Keiko Fukuda (Japanese: 福田 敬子, Hepburn: Fukuda Keiko, April 12, 1913 – February 9, 2013) was a Japanese-American martial artist. She was the highest-ranked female judoka in history, holding the rank of 9th dan from the Kodokan (2006), and 10th dan from USA Judo (July 2011) and from the United States Judo Federation (USJF) (September ...

Feb 7, 2025 · Keiko Fukuda was a Japanese-American martial artist who held the rank of 9th dan from the Kodokan and 10th dan from USA Judo and the United States Judo Federation. She was the last surviving student of judo founder Kanō Jigorō. This Sunday, February 9, marks the 12th anniversary of Shihan Fukuda’s passing. Shihan Fukuda moved to the United ...

Keiko Fukuda Inducted 1993. At 98, she is still teaching the Japanese martial art three times a week at a women’s dojo in Noe Valley, giving pointers from a fold-out chair, wearing her ki – and the red belt that signals her superior rank.

Feb 16, 2013 · Keiko Fukuda, who learned judo from its inventor and went on to become the sport’s highest-ranked woman, died on Feb. 9 at her home in San Francisco. She was 99.

The belt signifies that Keiko Fukuda, who celebrated her 90th birthday last spring, is the highest-ranking woman in the world in judo, a Japanese martial art in which technique and balance — rather than power — are the key to victory.

The program honors Shihan Keiko Fukuda’s legacy of “Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful in Body, Mind and Spirit” and the girls are learning how to be all that and more.

Feb 12, 2013 · SAN FRANCISCO — Keiko Fukuda, who went against centuries of tradition to become the highest-ranking woman in judo history, has died at the age of 99. The announcement was made by San Francisco filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer, who directed a documentary about Fukuda, “Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful.”

Feb 14, 2013 · Keiko Fukuda was a Japanese-born American Judoka. She was the highest-ranked female judoka in history, holding the rank of 9th dan from the Kodokan and the United States Judo Federation (USJF), and 10th dan from USA Judo, and was the last surviving student of Kanō Jigorō, founder of judo never made the cover of Black Belt.

Jan 1, 2025 · One such is the story of Keiko Fukuda, a Japanese-American martial artist who became the highest-ranked female judoka of all time. She was the first woman in history to obtain a 10th dan (rank) belt at age 97.

Sensei Keiko Fukuda (April 12, 1913 – February 9, 2013) began studying the art of judo in Japan in 1935. She was the last living student of Dr. Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo. Her grandfather, Fukuda Hachinosuke, was a samurai master and Dr. Kano’s first jujitsu instructor.