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)
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Armando Gonçalvesexpand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
2 sourcesFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkWell-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 Hiranoassessed by FSMverifiedFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialis"Ex-discípulo do Professor japonês, Hirano (...) O nosso saudoso ex-professor Hirano não tinha admiração nenhuma pelo sistema Kano"