Description

Japanese jujutsuka who, with Takitaro Taki, brought jujutsu to Portugal (Lisbon, late 1909), then acted in Porto (16 Jun - mid Aug 1910) against Yamaguchi among others. Possibly the smallest Japanese wrestler of the era (1.45 m, 50 kg). Married Phoebe Laughton Parry (the British women's jujutsu pioneer, covered here as Phoebe Roberts) in March 1907; the couple demonstrated at the Palace Theatre, Manchester in 1908, where Phoebe was billed as 'Miss Roberts, Lady Champion Ju-jitsu Wrestler of the World'. Hirano founded a Ju-jitsu Academy in Barcelona in 1909, then moved to Portugal with Phoebe, teaching the PSP police in Porto and training Armando Gonçalves. Per Callan/Heffernan/Spenn (2019) he is thought to have drowned off Santa Cruz beach, Portugal in 1915, his body never found; Phoebe remarried (Carlos de Castro Henriques) in 1916. Gonçalves's own books (1914, 1936, 1941, 1942) attest his discipleship under Hirano.

Students (1)

• 
  Armando Gonçalves

  sports_martial_artsJūjutsu Probable

  Probable

  Well-documented student of Hirano Yuzo, mentioned in his book 'O Fraco Vence o Forte' (1941) with specific quotation about being former disciple of Japanese professor Hirano

  The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.

  fact_checkassessed by FSMverified

  Frederico Muñoz

  Researcher, Martialis

  3 sources expand_more

  fact_check

  Well-documented student of Hirano Yuzo, mentioned in his book 'O Fraco Vence o Forte' (1941) with specific quotation about being former disciple of Japanese professor Hirano

  visibilityFirst-hand

  “Ex-discípulo do Professor japonês, Hirano”

  — Gonçalves, Armando. (1941). O fraco vence o forte info

  visibilityFirst-hand

  “O nosso saudoso ex-professor Hirano não tinha admiração nenhuma pelo sistema Kano”

  — Gonçalves, Armando. (1941). O fraco vence o forte info

  “En sus libros, Armando Gonçalves (1914, 1936, 1941, 1942) señala que fue discípulo de Hirano, y que este formó a los cuadros de la Policía de Seguridad Pública (PSP) en este sistema de lucha.”

  — Gutiérrez García, Carlos; Rosa, Vítor Alberto; Pérez Gutiérrez, Mikel. (2010). Introducción de las artes marciales asiáticas en Portugallink history info

Sources