Early Years
Yamashita was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. His father was of the samurai class. As a boy, Yamashita trained in the traditional (koryū) Japanese martial arts schools of Yōshin-ryū and Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū jujutsu. In August 1884, he joined the Kodokan judo dojo of Kano Jigoro (嘉納 治五郎 Kanō Jigorō, 1860–1938), as its nineteenth member. He advanced to first degree black belt (shodan) rank in three months, fourth degree (yondan) ranking in two years, and sixth degree (rokudan) in fourteen years. He was a member of the Kodokan team that competed with Tokyo Metropolitan Police jujutsu teams during the mid-1880s, and during the 1890s, his jobs included teaching judo at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and Tokyo Imperial University (modern University of Tokyo).
Read more about this topic: Yamashita Yoshiaki
Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)