Masayasu Sugihara
Japanese founder of the full-contact style Byakuren Kaikan (1984), formerly a bodyguard and close student of Doshin So, the founder of Shorinji Kempo.
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Masayasu Sugihara is a Japanese founder of the Byakuren Kaikan style. He was born in 1951; English-language sources give Osaka as his birthplace, while Japanese sources specify the date of 30 June 1951 and the city of Higashi-Osaka.
According to Japanese sources, he studied at Kinki University and had already earned a 2nd dan in judo at secondary school. He came from Shorinji Kempo, in which he reached 6th dan at the age of 28. He worked as a bodyguard and close student of Doshin So, the founder of Shorinji Kempo.
In 1983 he competed in a Seido Kaikan tournament under the pseudonym Byakuren Kaikan and, according to Japanese sources, finished third. In 1984 he broke with his former organisation because it did not allow contact competition, and founded the Byakuren Kaikan style (White Lotus). It divides techniques into hard (goho, that is strikes and kicks) and soft (juho, that is throws and joint locks), which stems from his background in Shorinji Kempo. The rules are based on full-contact karate of the Kyokushin type, evasions and counterattacks rest on sabaki, and kata are used less than in traditional styles. Since 1985 the organisation has held regional and national tournaments, and in 2004, for its 20th anniversary, it held the first world championship in Osaka. In full-contact karate circles Sugihara earned the nicknames Fighting Master and invader.
Despite leaving Shorinji Kempo, Sugihara expressed gratitude to his former master. We have not been able to find details about his later years in the sources.