Gichin Funakoshi

In thisOkinawan name,thesurnameisFunakoshi.

Gichin Funakoshi
Born	(1868-11-10)November 10, 1868 Shuri,Okinawa,Ryukyu Kingdom
Died	April 26, 1957(1957-04-26)(aged 88) Tokyo, Japan
Native name	Thuyền việt nghĩa trân
Other names	Funakoshi Gichin(Phú danh yêu nghĩa trân),Shōtō(TùngĐào)
Style	Shōrei-ryū,Shōrin-ryū,andShotokanKarate
Teacher(s)	Ankō Asato,Ankō Itosu,Matsumura Sōkon,Arakaki Seishō
Rank	5th dan, 10thdan(posthumous)
Notable students	Gigō Funakoshi(his son),Hironori Ōtsuka,Isao Obata,Masatoshi Nakayama,Makoto Gima,Shigeru Egami,Tomosaburo Okano, Teruyuki Okazaki,Tetsuhiko Asai,Yasuhiro Konishi,Hidetaka Nishiyama,Tsutomu Ohshima,Taiji Kase,Mitsusuke Harada,Hirokazu Kanazawa,Won Kuk Lee,Masutatsu Oyama,Tetsuji Murakami,Yutaka Yaguchi,Won Kuk Lee,Byung Jik Ro,Choi Hong Hi,Keinosuke Enoeda

Gichin Funakoshi(Thuyền việt nghĩa trân,Funakoshi Gichin,November 10, 1868 – April 26, 1957)was the founder ofShotokan karate.He is known as a "father of modern karate".Following the teachings ofAnko ItosuandAnko Asato,he was one of the Okinawankaratemasterswho introduced karate to the Japanese mainland in 1922, following its earlier introduction by his teacher Itosu. He taught karate at various Japanese universities and became honorary head of theJapan Karate Associationupon its establishment in 1949. In addition to being a karate master, Funakoshi was an avidpoetandphilosopher.His son,Gigō Funakoshi,is widely credited with developing the foundation of the modern karate Shotokan style.

Early life

Gichin Funakoshi was born on November 10, 1868,the year of theMeiji Restoration,inShuri, Okinawa,to a RyūkyūanPechin.Funakoshi was bornprematurely.His father's name was Gisu.He was ofsamurailineage, from a family which in former times had been vassals ofRyukyu Dynastynobles.

After entering primary school he became close friends with the son ofAnkō Asato,a karate andJigen-ryūmaster who would soon become his first karate teacher.Funakoshi's family was stiffly opposed to the Meiji government's abolition of the Japanesetopknot,and this meant that he would be ineligible to pursue his goal of attending medical school (where topknots were banned), despite having passed the entrance examination.Being trained in both classical Chinese and Japanese philosophies and teachings, Funakoshi became an assistant teacher in Okinawa. During this time, his relations with the Asato family grew and he began nightly travels to the Asato family residence to receive karate instruction from Ankō Asato.

Shotokan Karate

Funakoshi had trained in both of the popular styles of Okinawankarateof the time:Shōrei-ryūandShōrin-ryū.Shotokan is named after Funakoshi's pen name,Shōtō(TùngĐào), which means "waving pines".Kanmeans training hall or house, thusShōtōkan( tùng đào quán ) referred to the "house of Shōtō". This name was coined by Funakoshi's students when they posted a sign above the entrance of the hall at which Funakoshi taught. In addition to being a karate master, Funakoshi was an avidpoetandphilosopherwho would reportedly go for long walks in the forest where he wouldmeditateand write his poetry.

Gichin Funakoshi performing the first moves of kataHeian Nidan.

By the late 1910s, Funakoshi had many students, of which a few were deemed capable of passing on their master's teachings. Continuing his effort to garner widespread interest in Okinawan karate, Funakoshi ventured to mainland Japan in 1917, and again in 1922.In 1922 Funakoshi (aged 53) and Makoto Gima (aged 26) were invited to theKodokanby Judo MasterJigoro Kanoto perform a karate demonstration. It was this demonstration that inevitably made karate popular in the mainland.

In 1930, Funakoshi established an association named Dai-Nihon Karate-do Kenkyukai to promote communication and information exchange among people who study karate-dō. In 1936, Dai-Nippon Karate-do Kenkyukai changed its name to Dai-Nippon Karate-do Shoto-kai.The association is known today asShotokai,and is the official keeper of Funakoshi's karate heritage.

In 1936, Funakoshi built the first Shōtōkandojo(training hall) in Tokyo. While on the Japanese mainland, he changed thewritten charactersof karate to mean "empty hand" ( không thủ ) instead of "China hand" ( đường thủ ) (literallyTang dynasty) to downplay its connection toChinese boxing.Karate had borrowed many aspects from Chinese boxing. Funakoshi also argued in his autobiography that a philosophical evaluation of the use of "empty" seemed to fit as it implied a way which was not tethered to any other physical object.

