Gichin Funacoshi
In November 1868 Gichin Funakoshi was born in Shuri, Okinawa. The Tominakoshi family (formal family name) has the title Shizoku ("little aristocracy") and Gichin is the grandson of a Confucian who taught members of the royal family - Gisu Tominakoshi. Born prematurely, Gichin will be in poor health throughout his childhood.
In 1880, he began to practice To-de in Okinawa, under the guidance of Yasutsune Azato, father of a classmate of his. The young man's letter of recommendation is given to Azato by his grandfather Gisu Tominakoshi. The family doctor - Tokashiki - supports this procedure as a method of strengthening the health of the young person. It is likely that Funakoshi, before becoming Azato's disciple, studied for a short period with Taitei Kinjo, known as "Iron Fist" for his ability to bring down a bull with a single punch. Funakoshi will meet and train with other masters, such as: Yasutsune Itosu, Sokon Matsumura, Kiyuna, Toono (originating from Naha) and Niigaki.
At the age of 20, in 1888, Funakoshi passes the exams for primary school teacher, a profession he will exercise until 1921 (without ever having been registered as a sick leave). In 1902, he leads a demonstration of To-de (Okinawa-te) before Shintaro Ogawa, school commissioner, contributing to the reinforcement of the teaching of the discipline in the high schools in the region.
In 1903, he presents the first pedagogical program for the practice of To-de (Okinawa-te) in Okinawa high schools. In 1906 one of his great Masters dies - Yasutsune Azato. In the same year Gichin Funakoshi organizes To-de's first public exhibition in Okinawa. His third son Yoshitaka (or Gigo) is born. In 1912 military personnel from the Imperial Japanese Navy are sent to Okinawa to learn To-de (Okinawa-te), and train under the guidance of Gichin Funakoshi. In 1913 Gichin Funakoshi organizes a team of To-de (Okinawa-te) demonstrations which, over the next two years, will hold hundreds of exhibitions in front of thousands of spectators across the entire territory of Okinawa. This group includes personalities who will become famous in the karate scene, such as: Choki Motobu, Chotoku Kyan. In 1915, the second main Funakoshi Master - Yasutsune Itosu dies. In 1917 in Kyoto's Botoku-den, the first demonstration of To-de (Okinawa-te) takes place outside Okinawa, which is led by Gichin Funakoshi. On March 6, 1921 Crown Prince Hirohito attends a demonstration by To-de (Okinawa-te) led by Gichin Funakoshi in the grand hall of Shuri Castle. miyagi also participates in this demonstration. In the same year Funakoshi founded and became president of the Okinawa Shobukai (Association for the Promotion of the Spirit of the Okinawa Martial Arts). As a result, he resigned to his profession as a teacher.
In 1922 Jigoro Kano makes his first official visit to Okinawa and delivers a speech about Japanese Budo that inspires local practitioners of To-de (Okinawa-te) to make their art known. That same year, on April 1st, the Ministry of Education organized the "First National Athletic Exhibition" in Tokyo where various martial arts were exhibited. To-de (Okinawa-te) is one of the guest arts and Gichin Funakoshi is chosen by several Okinawan experts to lead the demonstration, which constitutes To-de's first public performance to the Tokyo public.
On May 17th, following the public screening of To-de (Okinawa-te), Gichin Funakoshi performs, at the invitation of Jigoro Kano, a demonstration at the Kodokan. In this demonstration Funakoshi asks his disciple Shinken Gima to demonstrate the kata Naihanchi (later called Tekki). On this occasion Funakoshi manufactures with his own hands, for himself and for his disciple the first Karate-gi, inspired by Judo-gi. In June Gichin Funakoshi publishes an article about To-de (Okinawa-te) in the Tokyo Nichinichi newspaper. It is the first article published on this art outside Okinawa. The first classes are given to members of the Tabata Poplar Club (an artistic guild) and the first school is opened at Meisei Juku - a dormitory for students originating in Okinawa - located in the Suidobata district of Tokyo. In the same year, the publisher Bukyosha brings to the public the first book by Gichin Funakoshi: Ryu-kyu Kempo: To-de". Artist Hoan Kosugi draws, for the book's cover, the famous "Tiger" that will become become the symbol of the art of Funakoshi.
In the year of his arrival in Tokyo, Funakoshi receives a very special student: Hironori Ohtsuka, at the time already an experienced Ju-jutsu practitioner with 17 years of practice. He had heard of Gichin Funakoshi, had sought him out, and had decided to become his disciple. Ohtsuka will practice under Funakoshi's guidance for the next nine years.
In 1923 the Meisei Juko facilities, where Gichin Funakoshi resides, works and teaches, were destroyed by a huge earthquake.
