The Japan Karate Federation (JKF), a.k.a. Japan Karatedo Federation, is a national governing body of

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

in Japan. The JKF is officially affiliated with the Japan Olympic Association (JOC),

World Karate Federation The World Karate Federation (WKF) is the largest international governing body of sport karate with 198 member countries. It was formed in 1990, is the only karate organization recognised by the International Olympic Committee and has more than te ...

(WKF), Japan Sports Association (JSA), and Japanese Budō Association (JBA). The styles recognized by the JKF are

Wadō-ryū is one of the four major karate styles and was founded by Hironori Ōtsuka (1892–1982). The style itself places emphasis on not only striking, but ''tai sabaki'', joint locks and throws. It has its origins within Tomari-te karate, but was al ...

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" throug ...

, Shito-ryu, and Goju-ryu. The headquarters is located in Tokyo, Japan.

History

Early years

In 1959, the original Japan Karate Federation, formally known as the Federation of All Japan Karatedo Organizations (FAJKO), was formed to be an unifying organization to bring karate schools together by the Karate world leaders, who were its chairman Choko Sai, a head the Shudokan of Kanken Tōyama, and vice chairmen Konishi from Shindō Jinen-ryū, Hiroshi Kinjo from Kanbukan, Otsuka Hinorori from Wado-Ryu, Tatsuo Yamada from Japan Kenpo Karate, and Shinkin Gima from

New Formation

On October 1, 1964, the original Japan Karate Federation, which changed its own name to ''Japan Karate Renbukai'', handed over its organization name to the new united league, such as Gōgen Yamaguchi of Goju-ryu, Ōtsuka Hironori of

, Nakayama Masatoshi of

, Mabuni Kenei and Iwata Manzao of

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� ...

, in addition to the ''Japan Karate Rengokai'', which was founded by

Ryōichi Sasakawa was a Japanese suspected war criminal, businessman, far-right politician, and philanthropist. He was born in Minoh, Osaka. In the 1930s and during the Second World War he was active both in finance and in politics, actively supporting the Japane ...

. ThIs unified all the Karate organizations in Japan. Japan Karate Renbukai later changed its name to the '' JKF Renbukai'', and then became an official member of the new JKF as a group, encompassing

Bōgu , properly called , is training armour used primarily in the Japanese martial art of kendo,Uchida, M. (2005)Kendo Bogu (Protective Equipment)(October 2005). Retrieved on 12 May 2010.

uniformed Karate. Japan instilled "a uniform order in Karate", recognizing the four major schools, ''Goju-kai'', ''Wado-Kai'', ''Shotokan'' and ''Shito-kai''. In 1967, Ryoichi Sasakawa became the chairman. On January 13, 1969, the JKF was officially incorporated as a central umbrella body for the four partner organizations and recognized under the Cabinet of Japan. In December in the same year, the All Japan Karate Championships were held at the Nippon Budōkan in Tokyo. The JKF also works with organizations using the traditional styles of karate. In October 1970, the JKF became a member of the

(WKF). On March 29, 1972, JKF became a member of the Japan Sports Association (JSA). In 1978, the JKF first participated in the National Sports Festival in

Matsumoto, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designated as a core city since 1 April 2021. , the city had a population of 239,466 in 105,207 households and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city ...

. In 1981, Karate became an official game event of the National Sports Festival. Traditionally, karate organizations followed disparate competition rules.

Japan Karate Association Japan Karate Association (日本空手協会; ''Nihon Karate Kyokai''; JKA; sometimes referred to simply as ''Kyokai'' 協会 in Japan) is one of the oldest global Shotokan karate organization in the world. Origins Gichin Funakoshi played a ...

(JKA) attempted to standardize such rules. They addressed conflicts between the organizations that teach

Kyokushin is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...

, a full-contact karate style, and other non-member organizations such as Seidokaikan. On December 11, 2009, the JKF started building a new headquarters named the Japan Karate Kaikan in Koto-ku, Tokyo. The JKF became a member of the Nippon Budokan (Japan Martial Arts Council). The JKF has been officially participating at the Asian Games,

East Asian Games The East Asian Games was a multi-sport event organized by the East Asian Games Association (EAGA) and held every four years from 1993 to 2013. Among those who competed included athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic ...

and the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

-sponsored

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

as an official competition. The construction of the new Japan Karate Kaikan was completed and opened in November 2011. As a member of the Japan Olympic Association (JOA), the JKF has been putting efforts to include Karate into the Olympics as an official game along with other affiliated Karate organizations. In May 2016, it was announced that ''The Emperor’s Cup'' and ''The Empress’s Cup'' will be given to the champions of Japan Cup Karatedo. The ceremony of notification was held at the Imperial Household Agency and the Emperor’s Cup and the Empress’s Cup were commissioned in the presence of Mr. Michiyasu Takahashi, Deputy Commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency on May 17, 2016. On August 3, 2016, the IOC approves Karate as one of the five new sports for

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Ranking system

The JKF officially recognizes the

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

, a Black Belt degree ranking system, from 1st Dan to 10th Dan and requires students to take a physical test up to 8th Dan. Since 2014, the JKF has also installed the additional basic ranking system called Kyū from 5th Kyū to 1st Kyū, and it requires a student to earn 1st Kyū first in order to earn 1st Dan.

