Part 2 - In Depth History

The History of Shotokan Karate: From Shaolin Temples to Global Discipline

The Shaolin Temples 

The Shaolin Temples of China have been the progenitor of many styles of Asian martial arts. The criteria for differentiating a Shaolin temple from other temples is that a Shaolin Temple embraced warrior monk culture whereas other temples were strictly religious Buddhist sects and did not. Southern China served as an entry point for Buddhism into China beginning in the first century B.C. The term shaolin, which means young forest [young pine forest] is derived from the northern temple and is associated with the Zen sect of warrior monks of that temple.

The origins of the Northern Shaolin Temple  (at the foot of Mount Shaoshi, part of the Mount Song range in Henan Province ) trace back to 495 AD. Emperor Xiaowen commissioned the temple to accommodate the Indian Buddhist monk Batuo (also known as Buddhabhadra). It was established as a center for Buddhist learning and eventually became the legendary birthplace of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu. 

The temple's transition from a center of scripture translation to a martial arts hub is largely attributed to the arrival of another Indian monk, Bodhidharma (known in Chinese as Damo). 

Zen Buddhism & Origins of Kung Fu

Bodhidharma is revered as the first patriarch of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China. He famously spent nine years meditating in a cave near the temple, facing a wall.

Legend states that Bodhidharma found the monks too weak for prolonged meditation and introduced a series of physical exercises to improve their health. These exercises, such as the "18 Luohan Palms," are considered the foundation of Shaolin Kung Fu. Shaolin Kung Fu is a vast system of over 700 traditional forms and 72 specialized arts. It integrates "Chan" (meditation) and "Quan" (martial arts) into a single path of self-cultivation

Two temples existed, in the North from the mid 500s and one in the south established in 557 AD in the Putien District on top of Mount Chiulien in Fujian Province, known as the Nine Lotus Temple and designated by the government as Southern Shaolin Temple. It seems in parallel though, that an extension to this temple, the Nine Dragons Temple, was established in the city of Qingzhou and has officially been called the Shaolin Zen Temple.  This temple still exists and is active in training monks in Chinese martial arts. Unfortuanately the Nine Lotus Temple, possibly because of its remoteness, has largely fallen into disrepair. (Ref.)

The Manchus, who were invaders from the northeast, toppled the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and set up a new dynasty named Qing. Towards the end of the Ming period, many monks from the Shaolin Temple in the north fled south to eventually establish a Southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian Province. The monks at the Southern Shaolin Temple practiced numerous martial art styles. These styles included the crane, dog, tiger, five ancestors and Hung styles, which were indigenous to the area. They all emphasize close range fighting skills using fists.

The Ryukyu Kingdom and Chinese Roots

The connection between the Southern Shaolin Temple and Okinawan Karate is the defining link in the art's evolution. Karate (originally written as "Chinese Hand") developed from a synthesis of indigenous Okinawan fighting methods (Te) and Southern Chinese martial arts (Quanfa), primarily those originating from the Fujian province. Because Okinawa was a vassal state of China for over 300 years, frequent cultural and trade exchanges occurred between the Ryukyu Islands and Fuzhou, Fujian—the purported home of the Southern Shaolin Temple

The "36 Families" (1392):

The Ming Emperor sent 36 Chinese families (artisans and scholars) to live in the village of Kume (Kumemura) in Okinawa. These families are believed to have introduced the first structured Chinese hand-to-hand fighting methods to the island. 

Unlike Northern Shaolin (known for high kicks and acrobatics), the Southern Shaolin tradition emphasized stable stances, short-range hand techniques (80% hands, 20% feet), and circular blocking. These characteristics remain the hallmark of traditional Okinawan Karate today.

 This "Chinese hand" (Tode) eventually blended with indigenous Okinawan fighting methods known as Te ("hand").

Political shifts accelerated the development of this art. Following a series of weapon bans - first by King Sho Shin in 1477 and later by the invading Japanese Satsuma Clan in 1609 - the Okinawan people refined Te as a lethal, empty-handed means of survival. Because training was forbidden, it was conducted in total secrecy, often at night, passing from master to student in private courtyards. 

The Three Cities and the Shorin/Shorei Divide

By the 19th century, Te had crystallized into three regional styles named after their host cities:

Shuri-te: Practiced in the royal capital by the nobility. It focused on speed, agility, and natural breathing.

Naha-te: Developed in the commercial port city, heavily influenced by Southern Chinese styles. It emphasized rooted power and rhythmic, tension-based breathing.

Tomari-te: A fusion of the two, practiced by the working class in the port village of Tomari.

These branches formed two broader pedagogical streams: 

Shorin-ryu (derived from Shuri and Tomari), which favored light, linear movements, and 

Shorei-ryu (derived from Naha), which focused on heavy, circular power. Shotokan is primarily rooted in the Shorin tradition.