In 1924 Yoshitaka (Gigo) Funakoshi moves to Tokyo and moves in with his father. Although a practitioner of To-de (Okinawa-te) Yoshitaka (Gigo) Funakoshi dedicates only part of his time to the practice as he studies in the radiology laboratory of the University of Tokyo, where he will later obtain the degree of "Radiology Technician", passing then working at the same location and at the Ministry of Education. In the same year, Hakudo (Hiromichi) Nakayama (the founder of modern Iai-do) learns that Funakoshi has nowhere to teach, offers him free time at his kendo dojo, located in Kyobashi, Tokyo. It then adopts a grading scheme (kyu, dan) similar to the Kodokan. All karatekas now use the white karate-gi (similar to judo-gi but lighter) which Funakoshi first introduced in the Kodokan demonstration in 1921. Dan's now wear a black belt. The first university club is founded at Keiho University (by invitation of Professor Shinyo Kasuya, Department of Germanic Languages).
In 1926 Gichin Funakoshi publishes, through Kobundo Publishing, a second edition of his first book, this time under the name: "Rentan Goshin To-de Jutsu" (the original "printing plates" of his first book had been destroyed in the earthquake of 1923). On March 20, 1928 Gichin Funakoshi performs a demonstration of To-de (Okinawa-te) at the Sainei-kan of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Also in 1928, he received a visit from Mabuni, and the following year from Miyagi, who made their first trips to Tokyo. Funakoshi is already 61 years old at the time and Miyagi is surprised by the extremely modest conditions in which he finds him. The early 1930s saw the opening of To-de (Okinawa-te) clubs at various universities: Takushoku, Chuo, Shodai (now called Hitotsubashi), Waseda, Hosei, Gakushuin, Nihon and Meiji. Gigo Funakoshi begins, at his father's request, to take some leadership of karate classes at universities, especially in Waseda. Among the countless disciples of Funakoshi who adhere to the study of the art of Okinawa, two names and two dates stand out: - Egami who starts training in 1931 at Waseda University, helping to found the local Karate Club; - and Masatoshi Nakayama who began his practice in 1932 as a student at the University of Takushoku. Somewhere on this date Gichin Funakoshi will also have had his first contacts with Morihei Ueshiba, either attending some of his special Seminars or exchanging personal opinions with him about the essence of Budo. In 1933 Gigo Funakoshi began to emphasize the practice of combat in Karate, creating the Kihon Ippon Kumite.
In 1934 Funakoshi students under the guidance of Takeshi Shimoda - considered their most talented student and connoisseur of Kendo and Ninjutsu (Nen Ryu school) - toured the Kyoto-Osaka area and the island of Kyushu. Shortly after the tour, Shimoda catches pneumonia and, a few days later, dies. After the death of Takeshi Shimoda, Gichin Funakoshi nominates his son Gigo Funakoshi as his main assistant, who has in the meantime obtained the title of Renshi from the Butokukai. In the same year, Gigo Funakoshi introduced Jiyu Ippon Kumite (semi-free kumite). Hironori Ohtsuka leaves Funakoshi's group, opens a dojo in Tokyo and begins to teach his art, combining his teaching activities with his profession as a doctor. The type of practice he proposes - incorporating combat exercises and Ju-jutsu techniques - is an alternative to Gichin Funakoshi's method. The first split in the practice of Karate is generated, with several university groups that adhere to the Ohtsuka method, which will soon be called Wado-ryu.
In 1935 Kichinosuke Saigo, an important political figure of the time and one of the oldest students of Gichin Funakoshi, created a committee that proposed, as its first task, the construction of the first karate dojo in Japan. This committee is considered the embryo of the Shoto Association (Shotokai). That same year Gichin Funakoshi published his fundamental work "Karate-do Kyohan" (known internationally as "The Master's Text"). In this work Funakoshi officially proposes the modification of the kanji "To" - associated with the Chinese Tang dynasty, which means "ancient" - by the Kanji "Ku" which means "empty". Since both Kanji can also be pronounced "Kara" the verb form remains unchanged. Karate then ceases to mean "the old hand" or "Chinese" and becomes known as the path of empty hands. Also in 1935, Gigo Funakoshi introduced the practice of Jiyu Kumite ("free kumite") and, with the support of Shigeru Egami and Genshin Hironishi, among others, developed new leg techniques such as: Yoko Geri (Kekomi and Keage), various forms of Mawashi-Geri, Fumikomi and Ushiro-Geri. Base positions become lower than traditional ones.
