This is a list of some of the larger Shotokan karate organizations and associations in order by year of establishment. International Japan Karate-Do Association led by Shihan Sadashige Kato. Its headquarters is situated in Tokyo, Japan, though its main activities are based in Europe. Shotokan Karate is one of the most widely practiced and traditional martial arts in the world. It has a rich history and is known for its powerful techniques, disciplined practices, and emphasis on character development. Several major organizations of Shotokan Karate have been established globally, each with its unique approach and philosophy, including the Japan Karate Association (JKA), Japan Shotokan Karate Association (JSKA), International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF), International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF), and Shotokan Karate of America (SKA).
The name "Shotokan" is used as a synonym for the Shotokan ryu association, Dai Nihon Karate-do Shotokan. It is the Shotokan Karate association established by Gichin Funakoshi originally in 1930.[1] Shotokan association is the heritage of master Funakoshi's Karate-do .[citation needed]
"Shotokai" should be considered the "approved" evolution of Roushi ( Funakoshi ) Sensei's Karate technique as developed, with Roushi Sensei's approval by Shigeru Egami (1912–1981). Egami, at Funakoshi's direction, was the chief instructor of Shotokan Dojo from 1976–1981.[1] Egami began training under Funakoshi in 1930, upon entering Waseda University, and helped to establish that university's karate club. Together with Funakoshi's son Gigo (Yoshitaka), Takeshi Shimoda, and Hironori Ohtsuka, Egami was among the group of Funakoshi's students who toured with him during his exhibitions of karate in Japan during the 1930s.[2] After Gigo's death in 1945, Egami was considered Funakoshi's successor.[3] During his early 40s, Egami began to radically rethink the effectiveness of some of his basic techniques. He writes:
During this questioning, I understood one thing. Until that moment I had practiced karate with a fundamental illusion, I had confused hardness with strength and I made every effort to harden my body thinking that I would obtain more strength when hardening the body is equivalent to stopping the movement. This is a fundamental defect. I had then started massaging and lightening the body I had struggled so many years to harden.[4]
Egami began experimenting with a more relaxed technique, gained through excessive practice when the body lacked sufficient strength to hold on to the rigidity of overly muscular and "stiff" technical execution.
Following the Master's death in 1957 (26 April Showa 32 (1957)), a rift developed among Funakoshi's students, chiefly, as there was an insistence that certain elements (the JKA) control the funeral arrangements, disregarding Funakoshi's family's wishes. The Shotokai ("Shoto's society") and the JKA became separate factions after the conduct demonstrated at the funeral of master Funakoshi. Again, chiefly because constituent Universities (of the JKA - namely Takushoku, Kao, and Hosei Universities) removed their University karate Club flags from the coffin of Master Funakoshi at 7.00 pm the evening before the funeral and did not attend the following day for the funeral. Genshin Hironishi, former head of the Shotokai writes about these events on page 23 of Tsui So Roku: Egami.[5] To this day, the Shotokai continues the Soto-zen inspired practiced of Master Funakoshi. Particularly, tournament competition was frowned upon before Master Funakoshi's passing, as it was an affront to the inherent humility and the "inward-looking" focus in Master Funakoshi's practice. The acclaim and recognition sought and awarded in competition directly affronts this notion. Other practices of the now-separated JKA, who were essentially all junior to the Shotokai members they separated from, included the practice of grading beyond the original "five dan" structure, to ten dan gradings. It is of historical significance that Egami Shigeru, as Master Funakoshi's chosen technical director, never attained more than a 4th Dan.
Kenkojuku Karate Association (KKA)
It was founded in 1942 by Tomosaburo Okano, a Japanese Iaido master and a student of both Gichin Funakoshi and his son Yoshitaka (Gigo) Funakoshi; it remains as one of the most traditional schools of Shotokan karate, with the Shotokai, it even continues Okinawan kobudō (traditional weapons) as part of its practice. The association's motto is "Inner Strength with Outward Humility". Since master Okano's passing the Kenkojuku Budokan Hombu Dojo is now run by his son Tomokatsu Okano, from the style's Hombu dojo located in 8-5, Minami-Cho Hachioji-Shi Tokyo, 192 Japan.
Kenkojuku karate has just a few representatives within the United States, the Caribbean, India and Latin America.
In the United States, Sensei Masakazu Takahashi began his karate training under Master Tomosaburo Okano In 1961. In 1971, he travelled to America to begin his teaching career.
The Takahashi Karate Dojos, located in Amity Harbor and Mount Kisco, New York, has been established for more than 42 years, offering traditional martial arts training to beginners and advanced students.
Sensei Takahashi is the head of the U.S.A Kenkojuku Karate Association and holds the rank of 8th degree Black Belt. Sensei Takahashi has devoted his life to master his art and teach his students Traditional Shotokan Karate.
