Where does the professor thing come from?
I was reading a recent thread where someone related that they referred to themselves as "Professor" because that is the Japanese translation of Shihan (the person also said that Shihan alternately means Doctor[I'm guessing PHD, not MD here]). Hmmm... My dictionary translates professor as Kyoju. Do I need a better dictionary?
I see the "professor title thrown out there a lot in US circles, mainly with folks who have founded their own arts here in the states. Trying to take the OED track of looking for first usage, it seems to me that this comes from a basic misconception from early visits to the US by Japanese teachers. The earliest use of this title that I have found is by Kano Jigoro. Now, it's seems that many in the martial arts world have overlooked the fact that Dr. Kano was PHD and a University Professor, hence the titles. It would seem that there has been an assumption made that this was an english translation of his Judo credentials.
I have found some examples of early posters advertising the visits of Japanese shihan (from the sixties and early seventies) which refer to them as "Professor" despite the fact that the did not have any university credentials.
To me it seems that this was merely a mistake, early on, on the part of promoters who looked to Dr. Kano's publicity materials for guidence, but has now "devovled" into common usage.
Any thoughts?
Best regards,
Bruce Mitchell