Sakujiro Yokoyama

, was one of the earliest disciples of Kanō Jigorō. He was part of the Kōdōkan Shitennō or Four Guardians of the Kodokan along with Yoshitsugu Yamashita, Tsunejirō Tomita, and Shirō Saigō.

Biography Early life Yokoyama was born in Saginomiya, Tokyo, Japan in 1864. He trained in Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū jujutsu under Keitaro Inoue in the Yushima Tenjin dojo, as well as Kitō-ryū under Tomiharu Mikami, all since his childhood. It's said that when he was just thirteen he wielded a katana and cut down a burglar that was trying to rob his parents' house.

Sakujiro was considered one of the most formidable judo experts of his time, which reflected in his nickname of . He was known for his large size, violent fighting style and will to train and fight anytime. When he was not training at the dojo, Yokoyama was outside swinging around a heavy tetsubo in order to increase his strength, and he was said to carry always a thick rope in his attire, which he would use to drag and move rocks and logs he found in the road. His most famous opponent, however, was not a member of Yoshin-ryu, but the Ryoi Shinto-Ryu jujutsuka Hansuke Nakamura, who had been called up by Totsuka as a reinforcement. Nicknamed the "Demon Slayer" and considered the toughest martial artist in Japan, Nakamura was as tall and heavy as Sakujiro himself, and it was said he was so strong that he could be hung by his neck without feeling any pain. Although much older than Yokoyama, Nakamura was also much heavier and had also subjected himself to a hard training in order to avenge a defeat suffered at Tomita's hands years before.

The match, refereed by Tetsutaro Hisatomi from Sekiguchi-ryu, lasted a total of 55 minutes. After struggling on their feet, Yokoyama threw Nakamura down with deashi barai and was about to pin him with kami-shiho-gatame, but Nakamura immediately reversed and pinned Yokoyama with his own kami-shiho-gatame. Although Sakujiro was able to escape with great effort and score a harai goshi that floored the jujutsuka, he did not follow him to the ground, as he now knew Hansuke was dangerous at ne-waza. Similarly, Hansuke remained on one knee on the ground challenging him to grapple, knowing Sakujiro was superior on the stand-up. With Nakamura being stood up by the referee, the two fighters resumed trying to escape from their opponent's field of strength while attempting to bring him to their own until the draw was called. In total, they fought half an hour standing and 25 minutes on the ground, and they were rendered so tired that the referee had to forcefully pry their numb fingers apart to separate them when the match ended. Sakujiro later wrote that he thought he was going to die during the bout.

In 1894, Yokoyama met Hansuke Nakamura again a rematch of their 1886 encounter, and this time Sakujiro defeated him. The match was described as shorter and less energetic than the previous, reflecting their older ages. The same year, Nakamura was invited to do an exhibition in a Kodokan dojo, being paired with Yokoyama's own former master, Keitaro Inoue.

In his later years, Yokoyama was recorded by fellow judoka Tsunetane Oda as having faced an unnamed jujutsu practitioner from the Kansai region who came to challenge the Kodokan. According to Oda's account, the challenger submitted the dojo's students before facing Yokoyama himself. Oda deliberately withheld the challenger's identity, noting only that the man represented Kansai — and that Yokoyama ultimately defeated him with his signature yoko-sutemi-waza technique. This account is distinct from the well-documented history of Mataemon Tanabe, the Fusen-ryū master, who repeatedly challenged Yokoyama but was consistently rebuffed — Yokoyama declined Tanabe's challenges on multiple occasions.

Death Yokoyama died on September 23, 1912, at the age of 49, from cancer of the esophagus, a condition linked to his heavy drinking.