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Noriaki Bunasawa

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Nori Bunasawa
Bunasawa in 1975
BornNoriaki Bunasawa
(1947-11-03) November 3, 1947 (age 77)
Saitama, Japan
StyleJūkkendo
Judo
Teacher(s)Yoshimi Osawa
Hideo Yamamoto
Masahiko Kimura
RankJūkkendo: Founder
Judo: 9th dan
Other information
OccupationJudoka, Judo instructor, Actor, Writer, Publisher, Founder of Jūkkendo
UniversityWaseda University

Noriaki "Nori" Bunasawa (樗沢憲昭, Bunasawa Noriaki; born November 3, 1947) is a Japanese and American judoka, a former USA judo coach at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich[1] and at the 1975 World Judo Championships in Vienna.[2] He is also a judo and jujutsu researcher,[3] Japanese martial arts historian,[3] actor,[4] and co-author of The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived, a novel based on the life of Mitsuyo Maeda.[3] He founded the Judo Journal newspaper which became Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal.[3] He was also the press chief for the IJF at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.[5]

He is also the founder of Jūkkendo (柔拳道), a martial arts system based on the prize fighting methods of Mitsuyo Maeda.[3]

Early life and education

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Nori Bunasawa was born on November 3, 1947, in Saitama, Japan. As a high school student, he practiced with the Waseda University judo team with his older brother (Ryuji Bunasawa, professor emeritus at the International Budo University[6] and current head coach at Waseda University[7]).

Masahiko Kimura performs a modified ippon-seoi-nage on Nori Bunasawa

In 1966 he enrolled at Waseda University and officially joined the judo club. He learned judo under Yoshimi Osawa, Hideo Yamamoto[8] and Masahiko Kimura.[3] He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in the social sciences.[9] During his time in university, in 1968, he became champion at the Tokyo Student Judo Championships[9] by weight class. In 1969, he earned a silver medal in the lightweight (-70 kg) division at the All-Japan Judo Weight Category Championships [ja] by facing world champions Hiroshi Minatoya, Hirofumi Matsuda, Asian champion Yujiro Yamazaki [ja] and defeating the latter two.[10] He defeated Yamazaki and Matsuda in the first round and semi-finals. In the final match, he was initially in the lead by throwing Minatoya with reverse ippon seoi-nage.[11] Bunasawa's special techniques were tai-otoshi, ippon seoi-nage, osoto-gari, and tomoe-nage.[9]

Pictured is Yoshimi Osawa (8th from the left, front row), Hideo Yamamoto (9th from the left, front row) with Nori Bunasawa (4th from the left, center row, wearing a judogi)

In August 1969, he was invited to the Japanese national training camp in the mountains of the Nagano prefecture which served as tryouts for the Japanese Judo World team. Others also present at the training camp included future Olympic gold medalist Toyokazu Nomura, Isamu Sonoda and world champion Yoshio Sonoda [ja]. At the end of the tryouts, the All Japan Judo Federation and its chairman Shohei Hamano [ja] (of Shikoku)[12] selected Hiroshi Minatoya and Yoshimitsu Kono [ja] (of Shikoku) as the main representatives. Bunasawa and future world champion Hisashi Tsuzawa [ja] were selected as reserves for the lightweight (-70 kg) division for the 1969 World Judo Championships.[11] The decision to send Kono to the 1969 World Judo Championships was controversial as Kono lost in the first round to Matsuda, who was eliminated by Bunasawa in the semi-finals at the All-Japan Judo Weight Category Championships [ja] which served a world championship qualifier.[11]

Career

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In 1972, he coached the US team that competed at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich.[1]

In 1975, he was appointed as the head judo instructor of the 6 million dollar[13] (adjusted to 36 million dollars in 2024[14]) Ichiban Sports center in Arkansas, which was founded by automobile tycoon Willard Robertson.[13] According to Dale Samuels, the former vice president of the USJA, the Ichiban Sports center was the "most advanced" training facility in the US at the time.[13]

In 1975, Bunasawa coached the US team that competed at the 1975 World Judo Championships in Vienna.[2]

『Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal』Vol.29 No.1

In 1978, he founded Judo Journal, newspaper which covered sports judo.[15] Judo Journal eventually became Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal, which covered combat sports such as judo, BJJ, sumo, karate, kickboxing, etc. and the final issue was published in April 2006.[16]

From 1995 to 2007, the Mitsuyo Maeda story was published as a series in Judo Journal.[17] In 2007, the collection was published in novel form as The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived, with John Murray as a co-author.[3]

José Padilha and Bunasawa in October 2023

In 2019, a major Hollywood production company decided to adapt The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived into a film.[10][18] The film will be directed by José Padilha.[18] Bunasawa was stated to be the script and technical adviser and the fight choreographer.[10]

In November 2024, he returned to international competition at the Judo Veterans World Championships held in Las Vegas. He competed in the M9 -60 kg division and won a bronze medal.[19]

List of Works

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  • The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived (with John Murray, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9648984-1-7)

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1990 Martial Marshal Gonji Tamashita Lead role
2006 Letters from Iwo Jima Japanese Journalist

References

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  1. ^ a b Rezell, John (March 3, 1988). "Top Judo Instructor comes to the defense of self-defense". Orange County Register.
  2. ^ a b "Instructor on Show". Rogers Daily News. April 1975.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Bunasawa, Nori; Murray, John (January 1, 2007). The Toughest Man Who Ever Lived. Innovations, Inc. and Judo Journal. ISBN 978-0-9648984-1-7.
  4. ^ "Nori Bunasawa". Internet movie database. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  5. ^ "Judo". Orange Network. April 2023.
  6. ^ ""Youth Scroll Municipal Urawa High School" (青春スクロール　市立浦和高校)". Asahi Shimbun. p. 26. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  7. ^ "部員・スタッフ紹介 (Member and staff introduction)". waseda-judo.com. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  8. ^ 100 Year History of Waseda University Judo Club (早稲田大学柔道部百年史). Tokyo Kahoku Printing Co., Ltd. November 22, 1997.
  9. ^ a b c "Title Techniques". Black Belt. 16 (7): 38. July 1978.
  10. ^ a b c "Noriaki Bunasawa". Judoinside. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "日本代表決まる". The Judo Shimbun. September 10, 1969.
  12. ^ Takeshi, Kuroda (February 20, 1985). "Famous Athletes' Stories 63: Shohei Hamano, 9th Dan - A master of the side-sacrifice technique who was called the leading figure in the Kansai judo world". Modern Judo (ベースボール・マガジン社): 66.
  13. ^ a b c Zimmerman, Richard (1980). "Ichiban-Fourth Olympic Training Center for Judo". Black Belt. 30.
  14. ^ "CPI Inflation Calculator". Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  15. ^ "World Wide Leading Judo Newspaper". Judo Journal. June 1978.
  16. ^ "Heavyweight Battle: Pride Champ Fedor Takes on all Challengers". Judo Jiujitsu Pro-fighting Journal. Jan–Apr 2006.
  17. ^ "Mitsuyo Maeda: Origin of Gracie/Brazilian Jujitsu". Judo Journal. May 1995.
  18. ^ a b Harada, Hiroshi (August 24, 2019). "(前田光世の偉業を後世に!) "Passing on the great achievements of Mitsuyo Maeda to future generations!"". Kyodo News.
  19. ^ Kellick, Bill (November 5, 2024). "U.S. Hits It Big in Vegas with 16 Medals on Opening Day of Veterans Worlds". USA Judo. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
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