Ryohei Kanokogi was an early pioneer for judo in the United States.

Personal life

Ryohei is the grandson of a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

. He had two children with Rusty Kanokogi, plus a step-son, Christopher, from his wife's previous marriage.

Martial arts career

Ryohei was also the high school Judo champion of Japan. Ryohei Kanokogi was former all-weights judo champion of southeastern Japan. He was also a champion in karate. Ryohei later attended Nichidai University as a member of the judo team. He was featured in a number of ''Sports Illustrated'' articles including Confessions Of A Judo Roll-Out.

Martial arts coaching career

He was known for his courtesy and expected good behavior from his students. Along with his wife Rusty Kanokogi, he was influential in the establishment of women's judo. Ryohei was the judo coach for Japan during the

Judo at the 1964 Summer Olympics The judo competition at the 1964 Summer Olympics was the first time the sport was included in the Summer Olympic Games. As a result, decades of judo being officially banned as an "imperialist sport" in the Soviet Union ended shortly before the ...

, and later immigrated to the United States with the help of Jerome Mackey. While in New York, he initially taught at Judo, Inc, where he and his wife were featured in an article in

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

. He served as a coach for Olympic Bronze Medalist

Allen Coage Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the Judo at the 1 ...

. Later, Ryohei taught at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He later served as a US Olympic Team judo coach.

Media

Kanokogi has appeared in commercials for

Samsonite Samsonite International S.A. is an American Baggage, luggage manufacturer and retailer, with products ranging from large suitcases to small toiletries bags and briefcases. The company was founded in 1910 in Denver, Colorado, Denver, Colorado, U ...

luggage and the after shave Hai Karate. *''

The Goodbye Girl ''The Goodbye Girl'' is a 1977 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Neil Simon and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings and Paul Benedict. The film, produced by Ray Stark, centers on ...

'' (1977) - Japanese Salesman *''

Carlito's Way ''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma and written by David Koepp, based on the novels '' Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelop ...

'' (1993) - Japanese Club Patron

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanokogi, Ryohei American sportspeople of Japanese descent Martial artists from Tokyo Japanese emigrants to the United States Japanese male judoka American male judoka