was a Ryūkyūan master of

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

. He and Ankō Itosu were the two main karate masters who taught

Gichin Funakoshi was the founder of Shotokan karate. He is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gichin (1981). ''Karate-Do: My Way of Life'', Kodansha International Ltd. . he was one of the Okin ...

, 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" thro ...

karate. Not much is known about him, and most information on him comes from Funakoshi. 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 Cities of Japan, 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 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...

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

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). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship exerc ...

'' (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; Asato's defeat of Yōrin Kanna, in which the unarmed Asato prevailed despite Kanna being armed with an unblunted blade; his demonstration of a single-point punch (''ippon-ken''); and Asato and Itosu's friendly arm-wrestling matches.

References

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