Sensei Koji Sugimoto is the current representative of the Japan Karate Federation for Shotokan Kenkojuku karate. He was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1947. At the age of fourteen, he began karate under master Tomosaburo Okano, one of the original students of Gichin Funakoshi. Sensei Sugimoto continues to expand his knowledge and skills of the art of karate. Presently Shihan Sugimoto holds the rank of 6th degree under the Japan Karate Federation (JKF) and a 7th degree Black Belt under the World Karate Federation (WKF). He teaches in two locations in Miami, Florida. In South Dade County and at the Miami Dade College, Kendall campus.
Master Tomosaburo Okano was on the panel of Masters of the Japan Karate-do Federation (JKF) and was declared a Living National Treasure of Japan before he died on July 19, 2003, at the age of 81.
International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF)
Hidetaka Nishiyama (1928–2008) began his karate training in 1943 under Gichin Funakoshi.[6] Two years later, while enrolled at Takushoku University, he became a member of the university's karate team, and in 1949 its captain. He was a co-founder of the All Japan Collegiate Karate Federation and was elected as its first chairman. In 1951, Nishiyama became a founding member of the JKA, and was elected to the JKA Board of Directors. In 1952, he was selected as a member of the martial arts combat instruction staff for the US Strategic Air Command (SAC) Combat Training Program, which also included as instructors Funakoshi, Nakayama, and Isao Obata. Nishiyama came to the United States in 1961, on the invitation of SAC students and JKA members residing in the country, and four months later founded the American Amateur Karate Federation (AAKF),[7] as a branch of the JKA. In 1968, Nishiyama organized the first World Invitational Karate Tournament held in Los Angeles. Following disagreements over organization during the 1st (1970) and 2nd (1973) World Karate Championships, the International Amateur Karate Federation (IAKF) was formed in 1974, with Nishiyama as executive director.[8] In 1985, the IAKF changed its name to the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF). Nishiyama obtained the 10th dan in 2003 from the International San Ten Karate Association. He died on November 7, 2008. His former students include Hiroshi Shirai, Takeshi Oishi, James Yabe and Avi Rokah.
The Japan Karate Association (JKA; "Nihon Karate Kyokai" in Japan) was formed in 1949 by several senior students of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate. The highest rank that Master Funakoshi awarded to his students was 5th Dan (5th-degree black belt). JKA raised the highest rank of the Black Belt from 5th Dan to 10th Dan with less strict requirements to obtain each rank. Initially, most members belonged to the Takushoku University, but Hosei, Waseda, Gakushuin, and Keio Universities also contributed members. Masatoshi Nakayama (1913–1987) led the JKA, with Gichin Funakoshi holding a position equivalent to professor emeritus.
Tsutomu Ohshima (1930–) began practicing karate at the Waseda University club in 1948, receiving instruction from Funakoshi and Egami among others, and became captain of the club in 1952. In 1955, he moved to USC to continue his studies, and led his first U.S. practice soon afterwards. In 1957, he started the first university karate club in the United States, at Caltech, and in 1959 founded the Southern California Karate Association.[9] As more dojos were opened throughout the U.S., the organization was renamed to Shotokan Karate of America (SKA) in 1969. SKA maintains its national headquarters in Los Angeles. Today, Ohshima is recognized as the chief instructor of many other SKA-affiliated Shotokan organizations worldwide. In 1957, Ohshima was awarded the rank of 5th dan by Master Funakoshi, the highest rank awarded, and by his choice, this is the rank he has retained, and the highest rank attainable in SKA.
