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Sanshiro Sugata
1943 · Director: Akira Kurosawa · JP
What it is about
Akira Kurosawa's debut about a young man learning judo who must grasp that technique without character is not enough.
The fighting in it
It captures the shift from the old jujutsu schools to Kano's judo — a dispute that was genuinely taking place at the time. The character of Sugata is loosely based on Shiro Saigo of the Kodokan.
Martial arts in the film
The film details have not yet been checked against a primary source.