Coffee Table Book of: Judo (Hardcover)

Description

Coffee Table Book of: Judo is a large format book of judo, printed edge to edge in colour, one picture to a page and the widest carried across two: the jacket and the belt, the rush mats of old halls and the plain mats of today, dojos empty from first light to late at night, the kit being made and cared for, the old gear of the early days, and a few judoka seen far off in plain dark clothing.

The kit is laid out plain: a folded white jacket with its belt, the thick stitched collar, a jacket laid flat with its sleeves out, a dark blue jacket on a peg, trousers with reinforced knees, belts from white through the colours to black, a belt of red and white panels, a black belt knotted in a shaft of sunrise light, a jacket rolled and tied with its own belt, sandals at the edge of the mat, finger tape, a kit bag, a water bottle, a crash mat, training bands on wall bars, a climbing rope and a skipping rope.

The making and care follow rush cut and dried in summer fields, an old loom weaving heavy cotton, a long needle at the edge of an unfinished mat, new mats stacked in a workshop, a jacket drying on a maple branch, a sleeve darned by hand, a bucket and a straw broom at the edge of the mats and old mats aired in the sun.

Then the places, empty at many hours and in many seasons: dojos at first light in frost, at noon with the doors open on a summer garden, at dusk in autumn and late on a snowy night, in fog, rain, thunder and moonlight, among spring blossom and red maples and beside a still lake, sports halls with plain mats, a moss garden, stone steps in the mist, a riverside path, a beach and a cliff top, and a few small judoka far off, bowing, kneeling in a line, gripping, rolling, climbing a rope and running at dawn.

Short notes run through the book, on practice and the customs of the dojo, the jacket, belt and mats and how they are made, and the history of the sport: winter practice at dawn, through the coldest weeks of the year, is a long dojo tradition, many dojos also keep a summer practice, held through the hottest days of the year, the highest grades may wear a belt of red and white panels, and the very highest a red one, and jacket sleeves must reach close to the wrist, leaving cloth for the other side to grip.

Printed in full colour on heavy 150gsm coated paper at 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 inches), as a hardcover with the art printed on the case.