Eiichi Miyazato
Okinawan Goju-ryu karate master (1922–1999), student and successor of Chojun Miyagi, founder of the Jundokan dojo in Naha and a judoka with the rank of 8th dan.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Eiichi Miyazato was an Okinawan Goju-ryu karate master and judoka, a student of Chojun Miyagi and the founder of the Jundokan dojo in Naha. He was born on 5 July 1922 in Naha and died there on 11 December 1999 at the age of 77.
According to Wikipedia, his father studied under Higaonna Kanryo, and for that reason Miyagi accepted him. He began with Miyagi at thirteen or fifteen, as the sources differ, and remained his student until Miyagi's death on 8 October 1953. He then took over teaching at the dojo in Miyagi's garden, and in February 1954 a committee of senior students elected him Miyagi's successor. In 1946, on Miyagi's recommendation, he joined the Ryukyu police, where he taught physical education, and he retired in 1972.
According to its official website, he founded the Jundokan dojo in 1953, while Wikipedia gives 1956. He was chairman of the Okinawa Prefectural Karate-do Federation and vice-chairman of the Okinawa judo federation. On 20 March 1988 the Okinawa Goju-ryu Karate-do Kyokai awarded him 10th dan. In judo he reached 7th dan and, posthumously, 8th dan.
His students included Morio Higaonna, Teruo Chinen, Masaji Taira and Michael Clarke. His son Yoshihiro Miyazato took over the leadership of the Jundokan after him in 1999.
Early life
Eiichi Miyazato was born on 5 July 1922 in Naha, in the Higashi-machi district according to Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, his father studied under Higaonna Kanryo, the teacher of Chojun Miyagi, and partly for that reason Miyagi accepted Eiichi as a student. According to the karate.news website, he began judo around 1935 at the age of thirteen, taught by Shoko Itokazu.
Training and teachers
According to the karate.news website, he began with Chojun Miyagi around 1937 at the age of fifteen, while the East Wind club gives thirteen years and the year 1938. He remained his student until Miyagi's death on 8 October 1953 and then took over teaching at the dojo in Miyagi's garden. At a meeting of senior students in February 1954 he was, according to Wikipedia, elected Miyagi's successor almost unanimously.
In 1946, on Miyagi's recommendation, he joined the Ryukyu police and became a physical education instructor at the police academy. In judo he became champion of Okinawa in 1950 or 1951. On 20 March 1988 the Okinawa Goju-ryu Karate-do Kyokai awarded him 10th dan in karate.
Contribution and innovations
According to a text by his son on the official website, he founded the Jundokan dojo in 1953. Wikipedia gives the opening of a three-storey building in Asato in Naha in 1956, and the karate.news website gives 1957. He took part in the founding of the Okinawa Goju-ryu Karate-do Kyokai association. In the early nineteen-seventies he was, according to Wikipedia, chairman of the Okinawa Prefectural Karate-do Federation and vice-chairman of the Okinawa judo federation.
Philosophy and principles
His student Michael Clarke recalls in an interview for the magazine El Budoka that Miyazato chose students by character and disliked answering questions, because he wanted them to work things out for themselves. According to Clarke, he said that anyone can learn to kick and punch, but that is not yet karate.
Legends and documented facts
The year the Jundokan was founded differs among the sources: the official website gives 1953, Wikipedia 1956 and the karate.news website 1957. We have not resolved the dispute. The age at which he began with Miyagi also differs, between thirteen and fifteen.
Mike Gillan writes on the IOGKF website about taking over Miyagi's dojo after 1953. The IOGKF is an organization led by another follower of Miyagi, Morio Higaonna, and the question of Miyagi's succession is sensitive among the branches of Goju-ryu.
Legacy
In 1972 he left the police and devoted himself fully to teaching karate. His students included Morio Higaonna, Teruo Chinen, Masaji Taira, who founded the Okinawa Goju Ryu Kenkyukai in 2011, and Michael Clarke. The Kodokan awarded him 7th dan in judo and posthumously 8th dan, and he received awards from the Kodokan (1984), the Nihon Budo Kyogikai (1994) and the Japanese Ministry of Education (1998).
He died on 11 December 1999 in a hospital in Naha, while other sources give 10 or 13 December. His son Yoshihiro Miyazato took over the leadership of the Jundokan.
Teachers, students and family
Associated Martial Arts
Organisations
- JundokanFounder · 1956
Ranks and titles
- 10th danKarate · 1988
- 8th danJudo · posthumously
- 7th danJudo
Quotes
Anyone can learn to kick and punch, but this is not karate!
Attributed