crazy, but not for the art of judo or for judoka numbers. Apparently, he was not interested in political battles fought by USJF and USJA.
MAYTT: How did the Ishikawa family dynamic change with the passing of their son? How did that event affect his judo and his overall outlook in the proceeding years?
KS: This is the issue that affected Ishikawa’s life in the US profoundly.
I asked my old judo friend in Japan to find more information on Ishikawa’s private life to help me clarify some vital points. There are a few sources available such as Kodokan Monthly Publications and other publications in Japan for which I do not have any access. Unfortunately, my friend could not find any information as to Sensei’s private life.
MAYTT: What prompted his move from Philadelphia to Virginia Beach?
KS: Foos’s patronage, financial support, dojo, and managing help were definitely big factors for Ishikawa’s move from Philadelphia to Virginia Beach.
I visited Ishikawa Sensei at Virginia Beach several times, and I noticed his change. He was more relaxed, due primarily to the less financial burden that he felt responsible while in Philadelphia. I never asked him about his financial matters, but I assumed that Foos took care of all money matters in Virginia Beach.
MAYTT: How different do you feel the legacy of Philadelphia Judo would be without Ishikawa Sensei’s influence?
KS: There was no doubt that Ishikawa Philadelphia Dojo without Sensei was unthinkable because it was like a home without Mama and Papa. Sensei was the central figure of Philadelphia Judo, and many of his students came to the dojo to see him and to learn judo from him in person. I personally missed the joy of learning judo technics, advice on how to live life, and camaraderie among his disciples very much.
MAYTT: How did Ishikawa’s presence influence the judo community in Virginia Beach?
KS: Virginia Judo Club was a beautiful place. Arguably, it was one of the best dojos that I ever practiced. The surface of the practice area was the same as Ishikawa Philadelphia Dojo: the canvas mat with good cushion underneath.
My impression was that the students at Virginia Beach were mostly young children, and I did not find any serious judoka or advanced players with sophisticated judo skills and spirit. In other words, I did not see the calibers like Walters brothers, Moyerman, Blair, or Kawajiri in his Virginia Beach Judo School.
MAYTT: After Foos passed in Virginia Beach, Ishikawa moved back to Japan. Was there no reason left for him to stay in the United States or was he tired of the judo climate in the country?
KS: It is all speculative regarding this subject, because I do not have any convincing evidence.
I could bring two different points of view; one, the relationship between Sensei and Helen was good and cordial in the sense it was formal, but not passionate with love. Sensei often showed his appreciation with words for Helen taking care of the children and the financial support rendered to him. Helen respected Sensei and treated him very generously and kindly. Helen also treated me very warmly when I visited Sensei. Nonetheless, I had an impression that Sensei was reluctant to accept Helen anything beyond the status of patron to him; and two, Virginia Beach is a nice place to live, but not good for developing serious judoka.
The big reason Sensei came to America was because of his ambition to spread judo and develop excellent judo competitors in the country. Having those two objectives in his mind, Virginia Beach was not as good as Philadelphia.
I have recently obtained Ishikawa’s personal dairy that was officially published through Kodokan in August 2008, in which he revealed that he was in extreme financial difficulties. The dairy states as follows:
I settled in Philadelphia upon returning from Cuba in 1955, but my financial plight continued.
I did not have enough income to support my own family, which eventually led our marriage to break down. My wife left for Japan by herself, and I had to take care of three children in America. I was already over forty years old then and had very little English to communicate with American people. On top of that, I was diagnosed with cancer. [The diary did not specify the type of cancer.] Then, I went to Japan for more medical examinations. But the diagnosis was the same, indicated two years as the survival period at longest.
My biggest concern was my three children, and my agony reached the highest point in my life. Fortunately, I had an offer from American people to adopt my children. After deep consideration, I made a painful decision to accept the adoption.
Ishikawa did not mention who adopted his children, but it was obvious that Helen Foos was the person who took care of his children in Virginia Beach.
As to Helen Foos, he described her as an American who made a fortune in business and provided him a considerable financial support in exchange for him to move from Philadelphia to Virginia Beach. Ishikawa also wrote about on moving: “I had some reservation on moving to Virginia Beach at the beginning, because I would lose my go playing companies in Philadelphia. So, I had stayed in Philadelphia until late 1980, I was sixty years old when I decided to move to Virginia Beach.”
Go is a traditional indoor game that Ishikawa loved. It is a territorial game with black and white stones. It is highly intellectual game and equivalent to the Western game of chess.
MAYTT: Who were some of Ishikawa’s black belts and how did those individuals help disseminate judo and continue Ishikawa’s legacy?
KS: Sensei was very proud of his disciples in his Philadelphia Dojo. He often mentioned to me that Tom Blair will be an outstanding citizen someday. He also said, Joe and John Walters could be world class judoka if they continued to train hard. By the way, Joe Walters earned Silver Medal in World Judo Championships held in Brazil, 1962. Japan’s Isao Inokuma, (猪熊功) one of the best judoka in history, could only beat Walters with a decision. Inokuma was Olympic Champion, Japanese Champion, World Judo Champion.
Ishikawa was very fond of his tie with West Point, Army Academy, because he thought that the connection with West Point is the effective way to achieve spreading judo in America.
MAYTT: What do you believe judo meant to Ishikawa Sensei?
KS: Judo is his way of life.
Sensei’s father, Bunpachi was a jujutsu master. Sensei had shown his outstanding physical traits from his early days, and he had been trained by his father intensively with various martial arts besides judo. He had earned the third-degree black belt while he was a high school student. By then, his life was formulated to pursue his family tradition. Sensei was determined to dedicate himself to martial arts, to judo in particular.
MAYTT: They often say one person can make a difference. What difference did Ishikawa Sensei make in your life specifically?
KS: Ishikawa is a true Sensei. It means a teacher with deep thought and affection to his students.
Sensei Ishikawa’s life is the example of perseverance and dedication, which impressed me of his character, so deep and convincing. He made many outstanding accomplishments in judo despite his life in the US was not so fortunate. He faced economic plight, family disintegration, son’s death, and other obstacles. But his love for judo and his love for his disciples are impeccable throughout his career. I deeply respect him and dearly love him.
MAYTT: What does judo mean to you?
KS: Judo helped me great deal in my life. Specifically, judo gave me strength and hope while I was struggling in America in 1968 when I first came to the country.
Temple University gave me a chance to teach judo as a Physical Education credit. It was a blessing, because it in turn gave me an opportunity to study at its graduate school. The benefit of tuition free status and monthly stipend enabled me to complete the doctorate program. I am so grateful to Temple University and even more grateful to judo. Because without judo, I never had a chance to survive and open up my life in America.
MAYTT: If there is one thing that future judoka should remember about Ishikawa, what should it be and why?
KS: I know he is a great judoka and made a great contribution to American judo. However, Sensei was not properly regarded in Japan for his accomplishments and contributions.
Sensei’s basic rule has been “Relentless pursuit of improvement,” that was what I perceived.
I am truly amazed by Sensei’s relentless efforts, especially when the chips are down and seeking solutions. He never gave up.
MAYTT: Thank you for this discussion about Ishikawa!
KS: I hope this was helpful in providing you with a better picture of Ishikawa.
Find out more about Shimada, Ishikawa, and more in Takahiko Ishikawa: Judo’s Quiet Master!
