E.J. Harrison

E.J. Harrison began his Japanese martial arts training in Yokohama in 1897, making him the granddaddy of all budo pioneers. He was born in Manchester, England in 1873, and spent twenty years as a journalist in Japan at the turn of the century. He trained first in Tenjin Shinyo-ryu and then moved on to the Kodokan, where he worked with the legendary Mifune Kyuzo. His 1913 publication The Fighting Spirit of Japan was a groundbreaking work, introducing the Japanese martial arts to the West. His second dan in judo was earned, pre-World War I, direct from the Kodokan. After his return to England, he became a mainstay at the Budokwai, attaining the rank of third dan (now equivalent to a fifth or sixth dan). He died in 1961.