to formal recognition from the Japanese Emperor…

Masao Takahashi

From a small Canadian town…

a celebration of the life of an extraordinary Canadian and legendary judoka

Stave Falls, British Columbia, c. 1930s

Masao “Mas” Takahashi, June 24, 1929 to February 14, 2020

Born in Stave Falls, British Columbia, Takahashi moved to the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia with his family in the late 1930s so that he could attend school. His father worked in a saw mill and his mother opened a home day care. Mas learned his first judo in Kitsilano.

He was an outstanding athlete in high school, but sports were limited following the outbreak of the Second World War. In March 1942, the government forced the family to give up their belongings and relocate as part of the internment of Japanese-Canadians.

Kyukichi and Mine Takahashi with Paul (Kunio), Tak, Hisako and Masao, in 1941.

The Takahashis chose Raymond, Alberta to work as cheap labour on a sugar beet farm as it kept the family together. The family stayed on the farm in a small house with no plumbing, and the children were initially prohibited from going to school. Mas at times rode Daisy, his horse, to school. Takahashi and his friends continued to practise Judo during their years in Raymond under Yoshio Katsuta’s supervision at a small Japanese Buddhist church.

After the war was over, he completed high school, graduating in 1948. In 1949, Mas Takahashi joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he spent the next 22 years of his life.

L to R: Masao, Kyukichi, Paul, Mine and Tak, 10 Sept 1950

Mas in RCAF uniform, in Ottawa

Mas retired from the Air Force in 1969 and began a second career by opening the Takahashi dojo on Melrose Avenue near Wellington Street West in Ottawa, Ontario.

Mas was a talented, brilliant and fearsome judo competitor, winning more medals and trophies than we have space for here.

Mas competed in judo shiai, winning many trophies at a time when there were no weight divisions. He was known for his Seoi-nage, Utshiro-goshi and was particularly effective with foot sweeps which he often used against bigger opponents. 

Mas Takahashi, Canadian judoka, author, coach, and founder of the Takahashi School of Martial Arts (Established 1969) in Ottawa, Ontario. He was involved in judo for more than 70 years, and was ranked hachi-dan (eighth-degree black belt), one of the highest ranked Canadian judokas.

Mas Takahashi was inducted into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame in 1998.

Mas Takahashi, Katsuyoshi Takata, Doug Rogers

The Takahashi family won the Mayor’s Cup in 2020.

Celebrated Japanese Canadian, judoka, father, grandfather, author

Mas's wife June and four children are also accomplished judokas who have made recognized contributions to the development of Judo in Canada. June Takahashi was one of the first women in Canada to earn a black belt in Judo and is now ranked Shichi-dan (seventh-degree black belt), making her one of the highest-ranked women in the country.

The children of Mas, Allyn Takahashi, Phil Takahashi, Ray Takahashi, and Tina Takahashi, are all black belts who have been highly successful in competition, and three of them have participated in the Olympics: Phil as a competitor and Tina as a coach in Judo, and Ray as a competitor in wrestling.

Mas was a judo judge at the Olympics.

 In 2005 Mas Takahashi co-authored a book, Mastering Judo, with his family.

In 2002, Mas Takahashi was decorated by the Emperor of Japan with the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette, in recognition of his service to improving the status of Japanese-Canadians through his lifelong commitment to the promotion and development of Judo in Canada.

One of Mas Takahashi's more famous students was former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Trudeau began practising Judo in Montreal in the mid-1950s when he was in his mid-thirties, and by the end of the decade he was ranked ik-kyū (brown belt) before connecting with Mas Takahashi through judo when he moved to Ottawa as Minister of Justice. Later, when he travelled to Japan as Prime Minister, Pierre was promoted to sho-dan (first-degree black belt) by the Kodokan, and then promoted to ni-dan (second-degree black belt) by Takahashi before leaving office.

Pierre Trudeau's three sons (Justin, Alexandre, & Michel) and the children of his successor, Brian Mulroney, also took judo lessons at Takahashi's dojo.

Current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s son Xavier and daughter Ella Grace, studied judo at the Takahashi dojo.

Mas was a tough, accomplished and inspiring Sensei and coach to thousands of judokas.

Tony Walby, roku-dan and World Judo competitor, recounts getting coached by Mas: “I was a troubled kid, getting into group fights outside the dojo, but Mas corrected me gently, saying, ‘Now you have an Orange belt, it is time to do things right.’ I am who I am now through Mas’ coaching and teaching.”

Tony Walby (R) with Allyn Takahashi (L), doing Kime-no-kata

Mas Takahashi died at the age of 90 in Ottawa in February, 2020. His friends, students and family remember him with great respect and fondness.