Meijin Funakoshi did quite a lot to promote
his art in his homeland of Okinawa and soon
his style of karate came to be known in
Japan (which as we all know had a very rich
martial history)
In 1917 he was invited to demonstrate his
style of karate at the Butokuden in Kyoto.
While in Japan, Funakoshi traveled and
continued to give exhibitions.
In 1922 the Japanese Ministry of
Education asked Funakoshi to participate in
a demonstration of ancient Japanese martial
arts at the Women's Higher Normal School in
Tokyo. This was Shotokan's "Big" break.
After the demonstration, Gichin was
approached by Jigaro Kano, the founder of
judo. He asked Funakoshi to stay longer in
Japan and show him (Kano) some basic
techniques.
Months later, when he next tried to leave,
Funakoshi was approached by the painter Hoan
Kosugi who wanted instruction in karate for
himself and members of his artists group.
So, Funakoshi postponed returning home and
began the first organized teaching of karate
in Japan at the Tabata Poplar Club. While
teaching at Tabata, Funakoshi decided to
remain in Japan, where he spent the rest of
his life teaching karate to the Japanese
people.
While in Japan, Funakoshi wrote the first
book ever on karate, entitled "RyuKyu Kempo:
Karate". The book was designed by Hoan
Kosugi, who is also credited with designing
the Shotokan tiger. Four years later the
book was re-released with the new title "Renten
Goshin Karate-jitsu". His next book,
"Karate-do Kyohan" was written in 1935.
In 1928, he was asked to give a
demonstration for the royal family of Japan.
For Funakoshi this would have been enough an
honor, but it was made all the greater
because the demonstration was done on the
palace grounds!. Since then Karate's
popularity continued to grow. Karate clubs
had been and continued to spring up at
colleges, universities and businesses
throughout Japan.
All this time, Funakoshi kept a dojo at the
Meisei Juku. However, time and an 1923
earthquake eventually created the need for a
new place to train. Funakoshi was offered to
use space at the kendo hall of Hiromichi
Nakayama. Eventually, Funakoshi was given
another great honor Nationwide, karate
practitioners chipped in to pay for the
construction of a dojo dedicated to the
instruction of Funakoshi's karate. Finally
In 1936, the Shotokan was born!
In 1949, the Japan Karate Association was
established, with Master Funakoshi as the
chief instructor. The Japan Karate
Association organized a very thorough
instructors course, which included a variety
of subjects. This course develops trainees
into highly qualified instructors.
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