• Source: Yawara!

      • Yawara! (also stylized as YAWARA!) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was serialized in Big Comic Spirits from 1986 to 1993, with its chapters collected into 29 tankōbon volumes by publisher Shōgakukan. The story centers around Yawara Inokuma, a seemingly ordinary high school girl, but her grandfather, a living judo legend, has been secretly training her since she was a child so that she can win the gold medal at the Olympic Games. But Yawara has only one desire, to have a normal life.
      A live-action film adaptation directed by Kazuo Yoshida and starring Yui Asaka was released by Toho in April 1989. That same year, Kitty Films and Madhouse began an anime adaptation titled Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl!. It was broadcast on Yomiuri TV from October 1989 through September 1992, for 124 episodes. Each episode ended with a countdown of days remaining to the start of the Barcelona Olympics. Two animated films were released in August 1992 and July 1996. AnimEigo released the first 40 episodes of the anime in North America in 2008, but were unable to license the remaining episodes.
      In 1990, the manga won the 35th Shogakukan Manga Award for the general category. Yawara! has over 30 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.


      Plot


      Yawara Inokuma is a young girl who aspires to an ordinary life but due to her innate talent is forced to practice judo by her authoritarian grandfather, Jigorou Inokuma, with the aim of achieving the championship in Japan and the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Because of the pressure from her grandfather she generally has a bad attitude about judo, avoiding it as much as she can. However, over time she comes to understand why her grandfather loves judo and appreciates it more.


