Ernest John Harrison

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Ernest John ("E.J.") Harrison was an English journalist, author and judo practitioner. Harrison was born in Manchester, England, on August 22, 1873. He wrote many books about the practice of judo. He died in1961.

As a young man, Harrison was a journalist who worked for newspapers in England, British Columbia, and Japan. He enjoyed wrestling. In 1897, while working for Yokohama newspaper called Japan Herald, he began training in Tenjin shinyo-ryu jujutsu. After moving to Tokyo, he began training in Kodokan judo.[1] In 1911, he was the first foreign-born person to achieve shodan (black belt ranking) in Kodokan judo.[2] In 1912, his Fighting Arts of Japan was among the first English-language books to describe the Japanese martial arts from the perspective of a foreign-born practitioner of those arts.

In 1916, Harrison was commissioned a lieutenant in the British Army. He served until 1919. Countries he served in included China, France, Latvia, and Estonia.[1] [3] In 1921, Harrison took a job with the Lithuanian legation to the United Kingdom. Most of his professional writings from 1921 to 1940 focused on Lithuanian topics.[1] After work, he often participated in the activities of a London judo club called the Budokwai.[4] During World War II, Harrison was a censor in Russian, Lithuanian, and Polish languages for the British Post Office.[1]. After World War II, he wrote and translated judo books.[5] Harrison was married twice. His first wife was Cicely Ross, an Australian woman he had met in Japan. He and his second wife, Rene, had one daughter, Aldona.[1]

[edit] Books

  • Peace or War East of Baikal? (1910). Yokohama: Kelly & Walsh.
  • The Fighting Spirit of Japan and Other Studies. (1912). New York: C. Scribner's Sons; London: T. Fisher Unwin; Yokohama (1913): Kelly and Walsh.
  • Lithuania Past and Present. (1922). London: T. Fisher Unwin.
  • The Red Camarilla. A Stirring Romance, etc. (1923). London: G. Allen & Unwin.
  • Rasprava, etc. (1924). London: Geoffrey J. Bles.
  • Lithuania: A Review. (1925?). London: Eyre & Spottiswoode.
  • Lithuania, 1928. (1928). London: Hazell, Watson & Viney.
  • Theory & Practice of Judo, etc. (reprinted from Nichi-ei Shinshi). Reading, no publisher listed.
  • Art of Ju-Jitsu. (1932). London: W. Foulsham.
  • Wrestling: Catch-as-catch-can, Cumberland & Westmorland, & All-in Styles. (1934). London: Foulsham's Sports Library.
  • Lithuania's Fight for Freedom. (1944). London: The Federation of the Lithuanian Societies in Great Britain.
  • Judo, etc. (1950). London: W. G. Foyle.
  • The Manual of Judo, etc. (1952). London: W. Foulsham.
  • Judo for Beginners... Illustrated. (1953) London: W. Foulsham.
  • Judo on the Ground: The Oda (9th Dan) Method, "Katamewaza". (1954). London: W. Foulsham.
  • The Fighting Spirit of Japan. (1955). London: W. Foulsham.
  • Judo for Women... Illustrated. (1957). London: W. Foulsham.
  • Junior Judo. (1957). London: W. Foulsham.
  • Physical Training for Men. (1957). London: W. Foulsham.
  • Physical Training for Women. (1957). London: W. Foulsham.
  • The Manual of Karate. (1959). London: W. Foulsham. (Rev. ed., 1974)
  • Judo, the Art of Jujutsu, etc. (1960). London: W. Foulsham.
  • Judo for Young Girls. (1961). London: W. Foulsham.

[edit] Translations

  • Aida, Hikoichi. (1956). Kodokan Judo. London: W. Foulsham.
  • Garbauskas, A. (1958). Know Thyself. A Theory of the Spirit and a System of Man's Psychical Powers. Nottingham: The Author.
  • Kawaishi, Mikonosuke. (1955). My Method of Judo. London: W. Foulsham.
  • Vilenkin, Grigory. (1908). The Political and Economic Organization of Modern Japan. Tokyo: Kondo Shoten.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Harrison, E.J. "A Resumé of My Chequered Career".[1]
  2. ^ Japan Times, April 3, 1913, p. 6.
  3. ^ Harrison, E.J. Unpublished notebook in the Richard Bowen Collection at the University of Bath.[2]
  4. ^ Bowen, Richard. "The Budokwai: Its Roots and Early History and Some Other Early Matters".[3]
  5. ^ Svinth, Joseph R., ed. "Letters from E.J. Harrison to Robert W. Smith 1950-1960".[4]


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