Shito-ryu
糸東流A Japanese karate style founded in Osaka by Kenwa Mabuni. The name joins the first characters of his teachers’ names, Itosu and Higaonna, and the style is known for its many kata.
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About Shito-ryu
Shito-ryu was founded by Kenwa Mabuni (1889–1952), a native of Shuri on Okinawa. From the age of thirteen he learned with Anko Itosu and Chojun Miyagi, the later founder of Goju-ryu, introduced him to Kanryo Higaonna. He composed the name of the school from the first characters of the names of both teachers, 糸 from Itosu (糸洲) and 東 from Higaonna (東恩納). Itosu belongs to the Okinawan Shuri-te line, Higaonna to Naha-te. By 1929 at the latest Mabuni settled in Osaka. The year of founding differs in the sources, both 1931 and 1934 are given, and the style was first called Hanko-ryu, “half-hard style”. At the headquarters of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai it was registered in 1939.
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Shito-ryu is known for its large number of kata. Mabuni’s first published list from 1937 had 33 kata, today’s sources write of more than sixty, without relating the number to a specific organisation. Mabuni himself created, for example, the kata Aoyagi, intended for the self-defence of women. The style formalises five principles of defence (uke no go gensoku), from a block that stops the attack to a shift out of the line of attack and a counterattack. Shito-ryu has a teacher in common with Shotokan, because Itosu taught both Mabuni and Gichin Funakoshi. Funakoshi learned some kata from Mabuni and sent his son Gigo to him in Osaka. The Japan Karate Federation counts Shito-ryu among the four main styles of karate. Today the school is divided into a number of branches, among them Shito-kai, Seito Shito-ryu, Shukokai, Itosu-kai and Hayashi-ha.
History
Shito-ryu was founded by Kenwa Mabuni (14. 11. 1889 – 23. 5. 1952), a native of Shuri in Okinawa. From the age of thirteen he studied Shuri-te under Anko Itosu and Naha-te under Kanryo Higaonna, to whom he was introduced by Chojun Miyagi. Besides these two lines, Shito-kai says he studied other schools, including ryukyu kobudo. In 1917 and 1928 he travelled to Tokyo, and by 1929 at the latest he settled in Osaka, where he began teaching full time. According to Shito-kai, he first called the style Gojuryu, another account gives the name Hanko-ryu, half-hard style. Sources place the founding in 1931 or 1934, and Japanese sources link 1934 with his dojo Yoshukan in Osaka. The style was registered with the headquarters of the Dai Nippon Butokukai in 1939. Gichin Funakoshi, also a student of Itosu, learned some kata from Mabuni.
How it differs
Shito-ryu belongs, together with Shotokan, Goju-ryu and Wado-ryu, to the four main styles of karate. From the end of the nineteen-fifties the Japan Karate Federation's competition kata list drew on these four styles, was later taken over by WUKO and WKF, and supplied the kata of the Olympic competition in Tokyo 2020. According to Shito-kai, Shito-ryu is one of few styles drawing on both Okinawan lines, Shuri-te and Naha-te. The kata of the two lines are practised separately and their techniques are not mixed. Shito-kai assigns to Shuri-te fast and direct movements and the stances motodachi and zenkutsu dachi, and to Naha-te strong techniques, mostly with circular movements, and the stances sanchin dachi, shiko dachi and nekoashi dachi. In the genealogy of kata that Shito-kai publishes, the Itosu line accounts for 23 kata and the Higaonna line for 10. Shito-ryu summarizes defence in five principles, uke no go gensoku, rakka, ryusui, kusshin, tenshin and hangeki. We have not yet found a direct comparison of Shito-ryu with Shotokan or Goju-ryu by a federation or independent expert.
Technique
Shito-ryu formalizes five principles of defence, uke no go gensoku. Rakka is a block that destroys the attack, ryusui a flowing soft block, kusshin control of body height by the knees with a straight spine, tenshin a shift off the line of attack, and hangeki a counter as the attack is deflected. Sanchin dachi, with inner tension, and its variant heiko sanchin dachi come from the Naha-te line. Mabuni was known for encyclopedic knowledge of kata and their bunkai, the analysis of how moves are applied. Although he studied kobudo with the bo staff and sai, we have not been able to confirm a weapons syllabus of the style.
Training
Kata are linked with kumite through bunkai kumite, in which kata analysis is practised in pairs (Shito-kai). Mabuni's first published list from 1938 contained 33 kata arranged by line of origin. Present-day counts differ between sources and are not tied to any organization. From the Itosu line one practises Pinan, which Itosu created as teaching steps for schoolchildren, as well as Naihanchi and Bassai. From the Higaonna line come, for example, Seipai and Kururunfa. Mabuni created the kata Aoyagi in his later years as a self-defence kata for women, and the kata Shimpa, which he did not finish, was completed by his son Kenei Mabuni. We did not find the structure of a lesson or the ratio of kata, kumite and conditioning.
Ranks and progression
Dan grades in Shito-ryu are awarded in Japan at two levels. According to its rules, the Japan Karate Federation (JKF) has official dan grades from 1st to 10th dan. The 1st to 8th dan are earned by examination, the 9th and 10th dan by special recommendation. For 1st dan examination, the JKF admits holders of 1st kyu from age 15 after compulsory schooling, for 2nd and 3rd dan one year after the previous grade, for 4th dan after two years, then after 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 years, with age limits of 25 years for 5th dan, 32 for 6th, 40 for 7th, 50 for 8th and 70 for 9th dan (as amended 6 December 2024). The 1st dan examination consists of one set kata and one free sparring bout, the 2nd and 3rd dan of a set kata, a favourite kata and two free sparring bouts, the 6th dan of two kata, two bouts and a written examination, the 7th dan of two kata with possible analysis (bunkai) and 8th dan of two kata and a written paper. The JKF has five official kyu grades, and member organisations may introduce lower ones.
