Shotokan Karate was founded by Gichin Funakoshi. As a youth in Okinawa, he studied martial arts under the tutelage of Yasutsune Azato and Yasutsune Itosu, both great masters of the arts.

Moving to Japan, Funakoshi began teaching his art to the Japanese. He constantly refined and adapted his style of martial arts. In 1922 the "Shotokan", which means "House of Shoto", opened in Japan. His success in the developement of Shotokan is evident to this day by it's international acceptance and practice.