Fukuda, standing at only 4' 11" (150 cm) and weighing less than 100 lb. (45 kg), became a judo instructor in 1937. She also earned a degree in Japanese literature from Showa Women's University. In 1953, she was promoted to the rank of 5th "dan" in judo. She traveled to the United States of America later that year, at the invitation of a judo club in Oakland, California, and stayed for almost two years before returning to Japan. Fukuda next traveled to the US in 1966, giving seminars in California. At that time, she was one of only four women in the world ranked at 5th "dan" in judo, and was one of only two female instructors at the Kodokan (the other being Masako Noritomi, also ranked 5th "dan"). In 1966, she demonstrated her art at Mills College, and the institution immediately offered her a teaching position; she accepted, and taught there from 1967 to 1978.