The man, the master, and the historical moment when Karate began its journey to Japan
The man, the family, and the work.
Gichin Funakoshi was born on the tenth day of the eleventh month of the first year of the Meiji era—specifically, December 23, 1868—in the village of Yamakawa in Shuri. His childhood name was Umikami (思亀), and his formal Chinese-style name was Yō Jini (容宜仁).
Gichin belonged to one of the lower ranks of the Shizoku (士族) class, the ancient warrior aristocracy. His family descended from a branch of the far more illustrious Yamada (山田) clan, which belonged to the Shizoku nobility of Tomari village (泊).
According to family tradition, his grandfather Gifuku had served as a kitchen scribe at the Kikoe-Ōkimi Udun, the residence of the highest priestly authority in the Ryūkyū Islands. Upon his retirement, he was granted a residence in the village of Tera in Shuri and a substantial sum of money in recognition of his service.
Upon his death, however, the inheritance passed to his son Gisu, who proceeded to squander it. Consequently, Gichin was raised by his mother’s family, the Oyadomari (親泊). Initially, he aspired to enroll in medical school but was forced to abandon the idea because admission required cutting off his katakashira, the traditional Okinawan male hairstyle that symbolized “samurai” status. His refusal (though he eventually overcame this stance) to part with this mark of his identity led him to choose a career in teaching.
After completing the one-year accelerated course at the Okinawa Prefectural Normal School, Funakoshi passed the qualifying examination for assistant instructors. He began his teaching career at the age of twenty, initially working as a substitute teacher on a monthly salary of three yen. Later, he obtained the qualification for the standard course and was promoted to a full-time teaching position, a milestone that represented a genuine step up in social status for him.
In 1888, Gichin married Gosei, and their first son, Giei, was born the following year. Two more sons, Giyū and Gigō, followed, as well as a daughter, Tsuru.
Throughout his teaching career, which spanned more than thirty years (1888–1921), Funakoshi served primarily in the Naha area, though he also taught in the Tomari district during his final years. He was offered the position of principal at the elementary school on Kume Island, located over a hundred kilometers west of Okinawa, but he declined the post due to his mother’s poor health; she was seriously ill and bedridden at the time.
Towards the end of 1921, Funakoshi retired permanently from teaching.
His karate instructors
Funakoshi’s martial arts training unfolded under the guidance of several masters; however, two figures in particular formed the core of his development and decisively shaped his philosophy and practice: Ankō Asato (1827–1906) and Ankō Itosu (1831–1915). Alongside them, Funakoshi also received instruction from other experts, albeit for shorter periods. Among these, he mentions Kiyūna (1845–1920), Tōonno of Naha, Seishō Arakaki (1840–1918), and Sōkon Matsumura (1809–1899).
Asato and Itosu remained central to Funakoshi’s training throughout his life, even as his journey led him to engage with other prominent figures in the Okinawan martial arts landscape. It is within this atmosphere of openness and mutual respect that one must understand a fundamental aspect of Okinawan Karate: the plurality of teachers. In the island’s martial arts culture, it was entirely natural to study under multiple instructors during one’s training, without this being perceived as a lack of loyalty or an act of betrayal. On the contrary, learning from various sources was considered a necessary form of enrichment, as each master possessed specific skills and unique experience gained through different paths.
1922, from Okinawa to Tōkyō
It was late 1921 when the Ministry of Education (Monbushō) announced the First Physical Education and Sports Exhibition (Dai-ikkai Taiiku Undō Tenrankai), to be held in Tōkyō the following spring. The Okinawa prefectural government approached Funakoshi, then president of the Okinawa Shōbukai, with a proposal that represented the culmination of a lifetime of practice: to bring the kingdom’s secret art to the cultural heart of the empire. Funakoshi accepted immediately. He had long wished to introduce Karate to the nation and knew that this was the perfect opportunity, perhaps the last one.
In the spring of 1922, the exhibition opened in the auditorium of the Women’s Higher Normal School in Ochanomizu. Funakoshi presented himself not as a street fighter, but as an educator. He had worked feverishly to prepare three long, double-width scrolls (makimono, 巻物) containing over a hundred photographs of kata, technical explanations, and philosophical principles. He did not merely present a method of self-defense; he brought a codified culture.
The May demonstration was a resounding success, yet Funakoshi’s plan remained unchanged: once the exhibition concluded, he would pack up his scrolls and return to Okinawa. Fate, however, intervened in the form of a legendary figure: Jigorō Kanō, founder of Kōdōkan Jūdō and a leading figure in Japanese physical education, was impressed by the demonstration and invited Funakoshi to the Kōdōkan.
Funakoshi attempted to modestly decline, explaining his imminent departure, but Kanō was adamant: “It would be a shame if only I saw it. Please wait a few days! I would like everyone to watch”. Three days later, Funakoshi crossed the door of the Kōdōkan. He expected to find few close friends. Instead, waiting for him were over one hundred prominent gentlemen and expert masters. That passage marked a decisive moment in the process through which Karate would begin to take root in the Japanese martial and educational context.
The source
The news spread like wildfire. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know more. The Jurists’ Association (Hōsōkai), the Toyama Military School (Rikugun Toyama Gakkō), the household of Marquis Shō, university study groups, requests for lessons poured in from everywhere. Funakoshi kept postponing his return to Okinawa, putting it off week after week. The shockwave soon reached intellectual circles and the press as well.
And so it was that Funakoshi, overwhelmed by requests and hungry for knowledge, decided to write a book, gathering and systematically organizing the techniques, principles, and history of Karate. Working day and night, he completed the manuscript in just a few months.
In November 1922, Ryūkyū Kenpō: Karate was released, the first monograph entirely dedicated to Karate published in Japan. To this day, that book remains one of the most important sources for understanding Funakoshi’s Karate prior to the profound transformations that would accompany his experience in mainland Japan.