Teruyuki Okazaki (1931–2020), 10th dan, leads the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF), a large Shotokan karate organization in North America, South America and the Caribbean.[citation needed] Okazaki studied under Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama, and was integral in the founding of the JKA Instructor Trainee program. As part of an effort by Nakayama to spread Shotokan karate internationally, Okazaki came to the United States in 1961. Okazaki founded the ISKF in 1977 and it was part of the JKA until June 2007.[citation needed]
Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation (SKIF)
Hirokazu Kanazawa (1931–2019), 10th Dan, broke away from the JKA in 1978, and called his organization Shotokan Karate-do International Federation (SKIF).[citation needed] Kanazawa had studied under Masatoshi Nakayama and Hidetaka Nishiyama, both students of Gichin Funakoshi. SKIF introduced elements of tai chi, particularly in the matter of flow and balance, and actively promoted the evolution of Shotokan while maintaining the traditional core of the art. Kanazawa is considered one of the most technically brilliant Shotokan exponents, and was a top contender in competition, famously winning the kumite championship at the first JKA Open Tournament (1957) with a broken hand. Kanazawa was awarded 10th Dan in 2000.[citation needed]
Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association (FSKA)
Kenneth Funakoshi, founder and chief instructor of the FSKA is a distant relation (ie fourth cousin, who shared his great-great-great-grandparents) to Master Gichin Funakoshi – the founder of Modern Shotokan.[10][citation needed]
He started judo training in 1948 under Arakaki Sensei at the Fort Gakuen Japanese Language School in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended Farrington High School in the Kalihi District and was on the football team and captain of the Territory of Hawaii (Hawaii was not a state yet) Championship swim team. While attending at the University of Hawaii on a swimming scholarship Funakoshi Sensei started Kempo training under Adriano Emperado from 1956 to 1959.[citation needed]
In 1960, Funakoshi started shotokan training when the Japan Karate Association (JKA) assigned its first grand champion, Hirokazu Kanazawa to teach at the Karate Association of Hawaii for three years. For the next three years, Funakoshi trained under Masataka Mori, another senior instructor from the Japanese Karate Association. From 1966 to 1969, he trained under the third and last instructor sent by the J.K.A., the legendary Tetsuhiko Asai, another former grand champion from Japan. In 1969, after training 10 years under three of Japan's top instructors and winning the grand championship of the Karate Association of Hawaii for five years in a row (1964–1968), Kenneth Funakoshi was appointed as the Chief Instructor for the Karate Association of Hawaii.[citation needed]
Funakoshi moved to San Jose, California to teach karate in December 1986, in 1987, the non-political Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association was founded with its world headquarters now in Milpitas, CA and affiliates throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, Africa, Middle East and South America.[citation needed]
Keigo Abe (1938–), as a student at the JKA Honbu, learned directly from Nakayama, which is reflected in his deference to Nakayama as being his only headmaster. Abe was a former senior instructor at the JKA Honbu, having graduated from the instructors' program. He held the office of Director of Qualifications in the original, pre-split JKA. However, after the split in 1990, he became the Technical Director of the JKA (Matsuno Section), during some of the association's most turbulent years. In his youth, Abe took 3rd place in the very first JKA National Championships; was the captain of the Japanese team at the second World Championships in Paris, France; won 1st place at the JKA International Friendship Tournament (1973); and took 1st place in the second and third JKF National Championships as a representative of Tokyo. Renowned for his strong traditional approach to Shotokan karate, he retired from the JKA in 1999 to form his own international organisation—the Japan Shotokan Karate Association (JSKA).[11] Abe is reputed as being responsible for formulating the Shobu Ippon tournament rules, which are used by most Shotokan stylists today. However, there is a school of thought that these rules were actually formulated by Hidetaki Nishiyama during his time at the JKA. Abe is supported in the JSKA by Makoto Matsunami 8th dan, who runs his own independent dojo in Japan, as Technical Director and Takashi Naito 6th dan, as Director of Administration. Keigo Abe was awarded 9th dan in 2008 by the JSKA Shihankai.
Tetsuhiko Asai (1935–2006), 10th dan, often practiced Sumo, Judo, Kendo, and the Spear in his youth. Asai studied at the Takushoku University in Tokyo, where he also studied Shotokan karate. He joined the instructors' program and became a JKA instructor. In later years, Asai instructed in China, Hong Kong, America, Europe, and Hawaii (where he led the Hawaiian Karate Association). Asai was made Chief Instructor of the JKA after Masatoshi Nakayama's death in 1987; however, he—along with a number of other senior JKA instructors—opposed the appointment of Nakahara as chairman, and so formed a separate JKA (Matsuno Section). Following a lengthy legal battle, the Nakahara group won the rights to the JKA title and Asai's group adopted the name of the Japan Karate Shotorenmei (JKS).
Related Research Articles
Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" through a series of public demonstrations, and by promoting the development of university karate clubs, including those at Keio, Waseda, Hitotsubashi (Shodai), Takushoku, Chuo, Gakushuin, and Hosei.
Keigo Abe was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the Japan Shotokan Karate Association in 1999 and is its Chief Instructor. He held the rank of 9th dan in karate, was a direct student of Masatoshi Nakayama (1913–1987), and was a senior instructor in the Japan Karate Association.
The Japan Karate Association is one of the oldest global Shotokan karate organizations in the world.
Shotokai is the organisation formed originally in 1930 by master Gichin Funakoshi to teach and spread the art of karate-Do. Nowadays, the name also designates a formal practice method.
Mitsusuke Harada, MBE was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokai karate who introduced this martial art to Brazil and was after based in the United Kingdom. He founded the Karate-do Shotokai (KDS) organisation in 1965 and was its president. Harada held the rank of 5th dan, personally awarded by Gichin Funakoshi in 1956.
