Oldest History Present time About the Shaolin About the ninjas Gichin Funakoshi Masutatsu Oyama Choy Hong Hi Bruce Lee Jigoro Kano Morihei Uyeshiba Steven Seagal Cynthia Rothrock Other Links Home	A few words about Funakoshi. The founder of Shotokan Karate (compiled from different places on the web, Karate Dojos, etc.) Funakoshi, the founder of Modern Karate, felt everyone should study martial arts and in the 1920’s he became something of a karate ambassador. He believed the practice of his martial art cultivated a spirit of humility while developing the whole body as an instrument of self-defense. Through strong, disciplined training, he saw that it strengthened people mentally and physically so that a better harmony among people could be realized. His goal was to popularize his art to the Japanese and ultimately internationalize karate. It was during his early primary school years that he was first inntroduced to the study "Tode" or "Chinese Hand" under Master Yasutsune Azato, as his family felt that by studying the art of karate it might help to strengthen him physically and thus improve the quality of his life. A good student Gichin Funakoshi flourished under the tutelage of Master Azato to whose home he travelled each evening to practice karate. Later Master Azato would introduce him to another important teacher under whom he would also study, Master Yasutsune Itosu. It was these two men more than any others, who would have the greatest impact on his life. No longer interested in entering the medical school it was while studying karate that Gichin Funakoshi decided to become a school teacher, and so after passing the qualifying examination, he took charge of his first primary school class in 1888. It was a profession he was to follow for more than thirty years. A high point in Gichin Funakoshi's karate took place on March 6, 1921 when he had the honour of demonstrating the art of "Okinawan te" to then Crown Prince Hirohito during a visit he made to Okinawa. Then, in the Spring of 1922, Gichin Funakoshi traveled to Tokyo where he had been invited to present his art of Tode at the First National Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo, which had been organized by the Ministry of Education. After the demonstration he was strongly urged by several eminent groups and individuals to remain in Japan, and indeed he never did return to live in Okinawa. Gichin Funakoshi passed away in 1957 at the age of 88. Aside from creating Shotokan karate and introducing it to Japan and the world, he also wrote the very book on the subject of karate, "Ryukyu Kempo: Karate-do". He also wrote "Karate-Do Kyohan" - The Master Text, the "handbook" of Shotokan and he wrote his autobiography, "Karate-Do: My Way of Life". These books and his art are a fitting legacy for this unassuming and gentle man.