      Characters


      Yawara Inokuma (猪熊 柔, Inokuma Yawara)
      Voiced by: Yūko Minaguchi
      Played by: Yui Asaka
      Yawara is a girl who aspires to an ordinary life but who is forced to practice judo by her grandfather. She is always having romantic daydreams; her biggest dream being to find a boyfriend. (Inokuma means "Boar Bear"; Yawara is the same kanji as "ju" in "judo", though it also means flex, soft, gentle.) Although she has a lot supporters and very close friends such as Fujiko, sometimes she acts selfishly and does not appreciate their commitment toward her (e.g., almost failing to help Fujiko in her All-Japan Selection match).
      Jigoro Inokuma (猪熊 滋悟郎, Inokuma Jigorou)
      Voiced by: Ichirō Nagai
      Played by: Keiju Kobayashi
      Jigoro is a seventh-dan Judo Master (though he often inflates this to eighth- or even ninth-dan) and five-time national champion. His passion for judo is rivaled only by his love for Yawara and food (particularly sweets). He has great expectations for Yawara's judo career and is constantly pushing her to do her best and focus primarily on judo. His motto is "Judo was not built in a day." He does work on the side as a bone-setting doctor. He is a bit of a media hound as he often tries to hijack publicity events for Yawara to highlight his own life and achievements. He is often overbearing toward Yawara and is not above using mean tricks to get his way, either to thwart her goals and desires or to force her to do what he wants.
      Tamao Inokuma (猪熊 玉緒)
      Tamao is Yawara's mother. She is rarely home as she searches all over Japan for her husband Kojiro. Unlike Jigoro, she does not pressure Yawara to do judo, but she does not detest judo either because it was through judo that she met Kojiro. She tells Yawara that there are other ways to be strong other than judo and that it is possible to be a judoka and be feminine as well.
      Kojiro Inokuma (猪熊 虎滋郎)
      Played by: Bunta Sugawara
      Kojiro is Yawara's father. He disappeared soon after winning the 1974 Japan Judo Championship in his debut as an unknown judoka, supposedly training in secrecy in extreme environments (for 11 years at the beginning of the story) without letting his family know his whereabouts.
      Sayaka Honami (本阿弥 さやか, Honami Sayaka)
      Voiced by: Yoshino Takamori
      Played by: Yorie Yamashita
      Sayaka is an extremely spoiled daughter of one of Japan's richest families. She has never failed to dominate any sport she has cared to try. When Yawara shows her up, she decides to stop at nothing to defeat her and becomes her rival. She has a false tooth, which is a sore point for her, and one that Yawara keeps accidentally bringing up. She becomes Yawara's rival not only in judo but also for Shinnosuke's affection. Honami is pronauned like hon ami, not ho na mi.
      Shinnosuke Kazamatsuri (風祭 進之介, Kazamatsuri Shinnosuke)
      Voiced by: Akira Kamiya
      Played by: Riki Takeuchi
      Shinnosuke is one of the finest judo coaches in all of Japan; he idolizes Jigorou and has been hired by Honami. Despite suffering from stage fright, he is an unbelievable babe-magnet and incorrigible womanizer thanks to his good looks and ability to flatter women with ease and superficial caring. Shinnosuke is pronaunced like shin no suke.
      Kosaku Matsuda (松田 耕作, Matsuda Kosaku)
      Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki
      Played by: Hiroshi Abe
      A reporter working for a sports paper (Daily Every Sport), Matsuda becomes convinced Yawara is going to be the next great sports superstar in Japan. He is conflicted by his feelings for Yawara and his goal of making her into a judo superstar.
      Kamoda (鴨田, Kamoda)
      Voiced by: Chafurin
      Played by: Kōji Nakamoto
      A cameraman working for a sports paper, Kamoda seems to have a knack for taking "the perfect shot" for headlines. He never refuses any offer of food.
      Kaoru Hanazono (花園 薫, Hanazono Kaoru)
      Voiced by: Masashi Sugawara
      Hanazono, the large, overly emotional captain of the judo club at Yawara's high school, becomes devoted to Yawara when she comes to his attention as a skilled judoka. He has a crush on Yawara and tries to be her chief protector, until he meets Fujiko and the two bond over their mutual enthusiasm for Yawara. He is later trained by Jigoro and becomes his college's strongest judo player.
      Yuki Tohdoh
      Yuki is a heavyweight judoka who lost to Yawara in the latter's "unofficial" debut, though Yawara was trying to lose the match. She outweighs Yawara by 20 kg (44 lbs) and looks, talks, and eats like a sumo wrestler.
      Jody Rockwell (ジョディ・ロックウェル, Jodi Rokkuweru)
      Voiced by: Miyuki Ichijo
      Jody is the previous year's heavyweight judo world champion (>72 kg division); she is a Canadian who comes to challenge Yawara to a match part way into the series, becoming a friendly rival and regular character.
      Kim Yonsky
      Kim is the South Korean "secret weapon" whose judo incorporates Korean close-in wrestling. She and Sayaka have a judo match in which they come to an exhausting draw and pronounce mutual hatred.
      Anna Teleshikova
      Teleshikova is Soviet/Russian judo star who looks like a platinum robot with a butch haircut. She kicks Jody Rockwell in their first match and severely injures Jody's leg. Her habit is to study tapes intensively to figure out her opponent's weak point, which she attacks relentlessly.
      Belkins
      Belkins is the Belgian judo champion who is also a model, known as the Judo Queen. She loses to Yawara in the semifinals match at the Seoul Olympics and crowns Yawara the "New Queen".
      Yuutenji
      Yuutenji is the judo coach for Sakai College, reputed to be the best in judo. He has been scheming with Jigoro to recruit Yawara.
      Kaga Kuniko
      Kuniko is a new photographer for the Daily Every Sport. She wears glasses, flaunts her big breasts with revealing clothing, and uses her ability to cry hysterically on command to get her way. She develops a crush on Matsuda and falsely pretends to be his "girlfriend" in front of others, repeatedly plotting to ruin the relationship between Matsuda and Yawara.
      Ito Fujiko
      Played by: Reiko Hirayama
      Fujiko is a very tall student (180 cm, a little over 5′11″) at Mitsuba Women's College whose goal is to experience a "once-in-lifetime youth" and meet a wonderful man. She is somewhat gloomy and sensitive about her height, which she inherits from both sides of her family. She is not popular with men (until she meets Hanazono) and often ends up drinking alone at social gatherings. She dedicated her youth to ballet dancing until she grew too tall. She becomes Yawara's best friend at college. She organizes Mitsuba's first judo club to help restore Yawara's passion for judo. Under Jigoro's training, she becomes an excellent judoka herself due to her ballerina training, height, and hard work, but lacks confidence and psychological toughness as a competitor. The latter part of the show features her development as a judoka as much as Yawara.
      Komiya Yukari
      Komiya is a short-haired student at Mitsuba Women's College. She is flirtatious and a veteran dater. Her stated goal is hook a rich man for marriage. She is friends with Yawara and Fujiko but never joins the Mitsuba judo team.
      Minamda Yoko
      Yoko, aka "Paddy-field", joins the Mitsuba team out of frustration after being repeatedly dumped by men (13 when she joined; 19 when she graduated). She uses "(Man's name) you jerk!" as a battle cry when she fights. She becomes a police officer after judo.
      Kikage Kyoto
      Nicknamed "Kyon-kyon" (the shadow), she is a small sickly woman who is usually "invisible" in gatherings. She weighs only 36 kg (about 79 lb). She joins Mitsuba judo to get stronger in health. Although weak, she is also brave and great with details by keeping notes on opponents and is able to absorb Yawara's instructions even without being taught any real moves by Jigoro.
      Yoshinagawa Sayuri
      Sayuri joins Mitsuba judo to lose weight. Although not skilled, she often is able to use her weight to pin down opponents ("Thank God I'm fat!") and can take great punishment. She believes that each match reduces her weight by a few kg. People often mispronounce her surname.
      Oda Mari
      Nicknamed "Marilyn", she is the least serious of the Mitsuba judo club and is mostly seen preening for the camera. Often attracting men's attentions and sometimes molesters, she joins judo to fend them off. She is buxom and wears makeup and earrings to matches, causing her to be disqualified. She aspires to be an actress.


