Takisaburo Tobari

was a Japanese jujutsu and judo practitioner. He was one of the earliest members of Kodokan.

Biography Born in 1865, Tobari graduated as a jujutsuka of the Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū school in Edo, later known as Tokyo. He trained under Kentaro Inoue, the same master as Sakujiro Yokoyama, and like Yokoyama himself, Tobari would join Jigoro Kano's Kodokan school, becoming an early judoka. The match was the hardest defeat suffered by the Kodokan school against a jujutsu challenger at the time. Tobari (first row, eighth from the right) among other jujutsu masters in 1888. Immediately after losing to Tanabe, Tobari fought Kanaya too as he had intended. This time their ground skill was evenly matched, and after 30 minutes, the referee declared a draw or hikiwake. Kanaya was offended again, as Tobari had demanded Tanabe to fight for any time as it was needed to get a finish, and Senjuro believed they should fight the same way. While Kanaya was berating the referee, Tobari suddenly grabbed him and threw him down, shouting that he would please him if he wanted to keep the match going. The action drew laughs from the crowd, after which a Kanaya finally accepted the draw.

Later life In 1904, Tobari toured through Europe for five years, where he learned the Austrian system of osteopathy of Heil-Gymnastik.

Tobari taught his martial expertise to his wife Kazu, who succeeded him in the lineage of Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū.