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 The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

(JOC), World Karate Federation (WKF), Japan Sports Association (JSA), and Japanese Budō Association (JBA). The styles recognized by the JKF are Wadō-ryū, Shotokan, 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 Shotokan.

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 Jitsumi Gōgen Yamaguchi (山口剛玄; January 20, 1909 – May 20, 1989), also known as Gōgen Yamaguchi, was a Japanese martial artist and student of Gōjū-ryū Karate under Chōjun Miyagi. He was one of the most well-known karate-dō ...

of Goju-ryu, Ōtsuka Hironori of Wadō-ryū,

Nakayama Masatoshi was an internationally famous Japanese master of Shotokan karate.DF_56_of_80">("Sa_...,_who_were_known_as_kenjutsu_instructors,_from_the_Nagano_Prefecture.html" ;"title="kenjutsu.html" ;"title="DF 56 of 80/nowiki>">DF 56 of 80">("Sa ..., who were ...

of Shotokan,

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

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 摩文仁 ...

, 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 Japan Karatedo Federation Renbukai (全日本空手道連盟錬武会; ''Zennihon Karatedo renmei Renbukai'' ; JKF Renbukai; sometimes referred to simply as ''Renbukai'' 錬武会 in Japan) is a Bōgutsuki Karate organization. It is one of the s ...

'', and then became an official member of the new JKF as a group, encompassing Bōgu 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 The is the chief executive body of the government of Japan. It consists of the prime minister, who is appointed by the emperor after being designated by the National Diet, and up to nineteen other members, called Ministers of State. The prime ...

. In December in the same year, the All Japan Karate Championships were held at the

Nippon Budōkan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts ...

in Tokyo. The JKF also works with organizations using the traditional styles of karate. In October 1970, the JKF became a member of the World Karate Federation (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 ma ...

(JKA) attempted to standardize such rules. They addressed conflicts between the organizations that teach Kyokushin, 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 The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

(Japan Martial Arts Council). The JKF has been officially participating at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

, East Asian Games 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

(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 The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it ...

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 largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

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 ...

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'Ivoir ...

, a

Black Belt Black Belt may refer to: Martial arts * Black belt (martial arts), an indication of attainment of expertise in martial arts * ''Black Belt'' (magazine), a magazine covering martial arts news, technique, and notable individuals Places * Black B ...

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 2. ...

. ;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 ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised ...

and Kumite. ;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 dur ...

, the kata are

Saifa Saifa (kanji:砕破, katakana:サイファ) is a ''kaishugata'' (kata) of Gōjū-ryū karate. According to the International Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate-Do Federation, this kata is taught third, after Gekisai Dai Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ni, and precedi ...

(砕破), Seipai (十八手), Kururunfa (久留頓破), and Seisan (十三手). *For Shotokan, the kata are

Kanku dai ''Kanku'' is a 1969 Gujarati social drama film, starring Kishore Bhatt, Kishore Jariwala, Pallavi Mehta, directed by Kantilal Rathod. The film was adapted from Pannalal Patel's short story of the same name. The film won National Film Award for ...

(観空大),

Jion Ji'in, Jion, and Jitte form a group of kata used in Shotokan and other karate styles, beginning with the same characteristic kamae of the left hand covering the right, which apparently has roots in ancient Chinese boxing. Their origin is thought ...

(慈恩), Kankū Shō (観空小), and Enpi (燕飛). *For Wadō-ryū, the kata are Seishan (征射雲),

Chintō Chintō (鎮東) (In Shotokan, Gankaku (岩鶴)) is an advanced kata practiced in many styles of karate. According to legend, it is named after a stranded Chinese sailor (or pirate), sometimes referred to as Annan, whose ship crashed on the Okina ...

(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) ( Shotokan) *All Japan Karatedo Shotokan (AJKS) ( Shotokan) *JKF Goju-kai ( Goju-ryu) *JKF Wado-kai ( Wado-ryu) *JKF Shito-kai ( Shito-ryu) *

(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 Americans, 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 ...

, 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 (; ; 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 ...