Kenshiro Abbe - Early Life

Early Life

Abbe was born on 15 December 1915 in a village in Tokushima Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, Japan. He was the son of Toshizo Abbe, who was the local school's headmaster and a kendo instructor, and his wife, Kote Abbe. The couple had four sons and five daughters, and Abbe was the youngest child in the family. On 4 September 1919, when Abbe was not yet four years old, his father drowned in a flash flood while training in the mountains. A young schoolteacher, Manpei Hino, subsequently became a father figure for the young boy and introduced him to the martial arts, including sumo. Abbe went on to become a local school champion in sumo.

In 1929, Abbe began learning judo from Kazohira Nakamoto, a former police officer. That same year, he was promoted to the rank of 1st dan in the art and, unusually, he reached 2nd dan the next year, and 3rd dan the year after that. Thus, at the age of 16, he became the youngest judo student ever promoted to 3rd dan—an honour he received directly from Shohei Hamano, an instructor of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (abbreviated to 'Butoku Kai' or 'Butokukwai'), which was the official governing body for Japanese martial arts. Abbe also became champion of the Tokushima High School Judo League that year. During his fifth year at the school, Abbe entered a regional tournament involving 30 towns, serving as captain for the team from the town of Kawashima. His speed and agility helped him to many victories, and he received the nickname 'Pegasus' accordingly.

At his 1st dan judo examination, Abbe had caught the attention of Shotaro Tobata from the Butoku Kai, who had been refereeing at the event. Tobata had suggested to Nakamoto and Abbe that the young man should apply for entry to the renowned Budo Senmon Gakko (abbreviated to 'Busen,' and sometimes referred to as 'Busen College'), a specialist college for martial artists. With the additional help of a teacher named Nakano, Abbe now prepared for the entrance examination in Kyoto. Out of all the candidates, of which there were around 300 that year, 20 would be accepted into the judo programme and 20 into the kendo programme. Abbe performed well and was accepted into both programmes.