The man most responsible for the systemization of Karate as we know
it today was Gichin Funakoshi. He was born in Shuri, Okinawa in 1886.
When he was only a boy of 11, he began to study (then known as
"Okinawa-te") under the top two masters of the art at the time. Azato
and Itosu. In time, he became a Karate expert in his own right. He is
credited with being the first man to introduce Karate to Japan proper,
when he gave expositions sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The
art soon caught on in Japan, and Funakoshi traveled throughout the
country giving lectures and demonstrations. The main universities
invited him to help them set up Karate teams, and hundreds of persons
studies the art under his guidance. In 1957, Master Funakoshi, the
father of modern Karate, passed away at the advanced age of 89,
leaving thousands of students to carry his spirit. In Karate, Funakoshi
was also a poet under his pen name "Shoto:, meaning "Pine trees in
the sand" The style of karate which is taught then became known as
"Shotokan Karate".
