Gichin Funakoshi was born in 1868 in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture. He studied Karate-do from childhood under Masters Azato and Itosu.
He founded the Shotokan association for the Spirit of Martial Arts. The word Shotokan is derived from "Shoto", which was Master Funakoshi's pen name, and means "Waving Pines", and "Kan", meaning "Hall".
His influence on Karate was so great that he is credited with changing the meaning of the Chinese characters for "Kara-te" from Chinese Hand to Empty Hand.
The Master died April 26th 1957 in Tokyo, but his karate has gone from strength to strength and is now practiced all over the world.
There has been a wealth of material written about Master Funakoshi, and this website does not attempt to plagiarise the hard work of others. We recommend you read "Karate-Do - My Way of Life", which is the Master's story in his own words.
