The Kodokan’s Autumn National High-Dan Holders Tournament will be held at the Kodokan in Tokyo on Sunday 25 October, starting at 9:00. The Kodokan organises the event.
The Kodokan was founded by Jigoro Kano in 1882 and adopted the dan grading system, and with it the black belt, the following year. More than 140 years on, the black belt still marks the judoka who has gone past the beginner grades, and this tournament is where its senior holders meet.
There are two routes to a Kodokan dan. One is recommendation: a dojo or a delegated recommending body puts a candidate forward, the candidate passes practical and kata examinations, and the Kodokan confirms the grade. The other is competition: results at selected tournaments and at the high-dan tournament carry points, and one high-dan tournament result can be counted each year, so enough of them brings promotion.
So a black belt can be recommended, with its kata and its examinations, or fought for. The second is the harder road, and the high-dan tournament is one of the few places where competition results count towards a grade. Among judoka, a high dan won there is held up as the highest of all.
Men from fifth to eighth dan and women from fourth dan and above are eligible. There are no weight categories: the draw is made by dan grade, with age and weight taken into account, so judoka of different ages and builds meet at the same grade.
The tournament is held twice a year, in spring and autumn, both at the Kodokan.