In the spring of 1936, the fundraising started the year before by Kichinosuke Saigo bears fruit and Funakoshi's dojo begins to become a reality, with the first classes being held there right away. A plaque with the name "Shotokan" - the "house" of Shoto - is placed at the entrance door - a name chosen by the students of Gichin Funakoshi in honor of the Master, who used to sign his poems with the pseudonym "Shoto" (literally: " swell of the pines"). On March 1, 1938, the construction of the Shotokan dojo was completed. With the materialization of Shotokan, the "group spirit" created in 1935 by Kichinosuke is embodied for the development of the ideals of Gichin Funakoshi. This group called Shotokai - Shoto Association - will become, so to speak, the "soul" of the Shotokan - the House of Shoto. In 1939 Gichin Funakoshi and Mabuni register their respective Karate schools in the Butokukai. After taking an examination in the same session, they are awarded the Renshi degree.
In 1940, Gichin Funakoshi forbids his students to perform Jiyu Kumite ("free combat"), noting that, partly due to nationalist fervor and also the desire for competition, this practice induces a spirit of violence contrary to the essence of Budo.
In December 1943 Gichin Funakoshi publishes "Karate-do Nyumon". His son Yoshitaka Funakoshi is believed to have actively collaborated with his father in writing the technical part of the book, together with Wado Uemura and Yoshiaki Ayashi. The year 1945 will turn out to be a terrible year for Gichin Funakoshi. On March 10, between 2 and 3 am, the Shotokan and the attached Funakoshi family residence, attached to the dojo, are destroyed during the bombing of Tokyo. Gichin Funakoshi is taken in by his eldest son Yoshihide, taking up residence in his house located in the Koishikawa district of Tokyo. At the end of that year, Gigo Funakoshi dies following a prolonged lung disease. The funeral takes place on November 24th. Gichin Funakoshi's wife, who managed to survive the destruction of Okinawa, leaves her home region and joins her husband in Oita, Kyushu, where they live in very difficult conditions. In late autumn 1947, Gichin Funakoshi's wife dies of an asthma attack. Soon after, Funakoshi returns to Tokyo, returning to his eldest son Yoshihide's house. During the long journey Funakoshi receives ovations from students who wait for him at many of the stations where the train stops. Encouraged by his disciples, he organizes, in 1947, a great Karate demonstration in Tokyo.
On May 1, 1949, at 6 pm at Iomiuri Shibum Hall, the Nihon Karate-do Kyokai (known internationally as Japan Karate Association - JKA) is created. In 1951 and despite his advanced age (over 80) Gichin Funakoshi continues to teach, almost exclusively Kata, at the universities of Waseda, Keio, Hosei, Chuo, Hitotsubashi and Gakushin, and also at the Japanese College of Medicine, National College of Physical Education (Nikaido) and at the Naval and Military Academies.
On October 13, 1956 Gichin Funakoshi finishes the Preface of the second edition of Karate-do Kyohan, lamenting the "almost unrecognizable spiritual state the world of present-day Karate has reached" and appeals to those who can "understand his deep yearnings ( ...) in order to complete the objectives of the work". Isao Obata, Hiroshi Noguchi, Genshin Hironishi and other "trusted men" by Gichin Funakoshi, coming from the "traditional line" of karate, leave the JKA. With the support of Gichin Funakoshi himself, who assumes the presidency of the organization, and Shigeru Egami, Funakoshi's closest disciple in the last years of his life, they formalize Nihon Karate-do Shotokai.
On April 26, 1957, Gichin Funakoshi dies. The eldest son - Yoshihide - decides to organize the funeral with the support of Nihon Karate-do Shotokai and the closest friends of the Funakoshi family, namely: Shigeru Egami (who had been, together with his family, by the Master's bed when he exhaled the last breath), Genshin Hironishi and Motohiro Yanagisawa. The JKA disagrees with Yoshihide Funakoshi's decision and claims to refuse to attend Gichin Funakoshi's funeral if he is not allowed to organize the funeral. An emergency meeting is held between Nihon Karate-do Shotokai and Nihon Karate Kyokai (JKA). As no consensus was possible between both parties, it is concluded that the decision to participate in the funeral of Mestre Funakoshi will be up to the personal conscience of each of his students. On the day of Gichin Funakoshi's funeral, it turns out that only university groups linked to Shotokai - Chuo, Senshu, Toho, Gakushuin and Tokyo Noko - attend. Waseda's university group hesitates but ends up participating (at the insistence of the University President - Dr. Nobumoto Ohama, a friend and countryman of Funakoshi). Unfortunately, the vast majority of Gichin Funakoshi students, especially those more connected to the JKA, do not attend the Master's funeral. In June of that same year, the JKA organizes, in the largest Japanese covered space for sports practice - the Metropolitan Gym in Tokyo - the first All Japan Karate-do Championship Tournament, it is the first public karate competition in Japan.
