It is with great sadness that we inform you that Keiko Fukuda Sensei passed away peacefully in her sleep on February 9, 2013. She was 99 years old, two months shy of her 100th birthday. An inspirational figure, Fukuda Sensei inspired others to live their own dreams. She was a great gift to the world and we will all miss her.A memorial service for Keiko Fukuda Sensei is scheduled for Friday, March 22nd at 11:00 am, at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Keiko Fukuda & Shelley Fernandez Girls & Womens' Judo Foundation Inc., and/or Keiko Fukuda Joshi Judo, Inc., 475 Hoffman Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94114.Sensei is honored and remembered in The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, PRI's The World, Yahoo! News, and The Rafu Shimpo.
Fukuda Sensei lead the annual New Year's ceremony last Saturday, January 12th, at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple. Several Bay Area dojos met to join in this year’s Kagami Biraki, a Japanese traditional New Year's ceremony in which many Japanese dojos use to signify their recommitment to judo in the new year.
Kata demonstrations and free practice were held, followed by a luncheon where the Bay Area judo community shared in celebrating the New Year together.
2013 is a big year, as Fukuda Sensei celebrates her 100th birthday this April! Stay tuned for celebration news and events!Beautiful photography by Yuko Inatsuki Oberjat
We were honored to have Sensei Fukuda in attendance at last Friday's screening of Mrs. Judo at San Francisco State University.
The Dilena Takeyama Center for the Study of Japan and Japanese Culture hosted a warm welcome reception where Mrs. Judo fans enjoyed good food and good company prior to the screening.
The night finished with a thoughtful Q&A between director Yuriko Gamo Romer and members of the audience.Thank you to all who came and continue to support our film! Happy holiday wishes!
Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful is currently enjoying a week-long run at the historic Capitol Theater in Olympia, WA.
On Saturday, November 24, Mrs. Judo filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer attending the screening and answered questions from a lively & engaged audience afterward. Thanks to everyone who attended!We were particularly honored to have Ancieto Seto in attendance on Saturday. Mr. Seto (pictured below) first met Keiko Fukuda in the Philippines in 1966 and still remains an admirer today.
Mrs. Judo runs through Thursday, 11/29 at The Capitol Theater. Click here for screening times. If you're in the Olympia area, please consider seeing the film & spread the word to your friends and family!
On November 8th, Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful screened following the Grand Masters World Judo Championship in Miami to an international crowd.Filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer answered the questions of a very engaged audience following the screening.Thanks to everyone who attended!
We were honored to be invited to screen Mrs. Judo at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Hot Springs, AR earlier this week.The festival was held at the historic Arlington Hotel, which includes a spa with water from natural hot springs purported to have healing powers.We thank everyone who attended the screening at the festival!
On October 13, the 24th Annual Fukuda International Kata Championship, named after Keiko Fukuda, was held at City College in San Francisco.Fukuda Sensei was present, along with competitors from Japan, Canada and the United States.Our film, Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful was screened after the tournament to a very lively and engaged audience. We thank you for your support!
Yuriko Gamo Romer, director of Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful, was recently interviewed on the show "UNA Forum Presents UNAFF 15." The 30-minute show will air to promote the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF), which is taking place in Standford, CA later this month.Mrs. Judo is scheduled to screen at UNAFF on October 27th at 4pm. Be sure to check our "Screening & Events" page for further details.Romer (far left), along with two other filmmakers whose films will be showcased at UNAFF in the coming weeks, as well as the interviewer, are pictured below during the show's taping.
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Yesterday, on October 5th, Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful enjoyed a screening in Washington, DC at the Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art as part of the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival. We were particularly honored to have two guests from the Japanese Embassy attend the screening.
After the film, director Yuriko Gamo Romer took the stage to answer questions from the audience during a Q&A. Thanks to everyone who attended!
Greetings from the DOCUTAH Film Festival in St. George, UT!Mrs. Judo: Be Strong Be Gentle Be Beautiful kicked off its film festival tour this fall amidst beautiful red rock scenery and wonderful films.
It was great to be here, but now the film is off to its next stop: the Cincinnati International Film Festival, where it will screen on both September 9th & 10th.Be sure to check our "Screenings & Events" page often to see if Mrs. Judo is coming to a theater near you!
