Yves Klein

Judo

Photo, 1953

Master Sampei Asami and Yves Klein performing the Koshiki-no-kata, (Kata of Ancient Forms), dojo of Master Asami, Tokyo

Photo, 1953

Portrait of Yves Klein with his 4th Dan diploma from the Kôdôkan Judo Institute of Tokyo

Photo, 1953

Master Jô.in Oda and Yves Klein performing the Itsutsu-no-kata (Kata of the five principles), dojo of Master Oda, Tokyo

Editorial, 2020, Denys Riout

"Yves Klein and Japan", by Denys Riout

DREAMS AND ILLUSIONS OF THE ORIENT To learn judo at the Kodokan, the most renowned training centre in Japan, and come back wreathed in glory, possessed of unmatched competence – or nearly: such was the plan of this young man who was trying to find his way between two painter parents. His failure at the baccalauréat had closed the doors to merchant navy school and the prospect of travelling the world as an officer on ocean-going vessels. Enterprising and curious, Yves Klein had stayed in...

Editorial, 2022, Damien Sausset

Japan's influence, by Damien Sausset

This stay in Japan laid the foundations of a future philosophy applied to art, or more precisely to the surpassing of art.In kodokan judo, one of the branches of judo, Yves Klein found not just a sport, but a way of life and an ethical system based on Zen Buddhism. It is necessary to go beyond the body, in particular through the kiai, a technique in which the judoka concentrates his spiritual energy so intensely that he suddenly releases it through a cry arising from the depths of his being.In...