David Akutagawa (1937–2008) was a

Japanese Canadian are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them living ...

martial artist active during the late 20th century.

Early life

Born in 1937, Akutagawa first came to Canada after receiving a degree in Economic Science from Kohnan University in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

, Japan. His karate background at that time was in Shitō-ryū and

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

styles.

Career

He held 8th Dan in

Shitō-ryū is a form of karate that was founded in 1934 by . Shitō-ryū is synthesis of the Okinawan Shuri-te and Naha-te schools of karate and today is considered one of the four main styles of the art. History Kenwa Mabuni (Mabuni Kenwa 摩文仁 ...

was 6th dan, shihan, and renshi in

Chitō-ryū is a style of karate founded by , (1898-1984). The name of the style translates as: ''chi'' (千) - 1,000; ''tō'' (唐) - China; ''ryū'' (流) - style, school, "1,000 year old Chinese style." The character ''tō'' (唐) refers to the Tang Dyna ...

; his karate history spanned a half-century. In 1967, he began teaching karate at the

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

Self Defense Depot in

Penhold Penhold is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Penhold is surrounded by Red Deer County, south of Red Deer at the junction of Highway 2A and Highway 42. It is located north of Calgary, east of the Red Deer River. History Originally, Penhold ...

, Alberta and at the RCMP Academy in Regina, Saskatchewan. He taught the RCMP Instructors there for over a decade. In order to further his karate career, Akutagawa traveled to Toronto to meet and train under

Masami Tsuruoka , was a Japanese Canadian karate instructor and practitioner recognized as "The Father of Canadian Karate" by Black Belt Magazine. Although mainly responsible for establishing the Chito-ryu style in Canada, Tsuruoka is also known as founder of ...

, the "Father of Canadian Karate", as well as the head instructor of Chitō-ryū in Canada. In 1966, Tsuroka introduced Akutagawa to Tsuyoshi Chitose, founder and supreme instructor of

. Thus began Akutagawa's training in Chitō-ryū, until Chitose's death in July 1984. Akutagawa resigned from the International Chito-kai in December 1996 and founded the Renshikan (連士舘) Karate Association in January 1997. On June 1, 2006, Sōke

Kenei Mabuni was a Japanese martial arts, martial arts expert, holder of the 10th Dan (rank), Dan. Personal history Kenei Mabuni was born in Shuri, Okinawa, Shuri, Okinawa. As the son of Kenwa Mabuni, the founder of the Shitō-ryū and one of the most impo ...

of Shitō-ryū Karate-dō promoted Akutagawa to 8th Dan and Shihan. Akutagawa also enjoyed studying

Okinawan Kobudō , literally "old martial way of Okinawa", is the weapon systems of Okinawan martial arts. Etymology and definition Okinawan Kobudō is a Japanese term that can be translated as "''old martial way of Okinawa''". It is a generic term coined in th ...

iaidō , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports ...

and

jūjutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

with various experts.

Death

On Wednesday, October 8, 2008, Akutagawa suffered a massive heart attack and died at the Vancouver General Hospital.

Sources

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External links

Renshikan website
Canadian male karateka 1937 births 2008 deaths Canadian sportspeople of Japanese descent {{Canada-karate-bio-stub