Kayla Harrison will bring home gold, Marti Malloy will bring home bronze, Kaori Matsumoto will take home gold to Japan. There are many new women heroines all over the world today. This is wonderful news for Fukuda Sensei, the first judo heroine, who has devoted her life to spreading judo globally, particularly to women. There was a celebration of women martial artists in Berkeley yesterday. Fukuda Sensei was guest instructor (at 99!) for the annual summer camp of the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists. Sensei received another standing ovation after a screening of “Mrs. Judo” where the campers learned of her life journey and commitment to women’s judo.
Today, an American woman made history at the 2012 London Olympics by winning the USA’s first Olympic gold medal in judo!After winning the gold, Kayla Harrison, a 22-year-old woman from Ohio, is being touted by the LA Times as “America’s new sweetheart” and the “golden girl of judo.”Harrison’s gold medal victory is not only a pivotal moment in her own life, but a monumental occasion for all women and girls in judo.Please join us in congratulating Kayla Harrison on her amazing accomplishment!To read more about Harrison’s win, see more press coverage here:“Kayla Harrison earns first U.S. judo gold,” Washington Post“USA’s Kayla Harrison claims gold medal in judo,” USA Today“Kayla Harrison wins judo gold,” ESPN
The Commonwealth Club of California is hosting an event at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, May 16 featuring 99-year-old Keiko Fukuda, the highest ranking woman in judo history. The event begins at 6:00 pm and will be held at the Commonwealth Club of California, which is located in downtown San Francisco.In addition to featuring Keiko Fukuda in person, the event will also include excerpts from the film Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful, which made its world premiere at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival in March. The director of the film, Yuriko Gamo Romer, will also be in attendance to discuss the film.As an added bonus, Fukuda's judo students from the Soko Joshi Judo Club (the dojo Fukuda founded) will also present a live judo demonstration during the event.For more information & to purchase tickets, visit the Commonwealth Club site here.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended the world premiere on Sunday, March 11 at the Castro Theater!We were overwhelmed by the incredible turnout & by all of your support. It was truly amazing!If you attended the premiere & loved it, please vote for our film, which is competing for an award in the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival's "Documentary Category."***Text JUDO to 96035***For those who weren't able to attend the premiere, don't forget there is another screening in San Jose on March 18 at 2pm. Click here to purchase tickets and for more details.
Due to high demand, the world premiere of Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful has been moved to the historic Castro Theater in San Francisco, CA.The San Francisco screening will now take place at 3:00 pm on Sunday, March 11, 2012. (The San Jose premiere date/time on March 18 remains the same.)To buy tickets and for more information, please visit the official San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival website.*(Please note that the day of the film premiere - March 11 - also marks Daylight Savings Time beginning at 2am. Please make sure to change your clocks 1 hour ahead, so that you're not late for the premiere!)
We hope to see you there! If you can't make it, please visit the film's website regularly to view future screening dates, as well as the news about the DVD release later this year. Thanks to everyone for all of your support!Warmly,The BSBGBB Team
Exciting news! Our film is premiering soon - sometime in March (more details soon) - and we are scrambling to finish it up.Funds are still needed in these final stages of post-production, so if you weren't able to donate to our Kickstarter campaign, or if you are feeling extra generous, please consider donating by clicking the PayPal button on the right side of the screen.Thank you to everyone who has generously contributed and gotten us to this point! We couldn't have done it without you.
This week we added a new pledge level and great new reward to our Kickstarter campaign for Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful. Visit our page today or check out the blurb below for details.Pledge $650 or more (Limited Reward - Only 3 Available)Two beautiful vintage black-and-white photographic prints of Keiko Fukuda practicing judo (kata forms) in 1974. The prints will come mounted and signed by both Fukuda and the photographer, Cathy Cade. Also, a copy of the finished film on DVD signed by the filmmaker, your name listed in the film's credits, and a "Thank You" on the film's website.
Again, thank you to all of our wonderful backers for pledging already. Please spread the word & help us reach - and exceed - our goal!
We've just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to help us finish the film "Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful." Kickstarter is a deadline-driven, all-or-nothing, crowdsourcing, fundraising platform.We only have 50 days to raise $15,000. If we don't reach our goal, we won't make a penny and your donation will not be processed. So, please visit our Kickstarter campaign page today and consider making a donation. Every amount is appreciated! And even better news - there are fun "rewards" for varying degrees of pledges.Please spread the word! Tell all your friends and family about our Kickstarter campaign. Help us finish the film and carry on Fukuda Shihan's legacy.