From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American judoka (1924–2014)
Kenji Yamada (1924
[1] –2014) was a competitive
judoka who was a two-time U.S. National Judo champion.
[2]
Yamada was born in
Sunnyside, Utah , but was raised in
Japan . In 1941, he returned to the United States to rejoin his father in
Seattle, Washington . A year later, after
Executive Order 9066 was signed, he was imprisoned with other Americans of Japanese descent at the
Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho.
[1] Yamada graduated from
Franklin High School in Seattle and later, the
University of Washington .
[3]
Yamada won the 1954 and 1955 US Judo National Championships
[2] where he competed at 150 lbs.
[4] In 1954, he lost to judoka
Gene Lebell (who outweighed Yamada by about 50 pounds) in the open division finals in 1954 due to a judge's decision.
[5]
[6]
Yamada was a member of the
Seattle Dojo
[7] and was one of the key people in spreading judo around the United States.
[8] Yamada obtained his 8th degree black belt in judo.
[2] Yamada died on April 18, 2014.
[9]
References
^
a
b
"Japanese American Internee Data File: Kenji Yamada" .
National Archives and Records Administration . Retrieved September 2, 2019 .
^
a
b
c
"The North American Post – Kenji Yamada, National Judo Champion, Passes" . napost.com . Archived from
the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2015-04-16 .
^
"Kenji Yamada Obituary - Seattle, WA - The Seattle Times" . The Seattle Times .
^ Hickok, R. (1977).
New encyclopedia of sports . McGraw-Hill.
ISBN
978-0-07-028705-1 . Retrieved 2015-05-01 .
^ Kano, Cichorei (2014-04-27).
"Passing of Seattle's Yamada Kenji, Kōdōkan 8th dan" . Retrieved 2020-05-10 .
^ Udel, J.C. (2013).
The Film Crew of Hollywood: Profiles of Grips, Cinematographers, Designers, a Gaffer, a Stuntman and a Makeup Artist . McFarland, Incorporated Publishers.
ISBN
978-1-4766-0226-4 . Retrieved 2015-05-01 .
^ Franks, J.S. (2010).
Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures: Sport and Asian Pacific American Cultural Citizenship . University Press Of America.
ISBN
978-0-7618-4744-1 . Retrieved 2015-05-01 .
^ Nishioka, H. (2000).
Judo: Heart & Soul . Literary links to the Orient. Ohara Publications.
ISBN
978-0-89750-137-8 . Retrieved 2015-05-01 .
^
"Memorial service for Kenji Yamada - USJF.COM" . usjf.com . Archived from
the original on 2016-02-06.