In 1879, Japan annexed Ryukyu.

The kingdom was changed to the Prefecture of Okinawa, and the reign of the royal dynasty came to an end. Around 1891, the Japanese army became interested in the Okinawan martial art To-de. However, it quickly turned out that many years of training could not be "compressed" into two months of training of recruits, so the army did not pursue their interest. 

The Lineage of the Great Masters

The foundation of Shotokan rests upon a direct chain of Shuri-te masters, beginning with Kanga "Tode" Sakugawa (1733–1815), who first combined Chinese techniques with Okinawan tradition.

Kanga "Tode" Sakugawa: The Father of Okinawan Karate

Kanga Sakugawa (1733–1815) is the first historical figure to bridge the gap between indigenous Okinawan Te and Chinese martial arts. His nickname, "Tode" (Chinese Hand), was a tribute to his mastery of foreign techniques. Sakugawa spent decades traveling to China, specifically the Fujian province, where he became a student of the legendary Chinese military attaché Kushanku (also known as Kuan Ku).

Under Kushanku’s tutelage, Sakugawa learned the principles of circular movement and the management of "Ki" (internal energy). He is credited with bringing back the original version of the Kanku Dai kata, which remains the longest and one of the most prestigious forms in the Shotokan syllabus. Beyond physical technique, Sakugawa introduced the first formal Dojo Kun (Dojo Rules), emphasizing that the study of martial arts was inseparable from the cultivation of etiquette and moral duty. By passing these Chinese-influenced concepts to his student, Sokon Matsumura, Sakugawa ensured that the "Chinese Hand" would forever be the bedrock of the Shotokan tradition.

 Master Kushanku: The Chinese Source

Kushanku was a high-ranking military official and expert in quanfa (Kung Fu) sent from the Ming Dynasty to Okinawa in 1756. His arrival marked a turning point in martial arts history, as he was the first documented Chinese master to perform public demonstrations on the island. Kushanku was renowned for his extraordinary agility and his ability to defeat larger, stronger opponents by using their own momentum against them - a principle known as ju (softness) overcoming go (hardness).

His most significant contribution to Shotokan is the Kanku Dai kata (originally named Kushanku in his honor). This form, which begins with a symbolic gesture of looking toward the sky to gather the sun's energy, preserves his signature techniques: the use of low-level grappling, "hidden" strikes, and the ability to fight effectively in total darkness. By teaching Kanga "Tode" Sakugawa, Kushanku infused Okinawan Te with the sophisticated mechanics of Northern and Southern Chinese boxing. This "Chinese Hand" became the technical DNA that Sokon Matsumura later refined and Gichin Funakoshi eventually brought to the world.

Sokon "Bushi" Matsumura: The Royal Enforcer (1809–1899)

Matsumura was not merely a teacher; he was a top-tier military official of the Ryukyu Kingdom. As the primary bodyguard to to three generations of Ryukyu Kings - King Shō Kō, King Shō Iku, and King Shō Tai -  he was the living embodiment of Shuri-te. In 1839 he went to China and studied the Shaolin style of Chinese boxing and weaponry. His training was a sophisticated blend of Okinawan "Te," Chinese White Crane Boxing (learned from Master Iwah in Beijing), and the aggressive, shock-tactics of Japan’s Jigen-ryu swordsmanship.

Matsumura was given the title “Bushi” meaning warrior by the Okinawan King in recognition of his abilities and accomplishments in the martial arts. This was a title reserved only for those possessing the highest martial skill and the samurai qualities of honor and loyalty.  This elevated him to full samurai status.  Matsumura was the last person ever to be granted this title by the Okinawan king.

He is famously credited with the "Seven Virtues of Martial Arts," teaching that the ultimate warrior must be a scholar of history and ethics. His combat philosophy was rooted in the concept of Sun-Tsu (strategy), where speed and timing were used to overwhelm an opponent before they could react. Every time a Shotokan practitioner performs Bassai Dai ("To Storm a Fortress"), they are practicing the explosive, direct entry method perfected by Matsumura.

Anko Itosu (1831–1915): The Grandfather of Modern Karate

Itosu was born in 1831 in Shuri, in the Kingdom of Ryukyu into a noble family. He received a strict upbringing and a thorough education, thanks to which he later worked as a secretary at the royal court (during the reign of the Second Dynasty of Shō). As a child, he was shy and sickly. To change this, from the age of 16 he began training martial arts - first with Master Nagahama, then with Master Gusukuma and with Sōkona "Bushi" Matsumura. After years of conditioning, his physique developed and Itosu was legendary for his incredible strength; it was said he could crush a thick stalk of bamboo with his bare hands and that his body was so conditioned he could withstand strikes from a wooden staff.

