Sachio Ashida

Sachio Ashida (/ˈsɑːtʃioʊ əˈʃidə/ SAH-chee-oh ə-SHEE-də; May 2, 1924 – June 22, 2009) was a Japanese-American experimental psychologist, judoka, and kamikaze pilot. He served as the judo coach for United States at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and later as the only American referee for the sport in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Born in the Hyōgo Prefecture of the Japanese Empire, Ashida began studying judo at the age of 12 becoming a first-degree black belt by 15, the youngest age possible. During World War II, he was drafted by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and later trained as a kamikaze pilot. In 1945, he and his co-pilot were sent to Hiroshima hours after the nuclear weapon was detonated there to report the situation to Japanese high command. Ashida later defended the bombings, arguing that they saved millions of lives and kept the Japanese from total extinction. Following the end of the war, he traveled to the University of Nebraska where he received a doctoral degree in experimental psychology, focusing on the effects of radiation on the central nervous system. After a seven-year stint at the University of Michigan, Ashida was hired as a professor at the State University of New York at Brockport in 1970 just outside Rochester, where he worked until he retired in 2004.

Ashida was recognized for his contributions to the promotion of judo and Japanese culture in the United States. The Japanese government award him the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1998 for his contributions and he was inducted into several halls of fame for the sport during his lifetime. Despite failing health, he continued to participate in judo well into his seventies. A devout adherant of Zen, Ashida emphasized the role of self-discipline and self-discovery to his students, viewing the self-defense aspect of judo as a byproduct of those roles.