Sanpo Toku

was a Japanese judoka.

Biography Toku was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan in 1887. He started training in judo, karate and kendo at elementary school, becoming a frequent tournament winner; in one of his first showings, he defeated 165 opponents in a single judo league. It was said he refused to learn ukemiwaza on the saying he would never be thrown.

After being scouted by Kaichiro Samura, he moved to Tokyo and joined the Kodokan school in May 1906. He soon became known there for his harsh training regime, which gained him the nickname of and the reputation of being the strongest judoka of his time. He was one of the school's biggest names along with future 10th dan Shotaro Tabata and Kyuzo Mifune, the latter prompting a public rivalry in which they were known as and .

Toku famously challenged karate master and Shotokan founder Gichin Funakoshi to a match, without ever receiving an answer. Toku himself did, however, answer to a challenge made by 15 sailors of the Brazilian Navy to the Kodokan in 1912, defeating them all soundly and injuring several of them.