The judo competition at the 1964 Summer Olympics was the first time the sport was included in the Summer Olympic Games. As a result, decades of judo being officially banned as an "imperialist sport" in the Soviet Union ended shortly before the Games started, as Soviet authorities prioritized winning medals over anything else. The medals were awarded in 4 classes, and competition was restricted to men only. The competition was held in the Nippon Budokan, which was built to host the competition.
Haruhiro Yamashita is a Japanese gymnast, who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He won two gold medals, in the vault and team combined exercises.
Abdullo Tangriev is an Uzbek judoka. He won a silver medal in the +100 kg category at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Dennis van der Geest is a Dutch judoka, who won the bronze medal in the men's heavyweight (+100 kg) division at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was born in Haarlem, North Holland.
Emanuela Pierantozzi is an Italian judoka.
Vitaly Valeryevich Makarov is a Russian judoka who competed in the men's lightweight category. He was a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, 2001 World Champion, and earned medals in several other international tournaments. He was a 1994 World Junior Champion and has been a coach on the Russian national judo team.
Cho Min-sun is a South Korean judoka.
Maxim Rakov is a Kazakhstani judoka.
Toshihiko Koga was a Japanese judoka, 9th degree black belt and Olympic champion who competed in the –71 kg and –78 kg divisions. Koga is regarded as having perhaps the greatest ippon seoi nage ever. He died of cancer on 24 March 2021 at the age of 53.
Nippon Sport Science University, abbreviated as Nittaidai (日体大), is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo and Aoba-ku, Yokohama. The precursor of the school was founded in 1893, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. The school is known for the many famous athletes among its alumni.
Akio Kaminaga was a Japanese judoka who won a silver medal in the open weight category at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Eizo Kenmotsu is a former Japanese artistic gymnast, who won seven world titles and three Olympic gold medals between 1968 and 1979. In retirement, he became a leading Japanese coach. He also served as sports director of the Nippon Sport Science University and vice president of the Japan Gymnastics Association. In 2006, Kenmotsu was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Hideaki Yanagida is a retired Japanese bantamweight freestyle wrestler. He won his event at the 1970 Asian Games, 1970 and 1971 world championships and 1972 Summer Olympics.
Eric Hänni is a Swiss retired judoka who competed between 1959 and 1974. In 1964 he won an Olympic silver medal and a European bronze medal in the lightweight category. During his career Hänni won seven individual national titles and took part in twelve European and three World Championships.
Janusz Pawłowski is a retired male judoka from Poland. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics, and won the bronze medal in the Men's Half-Lightweight (–65 kg) division.
Sugoi Uriarte Marcos is a Spanish judoka who won a silver medal at the 2009 World Judo Championships. He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games and reached semifinals in 2012.
Masashi Nishiyama is a Japanese judoka who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is competing for the Nippon Steel Corporation Judo Club.
Sergiu Toma is a Moldovan-born Emirati judoka. He competed for the United Arab Emirates in the 81 kg category at the 2016 Olympic Games and defeated Takanori Nagase to enter the semi-finals. He lost his semi-final match to Khasan Khalmurzaev, but then beat Matteo Marconcini in the bronze medal match. At the 2008 and 2012 Olympics he competed for Moldova but was eliminated in the early rounds.
Kanae Yamabe is a Japanese female judoka.
Yayoi Urano is a retired Japanese Wrestler and Judoka. She won six gold medals and one silver medal in three weight classes at the World Wrestling Championships from 1990 to 1996.
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