Kenji Yamada (judoka)

Kenji Yamada (1924[1]–2014) was a competitive judoka who was a two-time U.S. National Judo champion.[2]

Kenji Yamada
Nationality United States

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
  1. "Japanese American Internee Data File: Kenji Yamada". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  2. "The North American Post – Kenji Yamada, National Judo Champion, Passes". napost.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  3. "Kenji Yamada Obituary - Seattle, WA - The Seattle Times". The Seattle Times.
  4. Hickok, R. (1977). New encyclopedia of sports. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-028705-1. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  5. Kano, Cichorei (2014-04-27). "Passing of Seattle's Yamada Kenji, Kōdōkan 8th dan". Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Nishioka, H. (2000). Judo: Heart & Soul. Literary links to the Orient. Ohara Publications. ISBN 978-0-89750-137-8. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  9. "Memorial service for Kenji Yamada - USJF.COM". usjf.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-06.


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