Kodokan judo has undergone many striking changes since its foundation by Jigoro Kano over a century ago. These changes themselves give much material for study for those interested in judo from a historical or a social-scientific point of view, while the emergence of judo as a modern Olympic sport in turns provides interesting areas for physiological and medical study, on the lines of that undertaken in a range of other contemporary sports. The formation of the European Society for the Scientific Study of Judo is thus of great importance. These bibliographical notes, the first fruits of the Society's existence, are evidence that significant scientific work is being undertaken in relation to judo, while the formation of the Society itself provides an important platform for further developments. When my brother and I began research into judo in the early 1970s, it was all too easy to feel rather isolated in this work; for example there seemed to be virtually no existing literature in our particular area, the sociology of judo. These bibliographical notes show that students of judo can now attach themselves to a growing body of research and study, and even an "insular Briton" has no excuse for feeling isolated. With 1992 and its attendant possibilities approaching rapidly, such joint European developments can only be beneficial. Projects such as the ESSSJ do not simply "happen", however, they need a great deal of hard work to bring then into being. In this respect I feel a debt of gratitude to Michel Brousse, for this commitment for the setting up of the Society. The process of communicating with him over the past few years has been very stimulating and fruitful for me and has made me appreciate the great benefits that come from institutions such as the ESSSJ. I am thus most pleased to see here the first concrete results of this enterprise.