Gichin Funakoshi
Student of Ankō Itosu and Ankō Asato; introduced karate to mainland Japan.
Gichin Funakoshi, born on November 10, 1868, in Shuri, Okinawa, was the founder of Shotokan karate and is widely regarded as a father of modern karate. He was of samurai lineage, born prematurely to a Ryūkyūan Pechin family that had once served as vassals to Ryukyu Dynasty nobles. His father was named Gisu. During his primary school years, Funakoshi became close friends with the son of Ankō Asato, a master of both karate and Jigen-ryū who would become his first karate teacher. Funakoshi’s family opposed the Meiji government’s abolition of the Japanese topknot, which disqualified him from attending medical school despite passing the entrance exam, as topknots were banned there. Trained in classical Chinese and Japanese philosophies, he became an assistant teacher in Okinawa while studying karate nightly at the Asato residence. Funakoshi trained in both major Okinawan styles of the time: Shōrei-ryū and Shōrin-ryū. His pen name, Shōtō, meaning “waving pines,” gave rise to the name Shotokan, coined by students who posted a sign reading “house of Shōtō” above his training hall. By the late 1910s, he had many students, some capable of passing on his teachings. He ventured to mainland Japan in 1917 and again in 1922, when he and Makoto Gima demonstrated karate at the Kodokan for Judo master Jigoro Kano, a pivotal event that popularized karate on the mainland. In 1930, he established the Dai-Nihon Karate-do Kenkyukai for communication among karate practitioners, renamed in 1936 to Dai-Nippon Karate-do Shoto-kai, now known as Shotokai. That same year, he built the first Shotokan dojo in Tokyo. He changed the written characters for karate from “China hand” to “empty hand,” arguing that “empty” implied a way unbound by physical objects, though this caused tension with Okinawan traditionalists and led him to remain in Tokyo. In 1949, his students formed the Japan Karate Association, with Funakoshi as honorary head, though Masatoshi Nakayama led it practically. Funakoshi was also an avid poet and philosopher who meditated and wrote poetry during forest walks. He developed osteoarthritis in 1948 and died of colon cancer on April 26, 1957. His legacy includes the niju kun (twenty principles) and his detailed publication *Karate-Do Kyohan*.
- field
- Martial arts (karate)
- nationality
- Okinawan (Ryūkyūan), later Japanese mainland
- known_for
- Student of Ankō Itosu and Ankō Asato; introducing karate to mainland Japan; inco
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Gichin Funakoshi was one of the Okinawan karate masters who introduced karate to mainland Japan during the Taishō era (1912–1926). He was a student of Ankō Itosu, who first taught karate in schools in Okinawa after 1905. Funakoshi incorporated elements from judo, such as training uniforms, colored belts, and ranking systems, to make karate more relatable to the Japanese mainland. In the 1920s, when karate was first taught in mainland Japan, Funakoshi and Motobu Chōki used the name karate-jutsu (唐手術, lit. 'Tang hand art') along with karate. In 1929, the Karate Study Group of Keio University (Instructor Gichin Funakoshi) used the term karate (空手, "empty hand") in reference to the concept of emptiness in the Heart Sutra, and this terminology was later popularized, especially in Tokyo. There is also a theory that the background for this name change was the worsening of Japan-China relations at the time. Funakoshi also proposed that the word pronounced karate (から手) existed in the Ryukyu Kingdom period, but it is unclear whether it meant Tang hand or empty hand.
Reader's Guide
Gichin Funakoshi's significance lies in his role as a student of Ankō Itosu and Ankō Asato, and as one of the key figures who introduced karate to mainland Japan during the Taishō era (1912–1926). He incorporated elements from judo, such as training uniforms, colored belts, and ranking systems, to make karate more relatable to the Japanese. He also played a role in the name change from 唐手 ("Chinese hand" or "Tang hand") to 空手 ("empty hand"), using the term in 1929 in reference to the concept of emptiness in the Heart Sutra. This change was later popularized, especially in Tokyo, and there is a theory that the background for this name change was the worsening of Japan-China relations at the time. Funakoshi also proposed that the word pronounced karate (から手) existed in the Ryukyu Kingdom period, but it is unclear whether it meant Tang hand or empty hand.
Did You Know?
- Gichin Funakoshi was a student of Ankō Itosu, who first taught karate in schools in Okinawa after 1905.
- Funakoshi incorporated elements from judo, such as training uniforms, colored belts, and ranking systems, to make karate more relatable to the Japanese mainland.
- In 1929, the Karate Study Group of Keio University (Instructor Gichin Funakoshi) used the term karate (空手, 'empty hand') in reference to the concept of emptiness in the Heart Sutra.
- Funakoshi proposed that the word pronounced karate (から手) existed in the Ryukyu Kingdom period, but it is unclear whether it meant Tang hand or empty hand.
- There is a theory that the background for the name change from 'Chinese hand' to 'empty hand' was the worsening of Japan-China relations at the time.
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