During 1860, Jigoro Kano was born in Japan. During that time peasants and samuri used forms of Ju-jitsu to defend themselves. When he was 23 years old, Kano began instructing his own form of Ju-jitsu. He called it Kano Judo.
Kano showed to his pupils that Judo was not just a sport but a way of life. He based his teachings around the principles of gentleness (Judo translated means the "Gentle Way". In his own words, "Victory over the opponent is achieved by giving way to the strength of the opponent, adapting to it and taking advantage of it, turning it, in the end to your own advantage."
Kano became the first Asian IOC (International Olympic Comitee) member in 1912 and began to travel Internationally promoting Judo as he toured throughout America and Europe. In 1938 Kano died of pneumonia but not before seeing Tokyo selected as an Olympic site for the 12th Olympic Games.
However, because of the war, those Games were cancelled - and in the end it wasn't until the 1964 Games in Tokyo that Judo became an Olympic sport. Later women's Judo was included as an official sport at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992.
Professor Jigoro Kano