Tokyo Olympics 1964
In October 1964 Tokyo hosted the Olympics. Having taken part in a campaign to have Judo accepted as an Olympic (amateur) sport, Abbe returned to Japan to attend. During that visit he also went home to Kyoto where his family lived but they did not receive him very well, so he lived alone in a cottage apart from the main house. He hardly spoke to his daughters, and spent most of his time writing and reading, and playing the game "Go" on his own.

Hosoya san and juniors of Busen arranged a welcome party for him in a restaurant, but Abbe did not arrive so one member called at his house to pick him up, but his wife said he had gone out quite a long time beforehand. He never did arrive and no apology was received, although later he said he could not find the place.

It was now becoming quite obvious that as a consequence of various training injuries and more recent motoring accident that dislocated and permanently damaged his neck, his health was deteriorating. This caused him to cease his wanderings for some time.

On February 3rd 1968 Abbe and his wife attended the wedding ceremony of their eldest daughter Junko. She soon had her first baby and Abbe visited her with a large secondhand swing which he carried a great distance lashed to on a trolley attached to his bicycle! The journey took him several hours.

In December 1968 he returned to Kyoto and invited applicants for the opening of the "Dojo of Kyushindo" in the former Butokudan. He set his heart on rebuilding up his own Judo headquarters in opposition to the Kodakan and his greatest ambition was to see the Butoku Kai and Busen back to their former glory.

In 1971 he sought a reunion with his wife Junko and asked her to live with him in Kyoto province. However she had lost all interest in living with the family, and refused. He then went to stay with Toyoko and his brother in law but he was treated as an unwelcome guest. The written right of his own house in Kyoto has been assigned over to his wife and she had sold it and moved away.

Shortly afterwards (following a second Satori or "Enlightenment" as follows and documented herein as a separate Epilogue) he headed for Europe again saying that he was going to live and die for Judo, but soon afterwards he seemed to give up his ideal. He was 58yrs old and the effects of his shoulder dislocation had got steadily worse. The muscles of his index finger and thumb also became so disabled that he could not grasp anything.

Another ten years passed before Aoyama san, one of Abbe's seniors who had kept looking for Kenshiro's family was able to announce:
"By chance, through Busen, I managed to obtain his sister's address and I was then able to ascertain that he was living in a public old people's home in Saitama Province".

When I called to see him he was sitting watching television alone in a small room. The old fellow now 69 years old was still a large boned man, and he was not annoyed by my sudden visit.
I asked Abbe of his opinion of Japanese Judo and Yamashita san in particular, who had already been a world judo champion. Abbe replied, "I think he is very talented in Judo and could reign for another ten years had he decided not to retire at the age of 28 years. Had he continued he would have been defeated had he fought a bigger and stronger opponent. As a model of current judo, he drags down an opponent to his favourite position to win his contest".

At the end of this talk Abbe said "well, my life finished in June 1939 when I entered the army. The following 50 years was just force of habit. I feel very guilty for my family".

"I wouldn't need anything thank you."
He challenged to his limit and burned up his whole youth in the "Butoka Kai" and Busen. He tried to find himself in his travels and he took his ideals of judo to the furthest corners of the world, yet something had always eluded him.

Aoyama san observed. "Looking around his room I noticed he had very few comforts. At the end of my visit I said 'Mr Abbe! I will send you anything you need, so please let me know'". It was the beginning of July, so I thought he would like some shirts and trousers, and I realized he had a stubble of beard on his face and may require a razor, but he answered, "I wouldn't need anything thank you." When I said goodbye, he grasped my hand and said no more.

His daughter Toyoko said: "My father was the sort of person who could not compromise about anything, or be deflated by authority. He would have felt very hard/strong and be satisfied with what he did. We are very proud of him."

In January 1986 Aoyama san received a letter from Toyoko saying that:

On the morning of November 17th 1987 Abbe was out cycling with Goto san from the old people's home. They had just started a short while before but when Goto san glanced back and realised Abbe was not following. He hurried back to find Abbe sitting on the pavement with a deadly pale face. He carried Abbe on his back to the nearest medical centre but as that was a private Obstetrics and Gynaecology unit, so the doctor had to tell him there was nothing they could do. So, he took Abbe to a city run hospital near Chichibu Station. Abbe had suffered an apoplectic stroke.

Goto san sent an urgent call to his daughters asking them to come to Chichibu in a hurry. Although a doctor had said he was not conscious he held hands with his daughters and there were father tears were running down his cheeks. Toyoko asked, "Kenshiro can you recognize me". He gave a nod. He never woke up again. He passed away on the 1st December 1985".

According to his will, his body was donated to be dissected at the Saitama Medical University. On The funeral was held in "Zuigen Temple" in Tokushima City on the 10th June '85 and his body buried in the Abbe family grave in Tokushima, the Prefecture in which he was born.

With his passing the world lost a genius who had whole nations talking of his exploits.