History of Shotokan

[Sho-ju]

Just wanted to start a thread about the different aspects of Shotokans history, etc. I'm not claiming to know the history of Shotokan, but will post links and quotes, if the info presented is wrong feel free to correct it. I'll start off with a quote, please add.

 

I guess the real history of modern Shotokan can be found not in Gichin Funakoshi but his son Yoshitaka, who is often given credit for making the jutsu into a do.

 

It is Yoshitaka that has resulted in the karate that Shotokan exponents today practice Yoshitaka is known to have developed longer, deeper stances to create more strength, his kicks were more dynamic and the attacking techniques were developed even further all with the patronage of his father. Around 1930, Yoshitaka took over the running of his fathers main dojo in Japan and continued until 1944/45.

 

Yoshitaka was instrumental in introducing many more katas to the Shotokan system which he had learned from Azat. He was also instrumental in developing katas such as Ten No Kata, Chi No Kata, Hito No Kata, the five Heian katas, the three Tekki katas, Kanku Dai, Kanku Sho, Empi, Gankaku, Jutte, Hangetsu, Jion, Meikyo.

 

http://www.esakarate.freeserve.co.uk/brief_history_of_shotokan_karate.htm

[Shorin Ryuu]

I don't know as much about Yoshitaka, but I would modify the latter paragraph. As the first sentence implies that he adapted kata, the second second implies (maybe just semantics) that he developed (formulated) those kata. It might be more accurate to say that he modified those kata rather than develop them. It is true that he developed them in the Shotokan context, but the term "develop kata" is used more often with the connotations of creating rather than the modification, which is present in almost all styles. Almost all of that I recognize offhand are Japanese names for Okinawan kata.

 

At any rate, this is right, Funakoshi's karate was very different from his son's, although I think it is very unfair to Funakoshi to say that he did not include the "do" aspect of it. Most people consider Funakoshi to be the father of all "karate-do". You can see in his writings the dramatic shift from pure jutsu to do that his focus undergoes.

 

I think philosophically, the "do" aspect was already firmly in place from the efforts of Funakoshi and Yoshitaka changed more of the principles and techniques of the fighting. I have my criticisms on this, and as usual, if any one wants to hear them, email me via my profile (real, not the messaging system).

 

Bottom line: I think Funakoshi deserves more credit than this excerpt provides. As it is an excerpt, I do not know the full context of it, but it just seems unfair to him.

[Sho-ju]

It's been said and written about many times by early shotokan karateka, Yoshitaka did the changes but it was always with the ok of his father.

 

I've also read that Yoshitaka was greatly respected on Okinawa, this accounts for the masters on the island teaching him kata. One article (can't remember where, but easy to find on google) stated that when Yoshitaka entered the dojo the whole atmosphere changed.

 

Here's a little more I found: The development of modern day Shotokan, can be in the most part, accredited to Gichin Funakoshi's third son, Yoshitaka. It is Yoshitaka's influence that has resulted in the karate that Shotokan exponents practice today. Yoshitaka is known to have developed longer, deeper stances to create more strength, his kicks were more dynamic and the attacking techniques were developed even further.

 

Around 1930, Yoshitaka took over the running of his fathers main dojo in Japan. Yoshitaka was instrumental in introducing many more katas to the Shotokan system which he had learned from Sensei Azato. Yoshitaka was ill, however, and was told when he was a boy that he would not live beyond his twenties due to tuberculosis. However, through hard training he lived into his fortys.

 

Yoshitaka taught at the Shotokan dojo until 1944/45 but by 1945 he was seriously ill and much of the teaching was carried out by Genshin Hironishi. Without a doubt from 1932/33 until 1945, Yoshitaka had a enormous influence on the way Shotokan karate developed. However when he died, Gichin Funakoshi had to come out of "retirement" to take over from where his son had left off, to oversee the training at the Shotokan. http://www.the-esa.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/karateorig.htm

 

So much of karate history is conjecture, I guess that's the problem with spoken history.

 

sj

[Sho-ju]

http://www.karatedoshotokai.com/interview/index.asp

 

More on Yoshitaka and the development of karate.