On November 29, 1906, Judo arrived in Argentina
November 29 of this year 2016 marks the 110th anniversary of the arrival in the country of the first JUDO instructors and consequently, the beginning of JUDO in Argentina since that day Yoshio OGATA and Kotoku WATANABE (who would return at the end of the year) hired by the Argentine Navy and embarked on the Sarmiento Frigate.
The Sarmiento frigate on its 7th instructional trip visits several Japanese ports where its crew was received with all the honors since it was the first visit of the frigate to Japan after the Russo-Japanese War in which Argentina had made a great contribution to the victory of the Japanese Navy, yielding two battleships, Bernardino Rivadavia and Mariano Moreno, which he had ordered to be built in an Italian shipyard.
During the stay in the Port of Yokohama, the commander of the frigate, CC.NN Adolfo M. Díaz had been dazzled by a JUDO exhibition offered to the crew, so he interceded with the naval authorities so that it was incorporated into the plans of study of the cadets of the Argentine Military Naval School, instance by which it obtains the endorsement of the then Ministry of Navy authorizing its the hiring of two instructors.
To fulfill the request of the Argentine Navy, Master Jigoro KANO chooses two of his disciples, the instructors Yoshio OGATA and Kotoku WATANABE, as those in charge of imparting knowledge on the matter to future naval officers. These instructors departed from the port of Yokohama Japan arriving on November 29, 1906 at Puerto Belgrano and a day later at the Port of Buenos Aires.
From there begins the History of Argentine Judo, very well studied and compiled by Master Juan Carlos UEQUIN in his three excellent books on the subject.
