Katsuya Miyahira
Okinawan karate master (1918–2010), student of Choshin Chibana and founder of the Shidokan branch of Shorin-ryu, holder of the 10th dan hanshi.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Katsuya Miyahira was an Okinawan karate master and founder of the Shidokan branch of Shorin-ryu. He was born on 16 August 1918 in Nishihara, Okinawa and died on 28 November 2010 aged 92.
According to the website of the German Shidokan branch, his father taught him from five. In April 1933 he began to study Shuri-te under Choshin Chibana, and from September 1933 at a school in Shuri he also learned from Anbun Tokuda, a student of Yasutsune Itosu, and deepened his kumite in the dojo of Choki Motobu. In the Second World War he taught in Manchuria.
Sources differ on when Shidokan arose. English Wikipedia gives October 1948, Seikichi Iha in an interview 1951, and the German branch 1956, when Miyahira built a dojo in his house garden in Tsuboya. Wikipedia says the name Shidokan draws on the Analects of Confucius. From 1953 he taught karate at the University of the Ryukyus.
In 1967 Chibana gave him the 9th dan hanshi, and after Chibana died in 1969 Miyahira became president of the Okinawa Shorin-ryu Karatedo Kyokai. In September 1978 he received the 10th dan, and in 1986 he became president of the karatedo federation of Okinawa Prefecture. The prefecture ranked him among holders of the intangible cultural property of karate and kobudo. His students included Seikichi Iha and Joachim Laupp. We have not found a quote by Katsuya Miyahira with documented origin.
Early life
Katsuya Miyahira was born on 16 August 1918 in Nishihara on Okinawa. According to the website of the German branch of Shidokan, led by his student Joachim Laupp, he was taught karate from the age of five by his father, a former student of the Toyama military school, who knew gymnastics and kendo. We have not found further details about his childhood in an independent source.
Training and teachers
In April 1933 he began to study Shuri-te more deeply under Choshin Chibana. From September 1933 at a school in Shuri he also learned from Anbun Tokuda, a student of Yasutsune Itosu, and deepened his kumite in the dojo of Choki Motobu. In October 1948, according to English Wikipedia, which cites the book Okinawan Karate by Clark, he received from Chibana a shihan certificate of the 4th dan. In 1967 Chibana awarded him the 9th dan hanshi, and in September 1978 he was promoted to the 10th dan hanshi.
Contribution and innovations
During the Second World War he taught in Manchuria. From 1953 he taught karate at the University of the Ryukyus. After the death of Chibana on 26 February 1969 he took over, according to English Wikipedia, his official seals and became president of the Okinawa Shorin-ryu Karatedo Kyokai. In 1986 he was appointed president of the karatedo federation of Okinawa Prefecture. English Wikipedia also lists him as the author of a biography of Chibana, and we have not verified the title of the book.
Legends and documented facts
The year of the founding of Shidokan differs in the sources. English Wikipedia gives October 1948 in Kanehisa, Seikichi Iha in an interview for fightingarts.com the year 1951 for the Miyahira Dojo, and the German branch the year 1956, when a dojo was built in the garden of a house in Tsuboya. Wikipedia on Miyahira then places the founding of the branch only after the death of Chibana in 1969. We infer that this may not be a dispute about the same event but about different milestones. Okinawan Shidokan must also not be confused with the Japanese Shidokan, a full-contact style founded in 1981 by Yoshiji Soeno.
Legacy
In 1989 he was honoured by the Japan Martial Arts Council, and in 1990 he received an award for services to budo. According to ryukyu-bugei.com, on 12 September 2000 Okinawa Prefecture ranked him among six holders of the intangible cultural property of karate and kobudo, while the German branch gives the beginning of 2001. His student Seikichi Iha received the 9th dan from him on 12 March 1989 and, according to Wikipedia, the 10th dan in 2001. Joachim Laupp, a holder of the 9th dan hanshi, leads Shidokan in Germany. Miyahira died on 28 November 2010 on Okinawa at the age of 92.