March 1907, and for decades after, it generally hosted at least one major regional tournament per year. From 1909 through 1941, the usual venue for these tournaments was Seattle's Nippon Kan Theatre. Washington State judo teams participated in major interstate tournaments against California judo teams in 1936, 1937, and 1939. The 1937 contest was held at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce's hall, because Nippon Kan wasn't big enough. The other two tournaments took place in Los Angeles. Judo founder Jigoro Kano was present at the 1936 Los Angeles tournament. Seattle Dojo after World War II Due to wartime curfews, the Seattle Dojo closed following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and due to the Japanese American internment, it did not reopen for training until January 1, 1947. Men involved in reopening Seattle Dojo after World War II included Toru Araki, Akira "Poison" Kato, Hiromu "Kelly" Nishitani, and Dick Yamasaki. The club's first post-war tournament took place on April 26, 1953. The Nippon Kan Theatre did not reopen following the forcible relocation of Seattle's Japanese Americans, so the venue was instead the Nisei Veterans Memorial Clubhouse. This 1953 tournament is notable as the first Pacific Northwest tournament in which women participated. Five women were involved, three from a club in Portland, Oregon, and two from a club in Vancouver, British Columbia. During the early 1950s, Seattle Dojo had a very strong adult team, and during May 1954, a Seattle Dojo team that included Kenji Yamada, Shuzo "Chris" Kato, Charles Woo, Tats Kojima, and George Wilson took first place during the US National AAU judo championships. Instructors and students Instructors associated with Seattle Dojo over the years include Iitaro Kono (or Kano), Tokugoro Ito, R. Fukuda, Daisuke Sakai, Eitaro Suzuki, Masataro Shibata, Hideo Hama, Hiroshi Kurosaka, Yasuyuki Kumagai, Isamu "Sam" Furuta, Shuzo "Chris" Kato, Fred Sato, and Kenji Yamada. Chuji Sakata, who taught at Tentokukan during the 1930s, was another important Seattle-area judo teacher. Well-known former students include professional wrestler Kaimon Kudo, Southern California judo leader Ken Kuniyuki, martial art historian Robert W. Smith and Japanese American Citizens League pioneer James Y. Sakamoto. Prominent visitors Prominent visitors to Seattle Dojo before World War II include Tsunejiro Tomita in 1910, Hideichi (Hidekazu) Nagaoka in 1934, and Jigoro Kano in 1932 and 1938. Associated judo clubs In 1917, the Tacoma Dojo was established in a building owned by the St. Paul