著者

佐藤 博信

出版者

関西学院大学

雑誌

スポーツ科学・健康科学研究 (ISSN:13440349)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.11, pp.19-24, 2008-03

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The judo referee rules primarily used in Japan are the International Judo Federation (IJF) Referee Rules and the Kodokan Judo Institute Referee Rules. Since the current Kodokan Rules have been approximated to the International Rules, their significance is unclear. Thus, it is necessary, instead, to formulate and implement rules by focusing on Japan's distinct spirituality and cultural aspects. To do so will require an act of returning to the fundamentals of Japanese judo. In short, the basic essentials of Japanese judo are about "aiming to gain an ippon (full point)" and "valuing one's integrity and proper manners toward others." "Proper manners=the custom of bowing," in particular, has a significant meaning for judo, as we often hear "Everything begins and ends with a bow." The purpose of this study is to examine what the custom of bowing and its practice can achieve by examining the awareness of the custom of bowing among judoka in Japan. We conducted a survey on "manners" targeting mainly college judoka, instructors, and referees. Results and Discussion (1) In response to, "It is appropriate to bow towards the front of the dojo at all times," 345 out of 757 respondents answered "Yes," while 252 said " yes, somewhat." Affirmative responses (78.9%) greatly exceeded negative ones (21.1%). (2) In response to, "It is not rude for a referee to have his back facing the front," Positive responses (76.7%) also greatly exceeded negative ones (23.3%), which reflected the practical aspect of prioritizing the referee's roles. (3) In response to, "It is better for a judoka to adjust his judogi while standing, as prescribed in the International Rules," affirmative responses (77.8%) also exceeded negative ones (22.2%) by a wide margin. This result also reflected practical aspects such as ease of fixing the judogi or reduction in the time needed to fix the judogi. Those findings suggested the following: Most judoka in Japan have little trouble accepting pragmatic aspects such as "a referee having his back to the front" and "fixing judogi while standing as prescribed in the International Rules" since those matters are "directly related to winning or losing." On the other hand, "bowing towards the front" was regarded as "a necessity to practice." Thus, while they strongly aspire to win, many Japanese judoka also feel that they need to preserve traditional customs.