- Seishinkai
Seishinkai (聖心会) is an international organization for the promotion and teaching of
Shito-ryu Karate . It is now also considered a sub-style of Shito-ryu. Seishinkai is also an international shotokan karate organization based in the UK.Seishinkai started as a
dojo called Seishin-Kan, founded byKokuba Kosei onJune 6 ,1943 inOsaka , Japan. The name Seishi-Kan comes partly from theKanji for the temple located at the end of the street where Sensei Kokuba lived, Shotennoji. The character "Sho" can be pronounced "sho" or "sei" and means "pure." He believed that true Karate-Do comes from the heart so he called his dojo "Seishin" or "pure heart" dojo.During World War II, many of the
Okinawa n Karateka who left their homeland came toOsaka and visited the home of their old friend, Kokuba Sensei. In return for room and board these men often taught at the Seishin-Kan dojo and gave private lessons to Kokuba Sensei's young son, Kosho. The Seishin-Kan dojo became a well-known meeting place forbudo men in Osaka and many of the founders of Karate taught there.Kokuba Kosei was a devoted student of
Choki Motobu , and upon Motobu's death in 1947 he became the second soke of Motobu's branch of karate, known as Ryu-kyu Motobu-ha Karate-Do, and Seishin-kan became the center of the new organisation, Seishin-kai, promoting this style.In 1959, after the death of Kokuba Kosei, his only son Kuniba Shogo (Kosho) became the third soke of Motobu-ha Karate-do, and the 1st soke of Motobu-ha Shito-ryu Karate-do, a new style that he created by blending Motobu's karate with
Shito-ryu , which he learned fromKenwa Mabuni himself, and other styles that he was taught by the great masters who visited Seishin-kan. Since he was only 29 years old,Teruo Hayashi was appointed as technical advisor and president of Seishin-kai from 1959 until 1970.In 1983 Soke Kuniba left Japan and moved the center of operation for Motobu-ha Shito-ryu Karate-do to Portsmouth VA, and after his death in 1992,
Kunio Tatsuno became the fourth soke of Seishinkai, while Kuniba's dojo in the U.S. separated from Seishinkai and became its own organisation, Kuniba-kai Shito-ryu.Kunio Tatsuno died in an accident in 1999, and the fifth and current soke of Seishinkai isSadatomo Harada [ [http://www.shuriway.co.uk/sharada.html Sadatomo Harada] on Shuriway.co.uk] , one of the students ofKenwa Mabuni .References
External References
* [http://www.seishinkai.com International Seishinkai Karate Union]
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