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Shito-kai, a member organisation of the JKF, has its own rules. Under requirements in force since April 2024, the examination for 1st to 5th dan consists of a basic kata, a set kata and a free kata, supplemented by analysis of the kata (bunkai kumite) and two free sparring bouts or kumite hokei-gata. The basic kata is Sanchin for 1st dan, Tensho for 2nd dan and Naifanchin shodan for 3rd dan. The set kata is Bassai dai or Seienchin for 1st dan, Niseishi or Matsumura Rohai for 2nd dan, and one of these four for 3rd to 5th dan. For 6th to 8th dan, the set kata is chosen from the pair Gojushiho and Superinpei, and the free kata from the Itosu line (for example Kosokun sho, Chinto), the Higaonna line (Seisan, Saifa) or outside both lines (Chatanyara Kusanku, Happoren), and the free kata must come from a different line than the set kata. Dan intervals in Shito-kai (as of 22 February 2025) are 1 year for 2nd and 3rd dan (age 18), 2 years for 4th dan (23) and 5th dan (26), 3 years for 6th dan (34), 4 years for 7th dan (41) and 5 years for 8th dan (48), so for higher dans they differ from the JKF. The 9th dan can be obtained 5 years after the 8th dan aged at least 60, the 10th dan after a further 5 years aged at least 70. The title renshi requires the 5th dan, 4 years since obtaining it and age 35, kyoshi the 7th dan, 3 years after renshi and age 48, hanshi the 8th dan, 5 years after kyoshi and age 58. Holders of grades from other associations, including the JKF, start in Shito-kai with the 1st dan examination, unless the director decides otherwise after consulting the technical council. We have not been able to trace the examination rules of the Hayashi-ha and Shukokai branches in official sources.
Competition
The Japan Karate Federation recognises four styles, Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, Shotokan and Wado-ryu, and determines competition kata for each. For Shito-ryu these are, in the first group, Bassai Dai and Seienchin, in the second Matsumura Rohai and Nipaipo. Modern Shito-ryu places strong emphasis on sparring. The Shukokai branch held its first world tournament in 1981. We have not found the competition rules of Shito-kai, under WKF the general karate rules apply. We have not found which kata of Shito-ryu were performed at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.
Philosophy
Mabuni built the name Shito-ryu himself from the first characters of his teachers' names, 糸 from Itosu (糸洲) and 東 from Higaonna (東恩納), joining the Shuri-te and Naha-te lines in it. Shito-kai treats kata and kumite as one practice. Kata underlies bunkai kumite, the analysis of a kata in pairs, and kumite progresses from partner drills to free fighting.
Today
After Mabuni’s death in 1952 his sons disputed the succession. Kenei Mabuni (1918–2015) became head of the style at the age of 34 and with Manzo Iwata led Shito-kai, today the World Shito-ryu Karate-do Federation, the Shito-kai line is a member of the Japan Karate Federation. Kenzo Mabuni (1927–2005) founded Seito Shito-ryu. Chojiro Tani (1921–1998), a student of Chojun Miyagi and later of Mabuni, received a certificate of succession from Mabuni in 1946 and founded Tani-ha Shito-ryu, known as Shukokai. After his death Shukokai divided further, in 1998 the Shito-ryu Shukokai Karate-do Union arose. Other branches are Motobu-ha, or Seishinkai (Shogo Kuniba), Itosu-ryu (Ryusho Sakagami), Kenshukai (Eiji Ogasahara) and Hayashi-ha. Recognition of grades from other associations is conditional, under its rules the JKF allows the transfer of grades up to 3rd dan from cooperating organisations, and Shito-kai states that holders of grades from other associations, including the JKF, usually start with the 1st dan examination.
Did you know
After military service, which ended in 1914, Kenwa Mabuni worked, according to Shito-kai, for about ten years in the detective department of the police in Naha. He moved to Osaka in 1929 after the founder of judo, Kano Jigoro, encouraged him to spread karate on the mainland. He opened the dojo Yoshukan in 1934 and named it after his secondary school. At its opening he used the name Shito-ryu for the first time. In 1939 he registered Shito-ryu as the official name of the school with the headquarters of the Dai Nippon Butokukai, and that year he received the title renshi from the Butokukai. His student Manzo Iwata recalled that Mabuni was the first to include bunkai kumite in teaching. His son Kenzo Mabuni (1927–2005) named his branch Seito Shito-ryu for its loyalty to his father's syllabus of 1929. The World Shitoryu Karatedo Federation was founded on 17 March 1993 and held its first championship four days later.
Frequently asked questions
What is shito-ryu?
Shito-ryu is one of the four main styles of Japanese karate, alongside Shotokan, Goju-ryu and Wado-ryu. According to Shito-kai, it is one of the few styles that draw on both Okinawan lineages, Shuri-te and Naha-te, and its name came from the first characters of the names of the teachers Itosu and Higaonna.
Who founded shito-ryu?
Shito-ryu was founded by Kenwa Mabuni (1889–1952) from Shuri in Okinawa, a student of Anko Itosu and Kanryo Higaonna. He first used the style's name in 1934 when opening the Yoshukan dojo in Osaka, and in 1939 he registered it with the Dai Nippon Butokukai.
What is the difference between shito-ryu and shotokan?
We did not find a direct comparison of the two styles from a federation. According to Shito-kai, Shito-ryu practices the kata of the two Okinawan lineages, Shuri-te and Naha-te, separately, so alongside fast direct movements it also contains circular techniques and the stances sanchin dachi and shiko dachi from Naha-te. Both styles are among the four styles on which the competition kata list is based.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.