ZanchinKarate-Do

Shito-Ryu history · 1889 – today

Two masters. One path.

Shito-Ryu was born when Kenwa Mabuni, a master from Shuri, joined Okinawa's two great schools of karate into one. This is the story of the style we teach at Zanchin.

See the timeline

In short

Shito-Ryu (糸東流) is one of the four major styles of Japanese karate. It was founded by Kenwa Mabuni (1889–1952), who trained under Anko Itosu (Shuri-te) and Kanryo Higaonna (Naha-te) in Okinawa, moved to Osaka in 1929 and named his style after the first kanji of each teacher in the early 1930s. It is known for having more than 60 kata.

Founder
Kenwa Mabuni
Origin
Shuri, Okinawa → Osaka
Roots
Shuri-te + Naha-te
Kata
60+

The name: Itosu plus Higaonna

Mabuni took the first character of each teacher's name: 糸 from Itosu and 東 from Higaonna. Together they read Shi-tō. His style honors both.

Timeline

  1. 1800s

    Okinawa's "te"

    In the old Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa's native fighting art (te) blends with Chinese martial arts. Two great schools grow up, named for their towns: Shuri-te and Naha-te.

  2. 1853

    Kanryo Higaonna is born

    In Naha. As a young man he trains in Fuzhou, China, and returns as the leading master of Naha-te: breathing, tension and close-range power.

  3. 1889

    Kenwa Mabuni is born

    On 14 November in Shuri, Okinawa, into a family descended from the warrior Uni Ufugusuku.

  4. 1901

    Karate enters the schools

    Anko Itosu, master of Shuri-te, brings karate into Shuri's elementary school. To teach children he creates the Pinan kata we still practice today.

  5. c. 1902

    Mabuni, age 13

    He begins training under Itosu. Years later, introduced by Chojun Miyagi, he also trains under Higaonna. He learns from other masters too, including Seisho Aragaki and Go Kenki.

  6. 1914

    Police officer

    After military service he joins the Naha police, serving about ten years and teaching karate to fellow officers.

  7. 1929

    To Osaka

    Mabuni moves to Osaka to teach full-time. He first calls his style Hanko-ryu, "the half-hard style."

  8. 1930s

    The name Shito-Ryu

    In the early 1930s he adopts the name Shito-Ryu (sources give dates from 1931 to 1934). In 1934 he opens his Yoshukan dojo in Osaka.

  9. 1939

    Official recognition

    Shito-Ryu is registered with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, the body that governed Japan's martial arts, and Mabuni receives the title of Renshi.

  10. 1952

    The founder passes

    Kenwa Mabuni dies on 23 May in Tokyo, aged 62. His sons Kenei and Kenzo, and students like Manzo Iwata, carry his work forward.

  11. 1964

    A national style

    All-Japan Shito-kai is unified, and Shito-Ryu becomes one of the four major styles that found Japan's national karate federation.

  12. 1993

    Shito-Ryu goes global

    The World Shitoryu Karatedo Federation is founded and holds its first World Championships.

  13. 2021

    Olympic karate

    Karate debuts at the Tokyo 2020 Games (held in 2021) with kata and kumite events. Shito-Ryu kata are on the World Karate Federation's official list.

  14. Today

    Zanchin, Hialeah

    In Bay 9 on 84th Street, Kyoshi Luis Sanchez (7th Dan) and the Sosa family teach Shito-Ryu to kids, teens and adults, in English and Spanish.

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Karate masters seated together in a Tokyo dojo in the 1930s, a calligraphy scroll above them

Archive · Tokyo, 1930s

When karate came to Japan

In the 1920s and 30s, Okinawan masters traveled to Tokyo and Osaka to teach. Mabuni made several trips to Tokyo to demonstrate karate, then settled in Osaka, where he taught at universities and to the police.

Photo: "Masters of Karate," public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The lineage

From 19th-century Okinawa to our mats in Hialeah. Knowledge travels the old way: teacher to student.

