Kenji Yamada (1924–2014) was a competitive

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

who was a two-time U.S. National Judo champion. Yamada was born in

Sunnyside, Utah Sunnyside is a former city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The population was 377 at the 2010 census. On January 1, 2014, the city merged with the neighboring city of East Carbon. Geography Sunnyside is located southeast of the center ...

, but was raised in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In 1941, he returned to the United States to rejoin his father in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. A year later, after

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a President of the United States, United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the fo ...

was signed, he was imprisoned with other Americans of Japanese descent at the Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho. Yamada graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle and later, the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. Yamada won the 1954 and 1955 US Judo National Championships where he competed at 150 lbs. In 1954, he lost to judoka

Gene Lebell Ivan Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022) was an American actor, judoka, stuntman and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "Judo Gene" and "The Godfather of Grappling", he is credited with popularizing grappling in professional fighti ...

(who outweighed Yamada by about 50 pounds) in the open division finals in 1954 due to a judge's decision. Yamada was a member of the Seattle Dojo and was one of the key people in spreading judo around the United States. Yamada obtained his 8th degree black belt in judo. Yamada died on April 18, 2014.

References

1924 births 2014 deaths American male judoka Judoka trainers Japanese male judoka Japanese-American internees American sportspeople of Japanese descent University of Washington alumni American expatriates in Japan Franklin High School (Seattle) alumni 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Japanese sportsmen {{US-judo-bio-stub