The purpose of this study was to summarize the physical fitness measurements of fifth- and sixth-grade judo players, taken from 2008 to 2019, and compare them with their subsequent results, which were tracked as much as possible. In addition, it was shown that the obtained measurements were used to provide physical fitness reference values for the new weight classes that were adapted for sixth-graders from 2020.

The subjects were 755 male and female fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school judo players, designated as certified athletes in the athlete development program by the Fukuoka Judo Association (Fukuoka Judo Club) between 2008 and 2019, of whom 653 had their physical fitness measured by annual tests. The physical fitness measurements included height, weight and body fat percentage as physical composition; muscle strength as grip strength; isometric knee extension muscle strength; sit-up ability; vertical jumping height as explosive muscle strength; rebound jumping ability; 30 meters running time; repetitive lateral jump for agility; and maximal oxygen uptake in a shuttle run as whole-body endurance.

Comparing the obtained physical fitness measurements with the tracked competition outcomes revealed that the high-power output ability of the lower limbs might be an indicator of fifth- and sixth-grade judo players’ talent. Also, “grip strength,” which is the reflection of muscle strength and muscle mass throughout the body, may be another promising factor for the players. However, weight at elementary school did not get the desired results after elementary school, suggesting that excessive weight gain was undesirable in elementary school judo players.

Many recent studies of bushido, such as Suzuki and Oleg, have stated that the bushido that flourished after the Meiji period was an “invented” tradition that is different from samurai ideology from before the Edo period. However, in order to re-examine the traditional nature of the martial arts and Japanese thought, it is necessary to investigate the continuity of samurai ideology, such as what bushido ideologies in the post-Meiji era were inherited from the pre-Meiji period, as well as the renewed samurai ideology and the ideological changes that occurred which were observed from the collapse of samurai society due to the Meiji Restoration.

The aim of this paper was to discover from the bushido ideology of Inoue Tetsujiro, a leader in bushido theory from the Meiji period onwards, what kind of pre-Edo period ideology he tried to inherit, and what kind of ideological transition his ideas went through before he wrote his theory of bushido in 1901.

First, with regard to what ideas were inherited from the pre-Edo period, Inoue, as pointed out in previous studies, traced the origin of bushido to a link with the Emperor. In that, he divided bushido into two parts: “form” and “spirit”. He stated that “spirit”, that had continued from long ago, should be passed on in the future through moral education.

Furthermore, while previous studies have suggested that Inoue established bushido as an academic discipline and led it in a different direction from practical morality, he states that the “determination” to practically carry out bushido should be passed on in post-Meiji morality. This was confirmed as a different aspect of his work from what has been previously identified.

Next, regarding the ideological changes that occurred up to the writing of Inoue’s bushido theories, there was a focus on related historical accounts. Previous studies have shown that, with regards to his views on history, Inoue’s position was critical of historical investigation and that history should be used in ethics and moral education. However, these views were not seen at all from 1891 to 1892, but from 1893 they gradually started to be seen in opposition to historical investigation and Christian teachings. From 1899 they were clearly seen to be discussed.

Inoue said that bushido should be passed on in morality from the Meiji period onwards. This was thought to have been supported by the gradual formation of ideas on trying to apply history to ethical and moral education by 1901.

At present, in many judo tournaments in Japan, one referee steps into the match area and two judges sit on chairs placed at opposite corners. Matches are filmed by a single video camera and a jury intervenes when there is a problem with the judgment of the three umpires. The purpose of this study was to examine situations in which the referee obstructed the view of the judges when they were evaluating throwing techniques, as well as situations in which the jury intervened in the evaluations of throwing techniques that the referee and judges made. Also, this study will recommend ways to improve the positioning of the judges and the video camera.

The 2011 Kodokan Cup All Japan Judo Championships （461 matches） was the subject of analysis. Three analysts with superior judo refereeing and coaching skills analyzed the video images taken by a single video camera from the second-floor spectator seating area. The results showed that out of 422 evaluations of throwing techniques, there were 10 situations （2.4%） in which the referee obstructed the view of the judge when he was making an evaluation. In addition, the jury intervened four times （0.9%） in umpires’ evaluations of throwing techniques. Based on the above, two recommendations can be made.

1. The judges need to be able to move as much as the referee because the judge’s view is sometimes obstructed when making an evaluation of a throwing technique. However, it is assumed that the possibility of the video camera being disturbed by the movement of the three umpires is higher than before. In the future, when the three umpires move, it is important to consider how their movement does not interfere with the video camera.

2. It is important to use two or more video cameras so that contestants are positioned between more than one video camera because it is not always possible to capture the complete match situation with a single video camera.