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Masaru Shintani (February 3, 1928 – May 7, 2000) was a Japanese-Canadian
master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
of karate who introduced the
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 ...
style of karate in Canada and founded the Shintani Wado-Kai Karate Federation. At the time of his death he was the Supreme Instructor of Wado Kai Karate in North America. Shintani devoted over 50 years to the study of Karate. He also held ranks in
Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
(Sandan),
Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...
(Shodan), and Kendo (Shodan).


Early life

Shintani was born February 3, 1928, in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada, the eldest child of six born to Kanaye Shintani and Tsuruye Shintani (Matsumoto) of the Matsumoto samurai family. Shintani's father died when he was only seven years old. At the start of World War II, all Canadians of Japanese descent were sent to relocation centres throughout the country. Shintani and his family were sent to New Denver, British Columbia. Shintani's early martial arts training was in the relocation camps at the age of 14, studying
judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
, kendo and
aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...
. In 1947, Shintani and his family moved to
Beamsville Beamsville ( 2021 Urban area estimated population 13,323) is a community that is part of the town of Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. It is located along the southern shore of Lake Ontario and lies within the fruit belt of the Niagara Peninsula. It co ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. In 1952 he formed his first karate club at the
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
YMCA.


Shōrin-ryū Karate

Some time in the early 1940s, Shintani and a group of boys from the relocation camp were looking for a place to play Hockey, when they came across Akira Kitagawa practicing
Shōrin-ryū Shōrin-ryū (少林流) is one of the major modern Okinawan martial arts and is one of the oldest styles of karate. It was named by Choshin Chibana in 1933, but the system itself is much older. The characters 少林, meaning "sparse" or "scant ...
karate, using a tree as a
makiwara The makiwara () is a padded striking post used as a training tool in various styles of traditional karate. It is thought to be uniquely Okinawan in origin. The makiwara is one form of ''hojo undō'', a method of supplementary conditioning used ...
. Kitagawa invited them to try his sport, which he simply called '
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 ...
'. Shintani trained with Kitagawa for 20 years, and when Kitagawa died, Shintani began searching for another teacher.


Wadō-ryū Karate

In the mid-1950s, during a trip to Japan to compete in a karate tournament, Shintani met Hironori Ohtsuka. After this meeting, Shintani and Ohtsuka began to develop a very close relationship. He once said to Shintani "you come from a fine grain". Shintani would make regular trips to Japan to learn from Ohtsuka, and Ohtsuka visited Shintani in Canada during several of his international trips. Sometime in early 1970, Ohtsuka asked Shintani to officially call his style Wadō-ryū, and asked Shintani to continue to develop Wadō-ryū in Canada. In a letter written by Ohtsuka to Shintani dated July 14, 1974, Ohtsuka said "Please take care of the Canadian Wado Kai as its representative". Shintani accepted this honour, and subsequently became the head of all Wado Karate-do in North America and was conferred the title of Supreme Instructor. In 1979, Ohtsuka presented Shintani with his 8th dan, and also gave him a post-dated 9th dan certificate for the future. Shintani revealed his 9th dan certificate in 1995.


Shindō

One night, Shintani had a dream that he was fighting a swordsman, and the only weapon he had was a short stick. In his dream, he was able to defeat the swordsman with this stick. This dream is what inspired him to develop Shindō or "the straight/pure way". Shindō incorporates the techniques and applications of Wado-ryu karate. Shintani developed Shindō with the idea that the same techniques could be used either empty handed, or with a Shindō, a stick approximately 36-inches in length, essentially a shortened staff. Shintani began teaching Shindō to his students in the early 1980s.


Later life

In the last years before his death, Shintani spent much of his time developing Karate and Shindō concepts and travelled to various regions of North America and overseas to conduct seminars. On April 29, 2000, Shintani travelled to Kapuskasing, Ontario to conduct some Karate seminars. On May 6, 2000, he had a mild heart attack and was taken to Kapuskasing Hospital where his condition was stabilized. The next day, with his condition being upgraded to stable, the doctors decided to have Shintani returned to Hamilton via air-ambulance to be under his physician's care. Shortly after take-off, Shintani had a massive heart attack. The air-ambulance returned to Kapuskasing Hospital where Shintani was declared deceased.


Legacy

Three separate groups continue to teach Wadō-ryū karate as passed down from Sensei Ohtsuka to Sensei Shintani. *
Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation
(SWKKF) - the largest of the three groups, representing approximately 94 clubs.
Wado Karate Association of Canada
- representing 12 clubs.
World Congress Karate Shintani


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shintani, Masaru 1928 births 2000 deaths Canadian sportspeople of Japanese descent Sportspeople from Vancouver Wadō-ryū practitioners Canadian male karateka