Rena “Rusty” Kanokogi Way (Brooklyn)
Present name:None
Location:At the intersection of West 17th Street and Surf Avenue
Honoree:  Rena “Rusty” Kanokogi (1935-2008) was a judo expert. Through her efforts, judo became an Olympic sport in 1988. She was named to the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. She started training in 1955 and by 1962, she became the first woman to train in Japan at the Kokodan in Tokyo. She was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Japan’s highest honor for a foreigner for her efforts in judo and helped organize and finance the first women’s judo world championship at Madison Square Garden. (Treyger)
LL:2019/158