Masato Tamura was born in

Fife, Washington Fife is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States and a suburb of Tacoma. The population was 10,999 at the 2020 census. Fife is contained within the Puyallup Indian Reservation and bisected by Interstate 5. It is east of Tacoma and t ...

, United States. Tamura was born in 1913. By 1965 he was a 7th Dan in Judo. In 1969, Tamura was awarded the

Black Belt Magazine ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Hollywood, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine was ...

Hall of Fame for Judo Instructor. In 1972 he operated a dojo in California.

Judo career

Tamura originally trained in Seattle Dojo. Mas Tamura was promoted to 3rd degree black belt by Jigaro Kano. Tamura trained his brother Vince Tamura into a national champion and international competitor in Judo. Tamura was instrumental in developing the hand to hand techniques used by the US Armed Forces. This was after defeating an opponent over 50lbs more than himself. Tamura is a former president of the

United States Judo Federation The United States Judo Federation is a non-profit corporation dedicated to promoting judo in the United States. Its national office is in Ontario, Oregon. History The United States Judo Federation (USJF) was originally known as the Amateur Judo ...

Personal life

Tamura was married with three children. Two of his daughters Rosemarie and Diane Tamura were competitors in Judo. His son is Frank Tamura. His wife Rose died in 2012, while Tamura died from cancer in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamura, Masato 1913 births 1982 deaths Judoka trainers American male judoka 20th-century American sportsmen