Timeline
- Late 1600s – Honinbo Dosaku created the Dan ranking for Go.1
- 1883 – Kano Jigoro integrated the Dan ranking into his founded Judo.2
- 1883 – The Hoensha school created/switched to a Kyu only system for Go.3
- 1886 – The Dan-ranked practitioners in Kano’s judo, wearing black belts.
- 1893 – The Hoensha school switched to the combined Kyu and Dan system.3
- Early 1900s – Kano Jigoro integrated Kyu grades into Judo without colored belts.4
Explanations
1 Most likely based on the 9 Pin Zhi ranking system from China.
2 He awarded the first Dan ranks to two of his senior students.
3 The translation happens as shown in the table below.
| Dan system (Before 1883) | 9d | 8d | 7d | 6d | 5d | 4d | 3d | 2d | 1d | – | – | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyu system (1883 – 1893) | 1k | 2k | 3k | 4k | 5k | 6k | 7k | 8k | 9k | 10k | 11k | 12k |
| Dan/Kyu system (After 1893) | 9d | 8d | 7d | 6d | 5d | 4d | 3d | 2d | 1d | 1k | 2k | 3k |
4 Colored Kyu belts are originated later outside of Japan.
Myths
- “The kyu and dan ranking system in Go has roots in 17th-century Japan. It was developed by Honinbo Dosaku […]” (Origin: gomagic.org, 2025-05-14)
Wrong: Honinbo Dosaku only developed the Dan grades, most likely based on the 9 Pin Zhi ranking system. - “Seit Kanō Jigorō 1895 die Kyū-Grade – in Anlehnung an das deutsche Schulsystem des 19. Jahrhunderts – in die Kampfkunst Judo einbrachte […]” (Origin: de.wikipedia.org, 2025-05-14)
Most likely wrong: Kano was more likely inspired by the Kyu system already implemented by Hoensha. Even though he had contact with Erwin Bälz.