Tokugoro Ito

Tokugoro Ito (1878-January 22, 1939) was a Japanese judoka and professional wrestler.^[1] Ito was one of the founding fathers of mixed martial arts in Brazil.^[2]

Tokugoro Ito appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on November 6, 1909.

Early years

Ito was an instructor of judo at Tokyo Imperial University in Japan.^[3] In 1911, Akitaro Ono and Tokugoro Ito joined Mitsuyo Maeda and Soshihiro Satake in Cuba. The four men were known as the "Four Kings of Cuba".^[4]

Wrestling

Ito's first wrestling match against someone was not Japanese occurred in 1909.^[3] Ito defeated American Wrestler Eddie Robinson.^[5] In 1914, Ito engaged in many matches. He initially lost but later defeated Ad Santel in a wrestling match.^[6] The loss was a result of Ito being thrown on his head by Santel.^[3] Ito at the time was a 5th degree black belt in judo.^[7] He additionally defeated Joe Acton.

Later years

In his later years he founded the Rafu Judo Dojo in Los Angeles and previously was a leader of the Seattle Dojo from 1907 to 1911.^[8] His notable students included Tsutao Higami.^[9] Ito was also an instructor of Geo Omori and Sanpo Toku.