Trevor Leggett

Trevor Pryce Leggett (22 August 1914 – 2 August 2000) was a British judo teacher, author, translator, and head of the BBC's Japanese Service for 24 years. He was one of the first Europeans to study martial arts in Japan. Leggett served in the Ministry of Information during World War II. After the war, he taught judo at the Budokwai and worked in Japanese language services at the BBC. He held the title of Shihan, Leggett helped introduce Japanese culture to the United Kingdom, and was honoured for this by being inducted into Japan's Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1984. He also produced many works on Eastern philosophy.

Early life Leggett was born on 22 August 1914 in Brondesbury, northwestern London, in the United Kingdom.

World War II When World War II began in Europe, Leggett was attached to the British Embassy in Tokyo. In these classes, students would pair up and take turns strangling their partners to unconsciousness, and then reviving them under his supervision. "

In 1964, Leggett abruptly stopped teaching judo. Dunne and Bowen (2003) assert that Leggett's greatest literary contribution was, however, the translation of a (then) newly discovered Sanskrit commentary from around AD 700. This endeavour took him 17 years.

On 3 May 1984, Leggett was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class (Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon), by the Japanese government for his services in introducing Japanese culture to the UK. In 1987, he received the All-Japan Buddhist Association Literary Award for Translations of Japanese.

Later life In his later years, Leggett lectured on philosophy at the Buddhist Society (where he was a regular lecturer), the Theosophy Society, and other institutions. He was dismayed by the direction judo had taken, seeing it as a chase for medals. Through the 1980s and 1990s, his writings focused on philosophy rather than judo. Despite having severely impaired eyesight from his advanced age, he was still working on his next book during his final days.

Leggett died of a stroke in the early morning on 2 August 2000 at St Mary's Hospital, London. His funeral was held on the morning of 11 August 2000 at the Mortlake Crematorium. One of his Japanese friends once described him as "more Japanese than the Japanese"—his adherence to Japanese culture extended even to wearing the fundoshi, the loincloth worn only by the most traditional Japanese men. Hoare (2000) wrote: "It is no exaggeration to say that one of the great figures of world judo has passed away."