Gichin Funakoshi (Funakoshi Gichin, November 10, 1868 – April 26, 1957) is the founder of Shotokan Karate-Do, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a “father of modern karate“. Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato, he was one of the Okinawan karate masters who introduced karate to the Japanese mainland in 1922. He taught karate at various Japanese universities and became honorary head of the Japan Karate Association upon its establishment in 1949.

Students:

Funakoshi’s students included his son Gigo; Hironori Otsuka, creator of Wado-ryu; and Mas Oyama, Isao Obata, Masatoshi Nakayama, Makoto Gima, Shigeru Egami, Teruyuki Okazaki, Tetsuhiko Asai, Yasuhiro Konishi, Hidetaka Nishiyama, Tsutomu Ohshima, Taiji Kase, Mitsusuke Harada, Hirokazu Kanazawa, Won Kuk Lee, Tetsuji Murakami, Yutaka Yaguchi, Won Kuk Lee, Byung Jik Ro, Choi Hong Hi.

Style and ranks:

His style consisted of  Shōrei-ryū, Shōrin-ryū, and Shotokan Karate. he achieved  5th dan, 10th dan. Gichin Funakoshi died a fifth dan in karate, the highest rank one could achieve at the time.

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 the niju kun, or “twenty principles”. These rules are the premise of training for all Shotokan practitioners and are published in a work titled The 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, and kumite. The famous Shotokan Tiger by Hoan adorns the hardback cover.