Kenji Yamada | |
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Nationality | ![]() |
Kenji Yamada (1924[1]–2014) was a competitive judoka who was a two-time U.S. National Judo champion.[2]
Yamada was born in Sunnyside, Utah, but was raised in Japan. In 1941, he returned to the United States to rejoin his father in Seattle, Washington. A year later, after Executive Order 9066 was signed, he was imprisoned with other Americans of Japanese descent at the Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho.[1] Yamada graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle and later, the University of Washington.[3]
Yamada won the 1954 and 1955 US Judo National Championships[2] where he competed at 150 lbs.[4] In 1954, he lost to judoka Gene Lebell (who outweighed Yamada by about 50 pounds) in the open division finals in 1954 due to a judge's decision.[5][6]
Yamada was a member of the Seattle Dojo[7] and was one of the key people in spreading judo around the United States.[8] Yamada obtained his 8th degree black belt in judo.[2] Yamada died on April 18, 2014.[9]