History

Below is a condensed version of the history of Kofukan – Shito-ryu Karate-do Kofukan International – taken from KofukanKarate.com written from the perspective of Shihan Keiji Tomiyama. Edited by Vanessa McKay and first published on KarateForLife.net.

1970: Master Tani, Soke of Tani-ha Shito-ryu Karate-do Kempo Shukokai, asked Doshisha University Karate Club students whether any of them would like to assist in the development of Tani-ha Shito-ryu abroad and go to America to assist Sensei Kimura or to Europe to assist Sensei Suzuki. It was intended to be for one or two years after graduation, before settling down to be ‘company men’ back in Japan. Out of the three who said yes, two finally made the journey from Tokyo to Paris in March 1972. These were Naoki Omi and Keiji Tomiyama, now Joint Chief Instructors of Tani-ha Shito-ryu Karate-do Kofukan International. Not quite ‘company men’ in the recognized sense, they are nevertheless dedicated to one organization, and that is the karate association which has now spread around the world.

1972: However, the Chief Instructor for Europe at the time was Sensei Yasuhiro Suzuki. He was assisted by Senseis Hanai, Ikazaki and Shimabukuro, who each had their own specialities. Life with the two ‘new boys’ settled down to a routine of lessons in French, informal training among themselves and visiting the different karate clubs in the evening. In the summer their number increased again, when Miss Ishimaru and Mr. Hayashi arrived. In that same year a Shukokai Championship was held in Stockholm. Sensei Suzuki was of course in charge of Tani-ha Shito-ryu Shukokai in Europe at that time, but without as yet a structured organization. The main countries involved were France, England, Yugoslavia and Sweden, with small groups in Norway and Belgium.

1973: Sensei Suzuki moved to work at his company’s Brussels office, taking Keiji Tomiyama with him to teach in Belgium.

1974: In the spring a large “Central Dojo” was opened in Brussels and members of S.W.K.U. (England) attended for two week-long seminars. After this, Mr. Hayashi was sent to England to teach where he stayed for about a year.

From 1976 till 1978, the Euro-Cup was held each year at Pepinster, a small Belgian town near the German border.

In 1975, the large “Central Dojo” had to be closed and a smaller one was found near the Gare du Nord. This Dojo became the headquarters of S.W.K.U.E. (Shukokai World Karate Union Europe) until 1978.

The association continued to develop, alongside some groups who adhered to Master Kimura’s organization, which is why there are two or more Shukokai organizations in some countries.

1977: We started to issue our newsletter “Forum” twice yearly. “Forum” continued to be published until 1982.

In 1978, Keiji Tomiyama moved to England leaving Sensei Shimabukuro to look after Belgium.

1979 : The Euro-Cup was held in Paris. Keiji Tomiyama was appointed General-Secretary. It was decided to formalize our organization and to collect a membership fee from every member to pay for administration costs and services. Belgium disagreed and so had to leave the organization. Sensei Shimabukuro left Belgium to engage in business and the “Central Dojo” was closed, bringing the era of Tani-ha Shito-ryu in Belgium to an end.

1980 : The Euro-Cup was held in Peterborough, England. Sensei Suzuki attended the event and conducted a grading examination for Mess. Omi, Okubo, Kamohara and Tomiyama in lieu of demonstrations during the event: all were awarded 5th Dan.

Also in 1980, Master Tani visited Europe with his wife and several instructors. On that occasion, Master Tani asked for a World Cup to be organized the following year in Europe. So, we organized a World Cup in Edinburgh in 1981. Master Tani brought Mr. & Mrs. Inagaki with him, who later formed Nippon Kofukan.

Sensei Suzuki finally went back to Japan that year, called by his company, thus Senseis Omi and Tomiyama became the leaders of the organization. Some other Japanese instructors had also by this time left the organization, leaving just three resident in Europe, including Hiroshi Okubo.