Despite his physical power, his greatest legacy was pedagogical. Itosu was a visionary who brought karate out of the shadows as a "secret" for the elite and into the Okinawan school system in 1901. He moved the focus from "killing techniques" to "character-building exercises," making the art safe for school children. He modified the dangerous techniques of the old form of Kokosun and created the five Pinan (Heian) katas. His "Ten Precepts" of 1908 laid the groundwork for exporting a refined version of the "Empty Hand" to mainland Japan.

With the consent of the authorities, Itosu began teaching Tode at Shuri Jinjo Elementary School. He developed a training program. In the years 1904-1907 for the purposes of teaching in schools. The revolution had begun.

Ankō Itosu died in 1915 at the age of 84. His most prominent students (Gichin Funakoshi, Chōshin Chibana, Kentsū Yabu, Chōmo Hanashiro, Chōki Motobu, Kanken Tōyama and Kenwa Mabuni) continued the work of their teacher - they taught and popularized Tode/Toudi (in the meantime increasingly called kara-te) in Japan, opened their own schools, wrote books. In 1917, the first Karate association called Karate Kenkyu Kai was founded in Shuri, in Kenwa Mabuni's house. In 1936, the famous champions conference was held in Naha, where the name Karate was officially established and the direction of further development was set. Without Itosu’s administrative genius, Karate likely would have remained an obscure island curiosity rather than a global phenomenon. https://shitoryu.pl/anko-itosu/

Anko Azato (1827–1906): The Invisible Master

Unlike the more public Itosu, Azato was a private, highly disciplined scholar-warrior. Azato was a military nobleman and Gichin Funakoshi’s primary mentor. A master of Shuri-te and an expert in swordsmanship, he taught the young Funakoshi in the dead of night, insisting on the perfection of a single kata for years. Azato championed the principle of "Karate ni sente nashi" (There is no first strike in karate) and instilled in Funakoshi the belief that a true martial artist must be equally proficient in both literary arts and combat (Bunbu Ryodo).

Azato was a brilliant tactician who believed that "to know the enemy and know yourself is the secret of victory." He kept meticulous records of every martial artist on the island, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. He taught Funakoshi that Karate is like boiling water: if you do not keep the fire high with constant practice, it will go cold. His insistence on perfection—making Funakoshi repeat the Tekki (Naihanchi) kata for three straight years—formed the iron discipline that allowed Shotokan to survive the hardships of its move to mainland Japan.

Gichin Funakoshi: The Father of Modern Karate

Gichin Funakoshi was born November 10, 1868 into a family of the Shizoku (noble) class in Yamakawa, Shuri. His childhood was defined by two things: physical frailty and a deep love for the Chinese classics. It was his search for health that led him to the doorsteps of Azato and Itosu. Funakoshi was a schoolteacher by trade, a fact that fundamentally shaped Shotokan. He didn't see himself as a "fighter," but as an educator.

Funakoshi became the bridge to the modern world. In 1922, he was invited to Tokyo to perform at a physical education exhibition. The demonstration impressed high-ranking martial artists, including Kano Jigoro (the founder of Judo), leading Funakoshi to remain in Tokyo to promote Karate as a total discipline.

To help Karate integrate into Japanese culture, Funakoshi made several adaptations:

The Kanji Shift: He transformed the characters for Karate to mean 

"Empty Hand" and added "Do" (The Way), aligning it with Japanese Budo.

Rank and Uniform: In 1924, he adopted the Kyū/Dan rank system and the white keikogi uniform from Judo.

Naming the Style: In 1936, his students built the first official dojo and named it the Shotokan (Hall of Shoto), using Funakoshi’s poetic pen name, "Shoto" (waving pines).

The Cultural Diplomat 

When Funakoshi moved to Tokyo in 1922, he lived in a dormitory for Okinawan students (Meishyo Juku), working as a caretaker and gardener while teaching karate in the lecture hall. He faced significant prejudice from the Japanese mainlanders, who viewed Okinawan arts as "provincial" or "crude." To overcome this, Funakoshi emphasized the philosophical depth of the art. He was an avid poet (using the pen name Shoto) and a calligrapher; he believed that a man who could not write a poem or appreciate a sunset had no business learning to strike.

Master Funakoshi changed the names of some of the kata in an effort to make the Okinawan kata names easier to pronounce in the Japanese dialect.

In 1924, Funakoshi adopted the Kyū / Dan rank system and the uniform (keikogi) developed by Kano Jigoro, the founder of Judo. This system uses colored belts (obi) to indicate rank. Originally, karate had only three belt colors: white, brown, and black (with ranks within each). The original belt system, still used by many Shotokan schools, is:

- 8th rising to 4th kyū: white

- 3rd rising to 1st kyū: brown

- 1st and higher dan: black

 In 1930, Funakoshi established an association named Dai-Nihon Karate-do Kenkyukai, which was re-named Dai-nippon Karete-do Shoto-kai in 1936. Shotokai (松濤會) exists today and promotes a style of karate that adheres to Funakoshi's teachings, in particular the notion that competition is contrary to the essence of karate. Shotokai also designates a formal practice method.

