Article

The Road to Karate – A Budoka’s Way To Live
By Hiroshi Shoji. Shihan of the Japan Karate Association.

Introduction

Shoji Sensei in Melbourne in 1996

In the wake of his death in November 2003, JKA Victoria posted a tribute to the great Karate master, Shoji Hiroshi Sensei of the Japan Karate Association. Shoji Sensei was not only a world-renowned competitor and teacher, he also featured in many textbook publications as well as being an accomplished author in his own right.

In the mid 1970’s, Shoji Sensei wrote a book entitled Road To Karate, A Budoka’s Way to Live. The book was released in Japan and only ever published in the Japanese language. This article is the first in a serialisation of that work, translated into English especially for this website. The story represents Shoji Sensei’s personal Karate journey which sheds a new light on the tough and austere image normally associated with JKA masters of his era.

By all accounts, Shoji Sensei was every bit the hard, uncompromising Karateka typical of the JKA’s “first generation”, however as we read in our tribute to him, his humanity was never far away. To quote his student and friend Nishimura Sensei; “Shoji Sensei did not talk much. He was a quiet and in a sense, shy person. He did not seek to be in the spotlight. Despite his paramount achievements in Karate, Shoji Sensei was very humble and warm”. We hope the reader will appreciate the full value of this book - the thoughts and words of a Karate-Do Master.

Credits
Originally Published by Fukushodo Publishing Co. Ltd. Tokyo, October 1976
English translation by Nishimura Takaatsu Sensei, Senior Instructor, JKA Victoria
This translation is presented with the kind permission of Mr. Akiyoshi Shoji and the Fukushodo Co. Ltd.
Copyright © Japan Karate Association of Australia (Victoria) Limited 2005 - All Rights Reserved

Prologue and Part One

Prologue

I remember that I played at breaking the kamenoko senbei with a knife-hand in my childhood, shouting “This is Karate”

I grew up in a local town when the transmission of information was not as fast as today. When did I first hear the word Karate? I believe that it was when I was a little child, because I remember that I played at breaking the kamenoko senbei*1 with a knife-hand in my childhood, shouting “This is Karate”. This might have been an influence that I received from the training of soldiers in the training ground situated in front of my house in Yamagata where I spent my childhood. Soldiers’ training was a daily matter at that time and was not a thing that people would normally show any particular interest in. Or, I might have read about Karate in the book called “Sugata Sanshiro”*2 by Tsuneo Tomita, which I borrowed from a friend of mine when I was in junior high school. Although I cannot remember exactly, I heard that in Karate they would break roof tiles with a fist and wooden boards with their fingertips. Around 1930 Gichin Funakoshi Sensei*3, Supreme Instructor of Japan Karate Association, changed the Chinese characters for Karate from China Hand to Empty Hand (both pronounced Karate) and also the word “jutsu” or technique was changed to “do” or way.

However, once I started learning Karate and I found out that such a thing (breaking) could be easily done as a side technique during the training stages, I lost the excitement about mystic Karate that I had had in my childhood.

...I had my own reason for starting Karate. I just simply wanted to be strong in a street fight...

People may decide to try Karate and knock at the door of a Karate dojo*4 for different reasons. Some may start Karate to get fit, some may start it as a part of their leisure activities, or some for self-defence, for all sorts of different reasons. Of course, I had my own reason for starting Karate. I just simply wanted to be strong in a street fight, a reason not to be so proud of. However, generally speaking, whatever reasons they may have had for starting Karate, I believe that the interaction of humanity and mutual influences upon one another will lead to “the use of energy for good cause” as they say in Judo and “the perfection of character as a human being” as we say in Karate.

The dark skinned big man and the blond boy will polish the floor awkwardly with the cloths only because they both love Karate. Profound human relations will be formed as a result and in such a situation a holy theory of Budo*5 does not need to exist.

The only thing that needs to exist between those to teach and those to be taught is the usual interaction of human beings. I frankly believe that Budo or the development of people lies in the treasuring of the relationship arising from a situation where teaching is done on a one on one basis or in a small group like a school from an old samurai time. To take a high position and make a formal lecture of what Budo is all about is rather tiring and not for me.

To sweat in the practice and training with young people, to discuss Karate and to share the problems with them is my life and the way that I have chosen.

Are combat and its glory the ultimate goal of Budo? If this is the case, I must say that I have been living a totally different life. My life and living exist in a dojo filled with an intense spirit. To sweat in the practice and training with young people, to discuss Karate and to share the problems with them is my life and the way that I have chosen.

I have sought instructions from a number of forerunners and have also trained Karate with people from 50 odd countries. Sometimes I was surprised at their power and strengths and sometimes I yelled at and encouraged them because they were weak. My life has been full of pain and tears of hardships and joy.

“People come and go” – the sweat we drop in the training crystallises into friendship and love between Instructor and disciple.

I am surprised that my thinking has been changing as I continue training the techniques over and over again. I have found myself enjoying my efforts to elevate myself through physically hard and punishing training. More than twenty years have already passed since I got into this life.

Notes
*1 - Kamenoko Senbei is a rice cracker in the shape of turtle shell.
*2 - Sugata Sanshiro is a novel about Judo and Karate is featured in the story.
*3 - Gichin Funakoshi was the founder of Shotokan Karate.
*4 - Dojo is a place for training.
*5 - Budo is the Japanese word for martial art.

