What is "kodokan"

, or the Kodokan Institute, is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. Literally, kō means "to lecture", dō means "way," and kan is "a public building" together translating as "a place for the study of the way." The Kodokan was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo.

The was the largest han school in the Edo period. Located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, three of its buildings have been designated Important Cultural Properties and the school is a Special Historic Site.