Which country is the home of judo?
Kano Jigoro founded judo in 1882.
Judo was created in Japan by Kanō Jigorō, who founded the Kodokan in Tokyo in 1882 and taught there. He had trained in several schools of jujutsu, the older collection of unarmed combat arts used by samurai, and he selected, reorganized and in some cases removed techniques to make a system that could be practiced at full effort without serious injury. The name means the gentle way, from ju (gentle) and do (way).
Kanō built the art around two ideas: maximum efficiency with minimum effort, and mutual welfare and benefit. Free sparring, called randori, is a core method, and he created a ranking structure of kyu and dan grades, later marked with colored belts. He also saw judo as a method of education and physical culture, and promoted it in schools. He was also Asia's first member of the International Olympic Committee, joining in 1909.
Judo spread worldwide in the twentieth century. It made its Olympic debut at the 1964 Tokyo Games for men, where the Dutch athlete Anton Geesink won the open-weight division, a result that startled Japan. Women's judo was a demonstration event in 1988 and became a full medal event in 1992. The sport has since split into traditional practice and sport competition, with differing views on how far rules should depart from Kanō's original ideas.