Keiko Fukuda’s personal motto is: “Be gentle, kind, and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically. Her life certainly embodies this motto and serves as an inspiration for women all over the world.
Sensai Keiko Fakuda is the first woman to reach judo’s highest level. The United States Judo Federation awarded Fukuda the rank of 10th degree black belt on July 28, 2011. She is only one of four living judo practitioners in the world to hold such rank. She also happens to be 98 years old.
Her recent promotion not only recognizes her skills and renowned reputation as a sensai (teacher), but also honors the legacy of the Japanese judo tradition. Born in Tokyo, Japan, she is the last living student of Dr. Jigaro Kano who founded Japanese judo and the Kodokan Institute in 1882. Her grandfather, Hachinosuke Fukuda, had been one of Dr. Kano’s instructors in the art of Tenjin Shinyo jujutsu.
Dr. Kano invited Keiko to study in the women’s section of the Kodokan at the age of twenty-one, where she overcame belt and rank barriers to now become only the sixteenth person in the history of judo to reach this milestone. Move over Betty White!