Shigeru Egami: the Hidden Karate Master

Shotokan is one of the most widely practiced styles of karate. Shotokan as we know it today was created after Gichin Funakoshi passed away and some of his senior students decided to make some changes that would widen the appeal of Funakoshi's karate, which led to the formation of the Japan Karate Association, ie Shotokan karate.

But not all of Funakoshi's students bought into this. They didn't think a wider appeal was necessarily the best thing. They wanted to stick to the way they themselves were taught.

Chief among them was Shigeru Egami, who practiced what he called "Shotokai" karate, which is largely a throwback to the way he was taught by Master Funakoshi.

Below is an excerpt from an article about Master Egami that appeared at Finding Karate. The full post may be read here. Enjoy.

Shigeru Egami has been described as fearsome and possessing both physical and psychological strength. Although not commonly recognized in the West, Egami is considered Gichin Funakoshi’s one student who most closely followed his Principles, especially in the believe that Karate was not just a physical pursuit.

Egami was born on the 7th December 1912 in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Like most children of the time his first experience of the martial arts was in Judo, starting at the age of 13.
By the time Egami entered Waseda University in 1932 he had been practicing Judo for a number of years. He had also been practicing Kendo and Aikijutsu, an early form of Aikido.
At Waseda doing some form of sport was a requirement to obtaining a degree. Karate was still fairly new in Japan, having only being introduced ten years earlier by Funakoshi. As a way of promoting the art, Funakoshi taught the art in several universities. Formed in 1936 the Waseda University Karate club is one of the oldest in Japan.
Egami joined Waseda’s Karate club, training under Takeshi Shimoda, Funakoshi’s assistant. Shimoda is often considered to be Funakoshi’s most talented students, having trained with him since 1922. Motonobu Hironishi, who would go on to become President of the Shotokai organisation, also started at the Karate club at this time.
Shimoda died in his early thirties from pneumonia. Some sources state he died in 1932. However the common consensus is that he died in 1934. His teaching duties were taken up by Yoshitaka Funakoshi.
Yoshitaka Funikoshi was Funakoshi’s third son. Much of the advancement in Shotokan Karate can be attributed to him. He introduced the characteristic Shotokan long stance and also various kicking techniques. His dynamic style made him popular among the younger students.
The 1930s saw Egami travelling around Japan with Yoshitaka Funakoshi, giving various Karate demonstrations. The aim of these trips were to promote Karate. Also 1935 saw the formation of the Shotokai association, which brought together all of Gichin Funakoshi’s students.
After graduating from university Egami had the option of getting a good job through his father’s connections. However he worked as a waiter so that he could continue his Karate training.
In 1937 Gichin Funakoshi appointed Egami to the Shotokan Committee for evaluation. He was the youngest instructor to be given the honor. A little after this time he was called up for active military service. However, he was released after only four day as it was found that he was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis.
In 1939 Egami worked for the Department of of War at the Nakano School, an institute for the training of elite forces personnel. Yoshitka Funikoshi and Tadao Okuyama were also teaching with him.
The period of 1941 to 1945 was mixed for Egami. He was married in 1941 and by 1945 his wife had given birth to two of his three sons. Between 1942 and 1945 many of his peers and Gichin Funakoshi’s students were killed during the Pacific conflict of World War Two. 1945 saw the destruction of the Shotokan dojo during a sustained bombing of Tokyo. The dojo located in Zoshigaya had been the first Karate dojo built in in Japan, in 1936. During the bombing raid his house was destroyed. He and his family had to live in the ruins. 1945 saw the death of his teacher and friend, Yoshitaka Funakoshi, from gangrene of the lungs.
After the war many of Gichin Funakoshi’s students who had had survived wanted to resume their pre-war Karate training. However, through lack of training some of those students’ technical skills had declined. To address this decline of technique the Nippon Karate Kyokai (Japan Karate Association) was formed in 1949. The aim of the association was to gather Karate knowledge. Funakoshi was named Technical Director of the JKA. It should be noted that a few years earlier Egami had become his assistant, helping him with teaching duties.
In 1948 Egami’s third son was born. In that same year he opened a dojo in Mitsui Miike factory.
The 1950s saw Egami increase his teaching duties. At Waseda University he was manager of the Karate club. He was also a lecturer in Physical Education at Chuo, Toho and Gakushuin universities.
Egami’s health began to suffer when he was in his forties. Between 1956 and 1957 he underwent two operations for stomach ulcers. He also suffered a heart attack which resulted in him being dead for almost ten minutes. The illness led to a curtailment of his personal Karate training, but not his teaching duties.
On 26 April 1957 Gichin Funakoshi died. At the hospital his close family were present. Egami was his only student present at his bedside.
Following the wishes of Funakoshi, the Shotokai was reformed by a group of individuals, including his family and various university groups. The aim of the organisation was to take car of his funeral arrangements. However, a disagreement occurred between the Shotokai and the Japan Karate Association (JKA). The JKA believed that the should be organizing the whole funeral and would not participate once the Funakoshi family declined the offer.
After the funeral Shotokai continued as an organisation. Several of the university groups however decided to leave the organisation. Egami and Hironishi remained with Shotokai. Egami became the Chief Instructor with Hironishi eventually becoming president of the organisation.
1957 saw the JKA and Shotokai eventually part ways. The JKA under Chief Instructor Masatoshi Nakayama were beginning to follow a more sport-oriented approach to Karate. The Shotokai believed in following a more traditional approach, in keeping with Funakoshi’s teachings.
Since the early 1950s Egami had been looking at new ways in which striking could be improved in Shotokan Karate.He believed that the body should be more relaxed prior to striking. He also believed that makiwara (striking post) practice should be lessened. Egami also believed that the perception of Karate was of a martial art used for violence. He wanted Karate to develop more in line with Gichin Funakoshi’s Principles.