Masatoshi Nakayama[a] was an internationally famous Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He helped establish the Japan Karate Association (JKA) in 1949, and wrote many textbooks on karate, which served to popularize his martial art. For almost 40 years, until his death in 1987, Nakayama worked to spread Shotokan karate around the world. He was the first master in Shotokan history to attain the rank of 9th dan while alive, and was posthumously awarded the rank of 10th dan.
Tsutomu Ohshima[a] is a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the organization Shotokan Karate of America (SKA). He is the Shihan of the SKA, and to this day holds the rank of 5th dan, which was awarded to him by Gichin Funakoshi. Ohshima's branch of the Shotokan world has become known as “Shotokan Ohshima Karate-do.”
Shigeru Egami was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the Shōtōkai style. He was a student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate.
Gigō Funakoshi was the third son of Gichin Funakoshi and is widely credited with developing the foundation of the modern karate Shotokan style.
Tetsuhiko Asai was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate of the Japan Karate Association (JKA), founder and Chief Instructor of the International Japan Martial Arts Karate Asai-ryu (IJKA), and founder of the Japan Karate Shoto Federation.
Gichin Funakoshi was the founder of Shotokan karate. He is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato, he was one of the Okinawan karate masters who introduced karate to the Japanese mainland in 1922, following its earlier introduction by his teacher Itosu. He taught karate at various Japanese universities and became honorary head of the Japan Karate Association upon its establishment in 1949. In addition to being a karate master, Funakoshi was an avid poet and philosopher. His son, Gigō Funakoshi, is widely credited with developing the foundation of the modern karate Shotokan style.
Teruyuki Okazaki, was a tenth degree black belt in Shotokan Karate, as well as the founder and chief instructor of the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF). Along with Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama, Okazaki helped found the Japan Karate Association's instructor training program.
Takayuki Mikami is a Japanese master of Shotokan karate based in the United States of America. He holds the rank of 9th dan black belt in the art, awarded under the Japan Karate Association. In 1958, Mikami tied for first place in the All Japan Karate Championships. The following year, he became the All Japan champion in kumite (sparring) as well as kata (patterns). In 1961, Mikami won first place in kata again. He was also the first person to graduate from the Japan Karate Association's (JKA) instructor training program instituted by Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama.
Hidetaka Nishiyama was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was an internationally recognized instructor, author, and administrator, and helped to establish the Japan Karate Association. Nishiyama was one of the last surviving students of Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan karate. He was based in the United States of America from 1961 until his death in 2008, and was a pioneer of karate in that country. He had been posthumously awarded the rank of 10th dan in karate.
Yutaka Yaguchi was a Japanese karateka who was the Chief Instructor and Chairman of the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF) Mountain States Region. He was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1932 and began karate training in 1952. He later tested under masters Gichin Funakoshi for his 1st dan black belt and Masatoshi Nakayama for his 2nd through 8th dan black belts. As one of the first graduates of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) Instructors' Training Program in 1959, he played an important role in the growth of JKA karate and the internationalization of Shotokan karate. Yaguchi first arrived in the United States on June 5, 1965. In 1974, Yaguchi founded the ISKF of Colorado, the regional headquarters for the Mountain States Region.
Kenkojuku is a style of Shotokan karate previous to the establishment of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) style. It was founded by Tomosaburo Okano. Kenkojuku karate is similar to the teachings of Gichin Funakoshi and modifications made by Funakoshi's son Yoshitaka Funakoshi. JKA Shotokan differs slightly in that it was Masatoshi Nakayama's version of Shotokan. Okano's/Yoshitaka's Kenkojuku karate and JKA karate are becoming more similar compared to other variants of Shotokan karate such as Shigeru Egami's Shotokai, Hirokazu Kanazawa's Shotokan Karate International or SKI.
Keinosuke Enoeda was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a former Chief Instructor of the Karate Union of Great Britain. Enoeda was ranked 8th dan in Shotokan karate, and was widely renowned as a formidable karateka. Following his death, Enoeda was posthumously awarded the rank of 9th dan.
Shotokan Karate of America (SKA) is a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to teaching traditional karate-do. It was established by Tsutomu Ohshima, a direct student of Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan karate. Ohshima is also recognized as the founder of several other Shotokan organizations affiliated with SKA globally. The national headquarters of SKA is located in Los Angeles.
Taiji Kase was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate who was one of the earliest masters responsible for introducing this martial art into Europe. He taught his style of karate, Shotokan Ryu Kase Ha, in France from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. In his later years, he travelled across the world teaching karate, but Paris remained his home. Kase held the rank of 9th dan in karate.
Isao Obata was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a senior student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate, and was a key figure in the establishment of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) under Funakoshi in 1949. Obata also helped introduce karate to the United States of America through his demonstrations of the art to United States Air Force personnel, and through his students, most notably Tsutomu Ohshima.
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