Hironori Ōtsuka (大塚博紀, Ōtsuka Hironori)
(1892�1982) created the
Wadō-ryū
style of karate. He was the first Grand Master of Wadō-ryū
karate.
Ōtsuka was born on 1 June 1892 in Shimodate City, Ibaraki, Japan. He was
the second of four children to Tokujiro Ōtsuka. He began training in the
martial art of jujutsu under the tutelage of his great-uncle, Chojiro
Ebashi. Ōtsuka's father took over his martial arts education in 1897,
and he began studying Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu. At age 13, Ōtsuka
became the student of Shinzaburo Nakayama in Shindō Yōshin-ryū.[1]
In 1922, Ōtsuka began karate training under Gichin Funakoshi. At this
time, Ōtsuka held the license menkyo kaiden in Shindō Yōshin-ryū. He
also established a medical practice and specialized in treating martial
arts training injuries. From 1922�1929, Ōtsuka became an assistant
instructor in Funakoshi's school, and also became a registered member of
the Japan Martial Arts Federation. Ōtsuka began to have philosophical
disagreements with Funakoshi.[citation needed] This may have come, in
part, from his decision to train with Chōki Motobu. Funakoshi's karate
emphasized kata, a series of movements and techniques linked by the
fighting principles. Funakoshi did not believe that sparring was
necessary for realistic training. Motobu, however, emphasized the
necessity of free application, and created a series of two-person kumite
called yakusoku kumite.
Ōtsuka continued to gain recognition as he expanded the teaching of
Wadō-ryū karate throughout Japan. In 1964, three of his students (Tatsuo
Suzuki, Toru Arakawa, and Hajime Takashima) from the Nihon University
Karate Club undertook a two-month tour of Europe and the USA. They
performed 49 demonstrations in this period and, as a result, Suzuki was
invited back to London as a resident instructor.[citation needed]
In 1972, Ōtsuka received the title of Meijin and the rank of 10th dan by
the Japanese royal family's Higashi No Kuni no Miya, President of the
Kokusai Budo Renmei (International Martial Arts Federation). It was the
first such honor ever bestowed upon a karate teacher in Japan.[citation
needed] Ōtsuka continued to teach and lead Wadō-ryū karate into the
1980s, and died on 29 January 1982. His son became the second Grand
Master of Wadō-ryū karate and honored his father by taking the name
"Hironori Ōtsuka II."