Recognized as the "father of modern karate," Gichin Funakoshi is the founder of Shotokan Karate-do, one of the most widely known styles of karate.
Gichin Funakoshi was born on November 10, 1868, the year of the Meiji restoration, in Shuri, Okinawa-to a low-rank Ryūkyūan Pechin under the family name Tominakoshi. Funakoshi was born prematurely. His father's name was Gisu. After entering primary school, he became close friends with the son of AnkōAzato, a karate and Jigen-ryū master, who would soon become his first karate teacher. Funakoshi's family was stiffly opposed to abolishing the Japanese topknot, which meant he was ineligible to pursue his goal of attending medical school despite having passed the entrance examination. Trained in both classical Chinese and Japanese philosophies and teachings, Funakoshi became an assistant teacher in Okinawa. During this time, his relations with the Azato family grew, and he began nightly travels to the Azato family residence to receive karate instruction from AnkōAzato.
Throughout his life, Gichin Funakoshi was a very humble man. He preached essential humility in his writings, which he also practiced daily. He preached humility not as a virtue but as the basic humility of a man "who is rooted in the true perspective of things, full of life and awareness."
Funakoshi said, "The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants."