Dan grades

;From 1st Dan to 3rd Dan :The test is conducted by the JKF affiliated Prefectural Federations that represent their Prefectures; other associations such as Japan Business Group Karatedo Federation, Japan University Karatedo Federation, Japan High School Karatedo Federation, or Japan Junior High Karatedo Federation; or the cooperation groups. ;From 4th Dan to 5th Dan :The Dan test for fourth and fifth are conducted by The Regional Council, All Japan Business Group Karatedo Federation and All Japan High School Athletic Federation Karatedo Division. ;From 6th Dan to 7th Dan :The test for sixth and seventh Dan is solely conducted by the JKF itself every November in Tokyo or

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. ;For 8th Dan :The test for eighth Dan is solely conducted by the JKF itself every March in Tokyo.

Dan examination

Dan examination consists of Kata and

Kumite Kumite ( ja, 組手, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary. Kumite can be used to develop a par ...

. ;From 1st Dan to 5th Dan :The examination consists of two performances of Shitei Kata (designated kata) and Tokui Kata (selected kata) as well as two rounds of Kumite. ;For 6th Dan :The examination consists of two performances of Shitei Kata (designated kata) and Tokui Kata (selected kata) as well as a written test. ;For 7th Dan :The examination consists of performances of two Tokui Kata (selected kata) as well as a written test. ;For 8th Dan :The examination consists of performances of two Tokui Kata (selected kata) as well as an essay written test.

Shitei Kata

Besides rank exams, many JKF tournaments also require the performance of 'Shitei Kata' (designated kata) in the first and second rounds, selected from a defined list that all examiners and judges should be familiar with. For each of the main four styles there are two kata to choose from in the first round (the 'daiichi shitei kata') and second round (the 'daini shitei kata') of any compliant tournament. *For

, the kata are Seienchin (セイエンチン),

Bassai Dai ''Passai'' (拔塞, katakana パッサイ), also ''Bassai'' (バッサイ), is the name of a group of kata practiced in different styles of martial arts, including karate and various Korean martial arts, including Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, and Soo ...

(抜塞大), Matsumura no Rohai (松村ローハイ), and Nipaipo (二十八歩). *For

Gōjū-ryū , Japanese for "hard-soft style", is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book used by Okinawan masters du ...

, the kata are Saifa (砕破), Seipai (十八手), Kururunfa (久留頓破), and

Seisan The karate ''kata'' (alternate names ''Sesan'', ''Seishan'', ''Jusan'', Hangetsu) literally means '13'. Some people refer to the ''kata'' as '13 Hands', '13 Fists', '13 Techniques', '13 Steps' or even '13 killing positions'; however, these names ...

(十三手). *For

, the kata are Kanku dai (観空大), Jion (慈恩), Kankū Shō (観空小), and Enpi (燕飛). *For

, the kata are Seishan (征射雲), Chintō (鎮闘), Niseishi (ニーセイシ), and Kūshankū (公相君).

Competitions

Kumite

JKF Gojukai rules differ from the more common WKF rules.

Member

Cooperative associations (Ryu-ha)

(JKA) (

) *All Japan Karatedo Shotokan (AJKS) (

) *JKF Goju-kai ( Goju-ryu) *JKF Wado-kai ( Wado-ryu) *JKF Shito-kai ( Shito-ryu) * JKF Renbukai (Bōgutsuki karate) * Karate Rengokai (Japan Karate Alliance) (The alliance of various factions)

Competition organization

*Japan business group karatedo federation *Japan university karatedo federation *Japan high school karatedo federation *Japan junior high school karatedo federation

Amicable organizations

* International Karate Organization Kyokushin-kaikan (Full contact Group)

Ambassadors

On April 2, 2016, the JKF officially appointed

Shin Koyamada is a Japanese-American actor, producer, entrepreneur, martial artist, and philanthropist. He is best known for his starring roles in ''The Last Samurai'' and the Disney's movie '' Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior'' on Disney+. He has produced numero ...

, a Hollywood actor, producer and martial artist as the ''Karate Ambassador'' at the headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federation Of All Japan Karatedo Organizations 1964 establishments in Japan Karate organizations Organizations based in Tokyo Sports organizations established in 1964 Karate