      Production


      While Naoki Urasawa was pitching the idea of writing a manga about the medical field, he could tell his editor was not enjoying it. Knowing that the editor was a big fan of baseball, he jokingly proposed a story about women's judo, but the editor lit up at the idea. Urasawa said that he then scribbled out the whole of Yawara! during that meeting in about 30 minutes, from the characters to the story.
      The series started in 1986, women's judo became a demonstration sport just before the 1988 Summer Olympics with it set to be a fully competitive sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics, so it was perfect to include that goal in the manga. But the author never thought the series would last long enough to reach the latter. Urasawa revealed that with Yawara! being so different from his previous works as a comedy about a cute girl, some of his fans and colleagues felt betrayed and that he had sold out. But he does not see it that way as he never had any intentions of making it a love comedy or a "fight-to-the-finish, don't-give-up-now! sports" story. He said "My subjects of my comics might be taken from the popular mainstream, but I believe they are still embued with my own sensitivities and therefore quite distinctive in their own right." The author said that he intended for Yawara! to be a parody of Ikki Kajiwara's works, such as Star of the Giants. But for some reason readers got something out of it other than he intended; "Maybe it's because they're used to sports comics, but they seem to like my comics for the scenes of victory and defeat. They find them interesting somehow. Those scenes were really supposed to be funny! But they find them touching, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do."
      Urasawa said that because he is not the heroic type himself, he has difficulty portraying strong-willed leading characters. He said it was even difficult to portray Yawara and Matsuda, whom he described as "very good supporting characters" as it seems to be much easier for him to develop supporting characters. The author cited American television comedies as his comedic influences. Jigoro's habit of forgetting people's names was taken from Samantha's mother in Bewitched.
      When Urasawa was beginning Master Keaton in 1988 while still creating Yawara!, the editorial team was concerned about a young artist being able to write and draw two series at once, and so brought in story writers for the new series.


      Media




      = Manga

      =
      Written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, while he was simultaneously illustrating Pineapple Army, Yawara! was serialized weekly in Big Comic Spirits from the 30th issue of 1986 to the 38th issue of 1993. Publisher Shōgakukan collected the 331 chapters into 29 tankōbon volumes between April 30, 1987 and October 29, 1993. A 19 volume bunkoban edition was released between July 17, 1998 and March 16, 1999. A twenty-volume kanzenban edition was released between December 27, 2013 and April 30, 2015.
      Urasawa created a spin-off manga series titled Jigoro! that ran in Zōkan Big Comic Spirits from October 20, 1988 to April 11, 1991. He explained that he found Yawara's grandfather so interesting that the character earned his own spin-off, and called it one of his favorite series. It was collected into one volume in October 1994, which was republished on February 15, 2003, and again in a kanzenban edition on April 30, 2015.


      Volume list




      = Anime

      =

      Yawara! was adapted into an anime television series titled Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl! by Kitty Films. The series was broadcast on Yomiuri TV between October 16, 1989 and September 21, 1992. A total of 124 episodes were produced. An animated film titled Yawara! Soreyuke Koshinuke Kizzu!! (YAWARA! それゆけ腰ぬけキッズ!!) entered theaters on August 1, 1992. It features a story based on a draft created by Urasawa. An anime TV special, titled Yawara! Special - Zutto Kimi no Koto ga... (YAWARA! Special ずっと君のことが…。), aired on Nippon TV on July 19, 1996 to conclude the series. The 1992 Barcelona Olympics are updated to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
      The TV series was licensed for release in North America by Animeigo in August 2006. Preorders were opened in early 2008. A box set of the first 40 episodes was released on October 31, 2008. However, AnimEigo announced in April 2010 that they had been unable to license the remaining episodes, and the first boxset went out of print on August 31, 2012.