Shito-Ryu lineage Anko Itosu of Shuri-te and Kanryo Higaonna of Naha-te both taught Kenwa Mabuni, founder of Shito-Ryu. His sons Kenei and Kenzo Mabuni and his student Manzo Iwata led the main branches, including Shito-kai and Seito Shito-Ryu. Shito-Ryu is practiced today around the world, including at Zanchin Karate Do in Hialeah. Anko ItosuShuri-te · 糸 Kanryo HigaonnaNaha-te · 東 Kenwa Mabuni1889 – 1952 · 糸東流 Kenei Mabuni1918 – 2015 Manzo Iwata1924 – 1993 · Shito-kai Kenzo Mabuni1927 – 2005 · Seito Zanchin Karate DoHialeah, Florida · Shito-Ryu

Other well-known Shito-Ryu branches include Shukokai, Seishinkai, Itosu-ryu, Shobukan, Kenshukai and Kotaka-ha.

60+ kata

Shito-Ryu has one of the largest kata curricula in karate, because Mabuni preserved the forms of both his teachers and added his own. These are some of the core ones.

A hanging scroll with the calligraphy 残心, zanshin

糸 Itosu line

Shuri-te · quick, direct, linear

  • Pinan Shodan – Godan
  • Naihanchi Shodan – Sandan
  • Bassai Dai · Bassai Sho
  • Kosokun Dai · Kosokun Sho
  • Chinto
  • Jion · Jitte · Jiin
  • Rohai
  • Wanshu
  • Matsukaze

東 Higaonna line

Naha-te · circular, breath, power

  • Sanchin · Tensho
  • Gekisai
  • Saifa
  • Seienchin
  • Shisochin
  • Sanseiru
  • Seipai
  • Kururunfa
  • Seisan
  • Suparinpei

流 Other masters & Mabuni

From Aragaki, other masters and the founder

  • Unshu
  • Sochin
  • Niseishi
  • Aoyagi (Seiryu)
  • Juroku
  • Shinpa
  • Shinsei
  • Myojo

Names and versions vary slightly between branches. At Zanchin, each belt has its own kata — your sensei will tell you which ones are yours.

Shito-Ryu today

A century-old art, alive in dojos, tournaments and the Olympic Games.

4

Major Japanese styles

Shito-Ryu, Shotokan, Goju-Ryu and Wado-Ryu. In 1964, Shito-kai was one of the founding styles of Japan's national federation.

2021

Olympic debut

Karate entered the Tokyo 2020 Games with kata and kumite. Shito-Ryu kata such as Matsukaze, Papuren, Unshu and Suparinpei are on the WKF's official list.

1960s

Arrives in the USA

Instructors such as Fumio Demura in California and Chuzo Kotaka in Hawaii helped root Shito-Ryu in the United States.

Shito-Ryu questions

The short answers parents look for.

Who founded Shito-Ryu?

Kenwa Mabuni (1889–1952), a master from Shuri, Okinawa, who trained under Anko Itosu and Kanryo Higaonna. He moved to Osaka in 1929 and named his style Shito-Ryu in the early 1930s.

What does Shito-Ryu mean?

糸東流 joins the first kanji of his two teachers: 糸 (shi) from Itosu and 東 (to) from Higaonna. Ryu means school or style.

How many kata does it have?

More than 60, from the Itosu and Higaonna lines, other masters and Mabuni himself. It's one of the most complete curricula in karate.

Is Shito-Ryu good for kids?

Yes. It mixes Shuri-te's quick technique with Naha-te's control and breathing. Itosu's Pinan kata were created specifically to teach children in school.

Is Shito-Ryu in the Olympics?

Karate debuted at Tokyo 2020 (in 2021) with kata and kumite. Shito-Ryu kata are part of the World Karate Federation's official list.

Sources

Some dates differ between sources (for example, the year the name Shito-Ryu was adopted, 1931–1934). Where they disagree, we give the range.

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