In 1952 the 24-year-old Yves Klein left Paris for Japan, to pursue his first love; not art but judo. After becoming one of very few Europeans to receive a coveted 4th dan black belt from the Kodokan in Tokyo, Klein returned to France and opened the Judo Académie de Paris. In 1954 the prestigious firm of Grasset published his book Les Fondements du Judo, illustrated with hundreds of photographs of Klein and the leading Japanese teachers demonstrating the six major Kata of judo.
Translated by Ian Whittlesea.
This work has been published in English for the first time as a transimile of the 1954 version.