      = Live-action film

      =
      A live-action film adaptation of Yawara! directed by Kazuo Yoshida for Toho opened in theaters on April 15, 1989. Having Yui Asaka in the title role, the film featured cameos by real life judokas like Kaori Yamaguchi and Yasuhiro Yamashita, as well as shoot wrestlers, Kōji Nakamoto Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada. Asaka also sings the theme song "Neverland".


      = Video games

      =
      Two video games were developed by Sofix for the personal computer. The first was a "digital comic" released on October 1, 1992 that received a rating of 22/40 by Famitsu. The second was released on September 23, 1994, has additional gameplay elements such as "battle" and "quiz" modes, and received a 21/40 rating by Famitsu.


      Reception


      As of March 2021, Yawara! had over 30 million collected volumes in circulation. The manga won the 35th Shogakukan Manga Award for the general category in 1990. The significance of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the story is that in the real world, this was the first time that Women's Judo would be a full competition event and would thus see the awarding of the first Olympic gold medal for Women's Judo. Yawara! was very popular in Japan, so when real life Japanese teenager Ryoko Tamura won a silver medal for judo at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, she was seen as a real-life Yawara (her age, stature, and ability all being strikingly similar to those of the fictional character) and promptly nicknamed "Yawara-chan". She was still known by this name eight years later, indicating perhaps the enduring popular recognition of the series as well as that of Ryoko Tamura.
      Mark Sammut of Comic Book Resources wrote that while Yawara! "might not have many of the trademarks that would come to define Urasawa's later thrillers," the humorous sports series "still serves as a masterclass in character writing and atmosphere." He also called its prequel series, Jigoro!, the funniest thing Urasawa has ever written. Reviewing Animeigo's release of the first 40 episodes of the anime, Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network wrote that Yawara! seamlessly blends romance, humor, life hurdles and sports intrigue. He strongly praised Yawara Inokuma's character and noted that the series is far more focused on romance and coming of age than it is judo. The reviewer finished by lamenting that they do not make anime like this anymore, as they seem to have forgotten the appeal of a simple story told well; Yawara! "is quite simply, the most purely enjoyable series in years."
      Kimlinger went on to pick Yawara Inokuma as his 2008 Character of the Year and called her "possibly the most insanely likeable character ever devised—all the more so because she is as flawed, selfish and naive as any real adolescent girl." While including the series on a list of the best anime from 1989, his colleague of the same website Daryl Surat wrote that she inspired numerous fighting video game characters. Namely in the Street Fighter series where Ibuki has a similar background and temperament, and Karin Kanzuki is very similar to Sayaka Honami.


      Notes




      References




      External links


      Official website (in Japanese)
      Official Madhouse website (in Japanese)
      Official Fuji TV website (in Japanese)
      AnimEigo Official site Archived February 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
      Yawara! (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
      Yawara! at IMDb

    • Source: Yawara

      • The yawara is a Japanese weapon used in various martial arts. Numerous types of jujutsu make use of a small rod, made of wood, that extends somewhat from both ends of a person's fist which is known as a yawara. The yawara likely originated from the use of the tokkosho, a Buddhist symbolic object, by monks in feudal Japan. The tokkosho was used during the Edo period and it was made of brass. Sometimes a short rope or cord would be looped around the user's wrist to distract someone else while in combat. The methods of using a yawara may have been created by samurai that used tantojutsu, which was combat that made use of a short knife. According to another theory, a samurai might have fought with the scabbard "when a more deadly weapon was not necessary".
      The yawara stick was popularized for police officers in the 1940s by Frank A. Matsuyama, who made his own version in 1937 or earlier. The upgraded yawara was made of Bakelite plastic and had golf shoe metal spikes on both ends. A yawara can be used by the general public for self-defense in some countries. A variation of the yawara is a kubotan which is about six inches long, made of plastic, weighs about two ounces, and has no sharp edges. The kubotan is used by police officers and the general public. It is considered to be a modern version of a yawara, which is "a little shorter and broader". In the United States, yawaras are not intrinsically illegal in any jurisdiction. In the UK it's illegal for any member of the public to carry a lethal or non-lethal self defence weapon.


