Count Koma

Maeda (left) and Prof.Kano

In 1904, Koma and Sanshiro Satake, left Japan. Then they went to United States, Mexico, Cuba, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru (where they met Laku, a ju-jitsu master, who was teaching at the Peruvian police), Chile, where they contacted another fighter, (Okura), Argentina (they met Shimitsu) and Uruguay. With that group, joined in the South American countries, Koma exhibited his art for the first time in Brazil, in Porto Alegre. Then they went to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Recife, São Luís, Belém (in October of 1915) and finally Manaus, in December 18th of the same year. Their passages by the Brazilian cities was marked by short presentations. For his elegance and good look, always sad, Mitsuyo Maeda won the nick name "Conde Koma" in México.The first presentation of the Japanese group in Manaus, intermediated by manager Otávio Pires Júnior, on December 20th 1915, was in the Politeama Theater. Torsion techniques were presented, grip defenses, articulation locks, demonstration with Japanese arms and challenge to the public. With the success of the shows, the challenges against the members of the team multiplied. Among the defiant ones there were boxers as Adolfo Corbiniano, from Barbados, and greek-roman style fighters likeArab Nagib Asef and Severino Sales. At that time Manaus lived the Rubber Circle "boom" so the fights were stuffed of millionaire bets, done by the rubber plantation barons.

Maeda (right.) with his fellows

Maeda participating of challenges

From January 4th to 8th, 1916, the first Amazon Ju-jitsu was accomplished. The final champion was Satake. Count Koma didn't fight that time: took the organization of the event in his hands. In the following day (Jan 9th 1916), Koma, beside Okura and Shimitsu, embarked to Liverpool, England, where they stayed up to 1917. While their permanence in the United Kingdom, Satake and Laku continued teaching the japanese ju-jitsu to the amazons at the Rio Negro Athletic Club. And they kept on winning all the challenge combats. Then, in November 1916, an Italian fighter, Alfredi Leconti, managed by Gastão Gracie, associated to the Queirollo brothers in the American Circus, arrived to Manaus for a challenge. Satake, who was ill, gave his place to Laku, who was defeated by Leconti. Satake, in recovery, would be the Italian's next opponent, but due to the riot occured during the combat between Laku and Leconti, police officer Bráulio Pinto prohibited further fights in the amazon capital.
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aMaeda (stand in the right) and his first pupils in Brazil

Koma returns to Brazil

In 1917, back to Brazil, more specifically to Belém, with his english wife, May Íris Maeda, Count Koma enters the American Circus and finally knew Gastão Gracie. In November of 1919, Koma goes back to Manaus, now in the condition of defiant of his friend Satake. Then the only defeat in his all career happened. Then he went back to Belém and in 1920, during the rubber crisis, the American Circus was ended. With that, Mitsuyo Maeda embarked back to England. In 1922, returned as an immigration agent, working for the Amazon Industrial Company and started teaching judo in Vila Bolonha. In the same year, his old fellow Satake embarked to Europe and nothing in knowned about him after that. Count Koma stayed in Belém, dying in July of 1941. Carlos and Hélio Gracie, sons of Gastão followed acting in the ju-jitsu, modality that they learned from Koma in their father's circus : after that martial art had been definitively developed and implanted in Manaus by the members of the Koma's group, mainly by Sanshiro "Black Belly" Satake.