English begins at: 1:12

We are honored to help share this extraordinary piece of audio, recently discovered in the National Archives of the Czech Republic. Credit goes to Petr Březina and Lance Gatling (of The Kano Chronicles) for bringing awareness to this remarkable historical treasure. The recording was made on September 12, 1936, in Prague during Kano Shihan’s third visit to the country.

Authentic recordings of Kano speaking are exceedingly rare and often of very poor quality. This audio is among the clearest known recordings of his voice in any language - and is believed to be the only known recording of him speaking in English. It cannot be overstated how fortunate we are that this audio was rediscovered in late 2025 and brought to wider attention in early 2026. We are grateful to play a small role in helping share it.

In the English portion (approximately five minutes), Kano Shihan reflects on this being his third trip to Czechoslovakia, recounts his earlier visits, discusses the meaning of judo exercise, references the Olympic movement, and recalls the warm welcome he received - including a prior meeting with the President. He also mentions the Czech Sokol patriotic gymnastics movement.

• Original article with audio.
• The Kano Chronicles coverage.

If this topic interests you, you may also enjoy our book, The Founding of Jujutsu & Judo in America.