      History


      Numerous types of jujutsu make use of a small rod, made of wood, that extends somewhat from both ends of a person's fist which is known as a yawara. The shaft of a yawara is often "carved to fit a user's fingers and to improve grip". The yawara is around 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) long. Either end of the yawara can "be used to strike or apply pressure to sensitive vital points on an opponent's body". Pressure points that can be easily struck with a yawara are "the forehead, bridge of nose, upper lip, chin, temple, jaw, bicep, solar plexus, elbow, forearm, kidney, wrist, hypocondrium, genitalia, testicles, and knee". When a yawara is "held across the palm", it can "be used to block strikes of blows, even knife and sword slashes". Sometimes a wielder would add a short "rope or cord" that would be looped around the user's wrist, allowing the yawara to be propelled as a distraction while in combat. With the cord setup, the user can easily retrieve the yawara and the cord itself can be used to capture the other person's "limb or weapon as well as to restrain an attacker after they had been subdued". The cord or hook were sometimes called torihimo or "bird rope".
      It is believed by some historians that methods of using a yawara were created by samurai that used tantojutsu, which was combat with a short knife. A theory states that the scabbard of a short blade may have swelled from water, resulting in it being hard for a samurai to "draw the blade" from its scabbard. When that happened, the samurai started using the scabbard as a weapon. According to another theory, a samurai might have fought with the scabbard "when a more deadly weapon was not necessary". It is likely that the yawara was based on the tokkosho which was used by Buddhist priests, monks, and pilgrims for incantations and prayers. A tokkosho symbolized the Buddha's ability to destroy evil, but it could also be used in self-defense "as a hand-held weapon". A takkosho was used during the Edo period and it was made of brass. It was an object that was used in rituals.
      Due to metal being expensive and requiring forging by tools, wood (of any type) was used to create a yawara. Because it is easy to carve and use a yawara, it has been used as part of multiple self-defense styles in the western world. In feudal Japan, some yawara included miniature claws on one end, allowing someone to "hook the opponent's clothing to pull the attacker off-balance and throw him". The claws could also be used to attack an opponent's face.


      = Police use

      =
      Assistants of the Japanese police force created various ways to capture a criminal with the rope of the yawara. Japanese immigrant Frank Matsuyama taught the Berkeley, California, police department how to use the yawara in the 1930s. Matsuyama later wrote the book How to Use the Yawara Stick for Police, which details the use of an upgraded yawara that he created in 1937 or earlier for police officers. The upgraded yawara was made of Bakelite plastic and had golf shoe spikes on both ends. The spikes, which were made of metal, were to dishearten someone from taking the yawara from the police officer or to cause pain in order to stop a criminal. Matsuyama stated in his book of his upgrade of the yawara, "The Yawara stick is very effective, easy to carry, easy to learn how to use, and easy to remember. It is hard – in fact, almost impossible – for anyone to wrest it from an Officer's grasp. The Yawara stick is better appearing, very inconspicuous, and is not objectionable to the public – even when it is being used". While some yawara have ball bearings on each end, that version has been banned for most police officer usage due to how easily it can penetrate both flesh and bone. A 1985 manual by the University of Illinois titled Police Yawara Stick Techniques, Second Edition details "the advantages and disadvantages of the yawara stick as a weapon". The manual states how police officers can effectively use the yawara and it includes illustrations for each method of use.


      = General public use

      =
      The yawara has also been created by using hard nylon and aircraft-grade aluminum for use by the general public. Depending on the company, the yawara can be built as either hollow or solid. For self-defense, the yawara can be aimed at the neck, throat, temple, eyes, or nose. A yawabara is easy to hide and might also have an attachment for a keychain. For use by the general public, a yawabara is inexpensive. Martial artist Miguel Ibarra stated of a yawara, "It can give a person who might lack physical size, strength or highly developed technique an edge against an attacker". Martial artist Roy Goldberg said, "Stay away from the types of yawara that have knives or blades concealed inside them. If you practice right, you be very effective with the plain stick; you don't need the blade." Goldberg also said that "there is more risk of being prosecuted for carrying a concealed weapon if you have a yawara with a blade inside". The senior black belt demonstration division of the American Jujitsu Association can demonstrate how to use a yawara among other weapons.
      A variation of the yawara is a kubotan which is "about six inches long, made of plastic, weighs about two ounces, and has no sharp edges. The kubotan is used by police officers and the general public. It is considered to be a modern version of a yawara, which is "a little shorter and broader".


      Etymology


      The kanji for yawara and ju in jujutsu or judo is the same (柔). The kanji also translates to "flexibility" or "giving way". Another term for yawara is tenouchi which translates to "inside the hand".


      Legality


      In the United States, yawaras are not intrinsically illegal in any jurisdiction.


      See also


      Baston (weapon)
      Hanbō
      Kubotan
      List of martial arts weapons


      References

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