Funakoshi's re-interpretation of thecharacterkarain karate to mean "empty" (Không) rather than "Chinese" (Đường) caused some tension with traditionalists back in Okinawa, prompting Funakoshi to remain inTokyoindefinitely.In 1949 Funakoshi's students created theJapan Karate Association(JKA), with Funakoshi as the honorary head of the organization. However, in practise this organization was led byMasatoshi Nakayama.The JKA began formalizing Funakoshi's teachings.

Illness and death

Funakoshi developedosteoarthritisin 1948, and died on April 26, 1957.

Legacy

Funakoshi published several books on karate including his autobiography,Karate-Do: My Way of Life.His legacy, however, rests in a document containing his philosophies of karate training now referred to as theniju kun,or "twenty principles". These rules are the premise of training for all Shotokan practitioners and are published in a work titledThe Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate.Within this book, Funakoshi lays out 20 rules by which students of karate are urged to abide in an effort to "become better human beings".Funakoshi's Karate-Do Kyohan "The Master Text" remains his most detailed publication, containing sections on history, basics,kata,andkumite.The famous Shotokan Tiger by Hoanadorns the hardback cover.

Memorial

Memorial of Funakoshi at Engaku-ji temple in Kamakura, south of Tokyo

A memorial to Gichin Funakoshi was erected by the Shotokai atEngaku-ji,a temple inKamakura,on December 1, 1968. Designed by Kenji Ogata the monument features calligraphy by Funakoshi andSōgen Asahina(1891–1979), chief priest of the temple which readsKarate ni sente nashi(There is no first attack in karate), the second of Funakoshi's Twenty Precepts. To the right of Funakoshi's precept is a copy of the poem he wrote on his way to Japan in 1922.

A second stone features an inscription by Nobuhide Ohama and reads:

Funakoshi Gichin Sensei, of karate-do, was born on November 10, 1868 in Shuri Okinawa. From about eleven years old he began to study to-te jutsu underAzato AnkoandItosu Anko.He practiced diligently and in 1912 became the president of the Okinawan Shobukai. In May 1922, he relocated to Tokyo and became a professional teacher of karate-do. He devoted his entire life to the development of karate-do. He lived out his eighty-eight years of life and left this world on April 26, 1957. Reinterpreting to-te jutsu, the Sensei promulgated karate-do while not losing its original philosophy. Like bugei (classical martial arts), so too is the pinnacle of karate “mu” (enlightenment): to purify and make one empty through the transformation from “jutsu” to “do”. Through his famous words "Không thủ に tiên thủ なし" (karate ni sente nashi) meaningThere is no first attack in Karateand không thủ は quân tử の võ vân (karate wa kunshi no bugei) meaningKarate is the martial art of intelligent people,Sensei helped us to better understand the term “jutsu.” In an effort to commemorate his virtue and great contributions to modern karate-do as a pioneer, we, his loyal students, organised the Shotokai and erected this monument at the Enkakuji. “Kenzen ichi” ( “The fist and Zen are one” ).

Publications

• Funakoshi, Gichin (1922).Tō-te Ryūkyū Kenpō ( đường thủ: Lưu cầu quyền pháp ).
• Funakoshi, Gichin (1925).Karate Jutsu ( đường thủ thuật )(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2015-09-24.Retrieved2014-11-29.
• Funakoshi, Gichin (1935).Karate-Do Kyohan ( không thủ đạo giáo phạm )(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2014-11-29.Retrieved2014-03-04.
• Funakoshi, Gichin (1973).Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text.Translated byTsutomu Ohshima.Tokyo: Kodansha International.ISBN978-0-87011-190-7.
• Funakoshi, Gichin (1975).The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate: The Spiritual Legacy of the Master.Translated by John Teramoto. Tokyo: Kodansha International.ISBN978-4-7700-2796-2.
• Funakoshi, Gichin (1981) [1975].Karate-Do: My Way of Life.Tokyo: Kodansha International.ISBN978-0-87011-463-2.
• Funakoshi, Gichin (1994) [1988].Karate-Do Nyumon: The Master Introductory Text.Translated by John Teramoto. Tokyo: Kodansha International.ISBN978-4-7700-1891-5.
• Funakoshi, Gichin (2001).Karate Jutsu: The Original Teachings of Master Funakoshi.Translated byTsutomu Ohshima.Tokyo: Kodansha International.ISBN978-4-7700-2681-1.
• Funakoshi, Gichin (2010).The Essence of Karate.Translated by Richard Berger. Tokyo: Kodansha International.ISBN978-4-7700-3118-1.
• Funakoshi, Gichin:Introduction to Karate,Translated by Henning Wittwer, 2023.ISBN979-8375355658.

See also

• List of Shotokan organizations