was a Ryūkyūan master of

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

. He and

Ankō Itosu is considered by many the father of modern karate. This title is also often given to Gichin Funakoshi because of the latter spreading karate throughout Japan, but only after Ankō sensei had introduced the art of Okinawate to the country. Bio ...

were the two main karate masters who taught

Gichin Funakoshi was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gichi ...

, the founder of

Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throu ...

karate. Funakoshi appears to be the source of most of the information available on Asato. Many articles contain information about Asato,Green, B. D. (1992)
Gichin Funakoshi, more than a great master
Retrieved on 2 September 2007.Noble, G. (1988)

Retrieved on 2 September 2007. Originally published as "Masters of the Shorin-ryu (Part 1)," ''Fighting Arts International'', 9(2):24–28.
Retrieved on 2 September 2007.
Retrieved on 2 September 2007.
Retrieved on 2 September 2007. but the relevant parts are clearly based on Funakoshi's descriptions of him.Funakoshi, G. (1956/1975): ''Karate-dō: My way of life''. Tokyo: Kodansha. . Funakoshi first met Asato when he was a schoolmate of Asato's son; he called Asato "one of Okinawa's greatest experts in the art of karate."Funakoshi, G. (1956/1975): ''Karate-dō: My way of life'' (p. 3). Tokyo: Kodansha. . According to Funakoshi, Asato's family belonged to the ''Tunchi'' (殿内) class (hereditary town and village chiefs), and held authority in the village of Asato, halfway between Shuri and

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

, and he was not only a master of karate, but also skilled at riding horses,

Jigen-ryū Jigen-ryū (示現流 lit: ''revealed reality style'') is a traditional school ('' koryū'') of Japanese martial arts founded in the late 16th century by Tōgō Chūi (1560–1643), a.k.a. Tōgō Shigekata, in Satsuma Province, now Kagoshima pr ...

kendō is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

'' (swordsmanship), archery, and an exceptional scholar. In a 1934 article, Funakoshi noted that Asato and Itosu had studied karate together under Sōkon Matsumura. He also related how Asato and Itosu once overcame a group of 20–30 attackers, and how Asato set a trap for troublemakers in his home village. In his 1956 autobiography, Funakoshi recounted several stories about Asato, including: Asato's political astuteness in following the government order to cut off the traditional men's topknot (pp. 13–14); Asato's defeat of Yōrin Kanna, in which the unarmed Asato prevailed despite Kanna being armed with an unblunted blade (pp. 14–15); Asato's demonstration of a single-point punch (''ippon-ken''; p. 15); and Asato and Itosu's friendly arm-wrestling matches (p. 16).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asato, Anko 1827 births 1906 deaths Karate coaches Okinawan male karateka