Gichin Funakoshi

Gichin Funakoshi
Born(1868-11-10)November 10, 1868
Shuri, Okinawa, Ryukyu Kingdom
DiedApril 26, 1957(1957-04-26) (aged 88)
Tokyo, Japan
Native name船越 義珍
Other namesFunakoshi Gichin (冨名腰 義珍), Shōtō ()
StyleShōrei-ryū, Shōrin-ryū, and Shotokan Karate
Teacher(s)Ankō Asato, Ankō Itosu, Matsumura Sōkon, Arakaki Seishō
Rank5th dan, 10th dan (posthumous)
Notable studentsGigō Funakoshi (his son), Hironori Ōtsuka, Isao Obata, Masatoshi Nakayama, Makoto Gima, Shigeru Egami, Tomosaburo Okano, Teruyuki Okazaki, Tetsuhiko Asai, Yasuhiro Konishi, Hidetaka Nishiyama, Tsutomu Ohshima, Taiji Kase, Mitsusuke Harada, Hirokazu Kanazawa, Won Kuk Lee, Masutatsu Oyama, Tetsuji Murakami, Yutaka Yaguchi, Won Kuk Lee, Byung Jik Ro, Choi Hong Hi, Keinosuke Enoeda

Gichin Funakoshi (船越 義珍, Funakoshi Gichin, November 10, 1868 – April 26, 1957)[1] was the founder of Shotokan karate. He is known as a "father of modern karate".[2] Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,[3][4] 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.[5][6]

  1. ^ Beltram, Jon K. "Instructors – Kansas City Shotokan Karate Club". kc.ska.org. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  2. ^ Funakoshi, Gichin (2001). Karate Jutsu: The Original Teachings of Master Funakoshi. Translated by John Teramoto. Kodansha International Ltd. ISBN 4-7700-2681-1.
  3. ^ Funakoshi, Gichin (1981). Karate-Do: My Way of Life, Kodansha International Ltd. ISBN 0-87011-463-8.
  4. ^ "GichinFunakoshi.com". Archived from the original on 2012-10-05.
  5. ^ "Black Belt". Internet Archive. p. 46. Retrieved 19 January 2015. mas oyama. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  6. ^ Moenig, Udo (10 April 2015). Taekwondo: From a Martial Art to a Martial Sport. Routledge. ISBN 9781317557333. Retrieved 5 July 2017 – via Google Books.