His Legacy of Peace:
Funakoshi’s greatest legacy could be considered the Niju Kun (The 20 Precepts). He famously detested the idea of sport competition, fearing it would turn his "Way" into a mere game of points and ego. He insisted that "Karate is not for winning; it is for not losing"—meaning the preservation of one's dignity and life without the need for aggression. When he passed away in 1957, he left behind a global movement that favored the "polishing of the mind" over the breaking of boards.

Yoshitaka (Gigo) Funakoshi (1906–1945): The Technical Architect

Gigo Funakoshi was also born in Okinawa and diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of seven. He was sickly as a child and began the formal study of karate at the age of twelve as a means to improve his health. In the early years, Gichin Funakoshi often took Gigo with him to his trainings with Yasutsune Itosu. 

Gigo evolutionized the style's physics and laid the foundations for modern Shotokan. He realized that the short, upright stances of Okinawan karate was more designed for self-defense in narrow alleys. He wanted a style that could match the explosive, long-range power of Japanese Kendo. Between 1936 and 1945, Gigo infused the art with a powerful Japanese flavor:

- Sword Influence: He integrated deep stances like Kiba Dachi and Kokutsu Dachi from his study of modern Kendo and Iaido. 

- Kumite: He developed Jiyu Kumite (free sparring), moving Shotokan away from static drills and into a dynamic, athletic discipline.

Gigō began to develop a karate technique that definitively separated Japanese karate-do from the local Okinawan arts. Between 1936 and 1945, Gigo gave it a completely different and powerful Japanese flavour based on his study of modern kendo (the way of the Japanese sword), and Iaido (the way of drawing the Japanese sword) under sensei Nakayama Hakudō. Gigo's work on Japanese Karate development was primarily popularized by masters Shigeru Egami and Genshin Hironishi, who later formed the Shotokai karate style.

Through his teaching position and understanding of Japanese martial arts, Gigō became the technical creator of modern Shotokan karate. In 1946 the book Karate Do Nyumon by Gigo and Gichin Funakoshi was released. 

Gigō developed long distance striking techniques using the low stances found in old style kendo and Iaido kata. Gigo also developed higher kicks including mawashi geri, yoko geri kekomi, yoko geri keage, fumikiri, ura mawashi geri and ushiro geri kekomi by referring to the foot technique of the French savate.  A major development of Gigo was the introduction of the Kiba Dachi instead of Shiko Dachi and implementing the Kokutsu Dachi (which he took from Japanese classical fencing or "kenjutsu") instead of Neko Ashi Dachi stance in Shotokan Kata.

Gigō's kumite (fighting) style was to strike hard and fast, using low stances and long attacks, chained techniques and foot sweeps (taken from old style Kendo and Judo). Integration of these changes into the Shotokan style immediately separated Shotokan from Okinawan karate. Gigo also emphasized the use of oi tsuki and gyaku tsuki and was renowned for highly intensive training classes. He expected this over-training would prepare them for an actual combat situation, should it arise. Gigo’s training was based on Fudo-shin (the immovable mind). He believed every single strike in practice should be delivered as if it were the last one you would ever throw.

The difficult living conditions of World War II weakened Gigo, but he continued training. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 39 on 24 November 1945, in Tokyo.

War, Reconstruction, and Global Expansion

World War II brought karate to the brink of extinction. The 1945 firebombing of Tokyo destroyed the original Shotokan dojo, and the death of Yoshitaka Funakoshi that same year left a leadership vacuum. Furthermore, the Allied occupation initially banned martial arts training. Funakoshi and his senior students successfully petitioned the authorities to lift the ban in 1948 by arguing that Karate was a form of physical education and character development.

Origin and Growth of the JKA

In 1949, the Japan Karate Association (JKA) was formed to unify the fragmented clubs. While Gichin Funakoshi was Supreme Master, the operational leadership fell to Masatoshi Nakayama. Nakayama applied scientific principles of physics to the movements and established the first rigorous "Instructor Program."

Starting in the late 1950s, elite instructors—including Kanazawa, Nishiyama, Kase, and Enoeda—were sent across the globe. This mission transformed Shotokan from a Japanese university club into the most practiced martial art in the world.

A Living Legacy

Today, Shotokan remains a testament to the vision and resilience of the Masters. It has evolved from a secret Okinawan tradition into a global pursuit of excellence. Every class begins and ends with a bow to Funakoshi -respect and the perfection of character is at the heart of karate.