Part One - Shoto, Pine Wave

Jinkaku Kansei Ni Tsutomeru Koto “Seek perfection of character” from the Dojo Kun

Encounter with Karate
“What am I going to do?” I must have had an idiotic expression on my face when I was pondering and standing on the ground in the warm April sunshine. “Hey, you” It had to be my destiny when I was grabbed on my shoulder by a man covered with a beard. The skies were blue and high and absorbing the voices of those trying to recruit freshmen into their various clubs. With a combination of the fresh feelings that the blue skies gave me and the joy of having entered the university, I decided to join the Karate club.

...we enjoyed a very comfortable student life, which is beyond the imagination of today’s university students.

I entered the university in 1950 when the turmoil of post war still remained. As influenced by a student of Takushoku University who was boarding at my house, I chose the same university as him without hesitation. Takushoku University had a long standing history but due to the spirit of its foundation - advancement and development overseas, the university was under scrutiny and ordered by the GHQ at that time to change its name to Koryo University. Therefore, the numbers of students of the university were small and we enjoyed a very comfortable student life, which is beyond the imagination of today’s university students.

At the end of a windy street coming from the Myogadani Station of the metropolitan tram, a three-story university building stood high on the ground. The building showed the age of tradition – even a three-story building looked high at the time of rebuilding the country after the war.

With the feelings of being a university student, I headed for the hall where the entrance ceremony was to be held, walking across the ground in the warm sunshine of April which was reflected on the green leaves. What surprised me was a strange scene of activities to recruit freshmen by athletic and cultural clubs which had their desks placed side by side.

Anachronistic was the scene of a crude looking man in torn clothes and a university cap who was discussing politics concerning the nation, literally spitting and foaming around his mouth.

The only thing that was present at the desk of the Karate club was a skinhead man with glaring eyes, shouting in a loud voice..

I had the impression that the university had a rather crude and rough atmosphere. As coarse and loud voices engulfed me from all directions, I felt that I could not just pass though them. What an unimaginable method of recruitment! I even thought that the voice of callers trying to catch customers in the Asakusa Rokku area*6 was much more refined. They should have been more innovative. For example, if the China Research club made speeches in Chinese and the Latin America Research club in Spanish, even if people could not understand the speeches, at least it would create the right atmosphere. The same could be said of athletic clubs as well. The Sumo club should perform a comical Sumo bout and the Karate club should show a breaking of wooden boards. It would be much more effective. The only thing that was present at the desk of the Karate club was a skinhead man with glaring eyes, shouting in a loud voice – “Even trees and grasses will sometimes sing a song of melancholy. Robust youths with enthusiasm, come to gather on the hill of tinted leaves and rise to become patriots, and howl to make your presence known”. He was howling himself and mesmerised with his own words!

When my mind was meandering on those things and I was still making up my mind as to which club I should join, I was grabbed by the Mr. Howling with a beard.

Although the numbers of students at Takushoku University were small, martial arts activities were popular there. I knew that the Judo club, the Kendo club and the Sumo club had a long outstanding history and many well-known athletes from high school wanted to join those clubs. The Karate club was the only athletic club that layman like me who had no experience in martial arts at high school could join.

The end of the school ground dropped off like a cliff and the dojo stood along the cliff. Its floor space was about forty to fifty tsubos (approximately 160 m2). It had a sky-light window and a decorated altar. The well-polished floor was impressive to me. Freshmen who were already captured were gathering close to one another in a corner of the dojo, looking anxious. They all looked like kids in school uniforms cornered by wolves wearing white and black belts. Soon the bearded man who captured me appeared, bowed to the black belts and started howling again to us. “What is Karate-do?” He glared at us as if he tried to show his dignity. “Karate is not a martial art, the ultimate purpose of which is to win or lose. Its ultimate goal lies in our efforts to achieve the perfection of humanity based on our tangible and intangible training”.

It was rather surprising to hear the word “gentleman’s martial art” from such a crude and unkempt man.

The speech by the bearded senpai*7 continued in the dojo which had an indescribable strange atmosphere. “Karate-do is traditionally said to be a gentleman’s martial art. We will respond to attacks with well-trained arms and legs only after we are attacked. In other words, Karate is a self-defence where we train our arms and legs systematically and use them as weapons and conquer the unexpected enemy.” The bearded senpai seemed to enjoy making the speech, which lasted long. It was rather surprising to hear the word “gentleman’s martial art” from such a crude and unkempt man.

...I realised that there was some kind of order in which they threw the techniques at each other.

A Karate demonstration finally started. The first demonstration was by the white belts. They lined up and punched, kicked and blocked. Each time when they moved they yelled in a big voice (called kiai in Japanese). We first got surprised at the kiai. The way they moved their arms and legs randomly looked fun and did not look so difficult. As I kept watching their demonstration, I realised that there was some kind of order in which they threw the techniques at each other.

Next wooden boards and roof tiles were brought in one after another. I guessed this was going to be a breaking that I had heard about and I was excited. Just to think that they were going to break them with bare fist made me breathless.

Some broke them just in one go and some had to try a few times before they finally broke them. What was common bet