Greetings
One of the features of the International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan Union is that the Board of Directors is established and officers are re-elected every two years. The top is not permanent. Next, members will be recognized on the base of Dojo, not according to the system of Branch Chief of Prefecture. The Board of Directors and regular members do not have a top-down relationship, but a relationship of coexistence and cooperation in which things are decided through democracy and discussions with each other.
The first principle of inheriting the Kyokushinkaikan is to spread and develop the philosophy, spirit, thought, practice, and courtesy of the Kyokushin Karate, which was founded by Sosai Masutatsu Oyama. With the aim of fostering youth, we are about to produce excellent people and Martial Arts people to the world. It is the development of human resources who will be responsible for the realization of world peace.
IKOKU, which is the owner of the trademark of Kyokushinkaikan, protects the trademark right of Kyokushinkaikan together with the Kyokushinkaikan Branch Chiefs' Association. IKOKU will hold unified All Japan Championships and unified World Championships with the Kyokushinkaikan Branch chiefs’ Association, so it will produce real new champions.
International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan Union
Chief director Tabata Shigeru
Masutatsu Oyama
Founder of Kyokushin.
Reason of establishment
The Founder of Kyokushin Karate, Sosai Masutatsu Oyama studied Kempo in his childhood, later he knocked at the door of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate. After that he practiced Goju Ryu Karate, and he made a profound study of other styles. In 1963 he established the International Karate-Do Kyokushin Organization Shogakai Kyokushinkaikan.
After that he devoted his life to only Karate, he introduced it to 124 different countries in the world, resulting in over 1200 official dojo. Including the unofficial dojo, the members would total about 12.000.000. He splendidly succeeded spreading Kyokushin as a single style over the whole world. On the national level of Japan too, he arranged for it that each and every prefecture has its Branch, so that in the Karate World there have become some representatives of this style.
But unfortunatly on April 26, 1994, the Founder of Kyokushin Karate, Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, passed away for lung cancer.
After that, because of the opposition between Japanese Branch Chiefs, it came to a split in the Japanese Organization and consequently also in the International Organization. I think that every Branch Chief has to reflect deeply about this serious infraction caused against all people who are related to Kyokushin, dojo members, persons supporting Kyokushin and all persons who are connected with Karate.
After the split each group claimed over and again that only his own group is the real Kyokushin. The real situation is that lately society is witnessing only the arguments of the groups and the mass media too is distinguishing between the respective Kyokushin-groups. The same problem also arises on the local level.
Lately the Kyokushin mark has become a big problem, just because of the mark the groups are arguing even more that such and such a group is the only right one.
From the very beginning onwards, there are some Shihans who do not belong to any faction, according to them in order to bring people together it is no good to continue these arguments, they claim it is necessary to find the right junction. The Shihans who approve of this idea are coming together with a nonpartisan grounding, starting up the Union.
The Karate Union as a substance is formed out of various Kyokushin Organizations, various Kyokushin dojo, that are all independent and autonomous. In Kyokushinkaikan there is no partiality made between the factions that might have different principles, doctrines, advocacies or opinions. As a nonpartisan, an objective organization, the Union will spread the Japanese Karate-Do and develop it.
The Karate Union's aim is to spread and develop Kyokushin Karate in the right way, as it was inherited from the Founder Masutatsu Oyama, therefore study it and verify it. Also contribute to society by building up people's character through training Kyokushin Karate.
The Union is to transmit Sosai Masutatsu Oyama's magnificent Kyokushin Karate, having a broad mind to recognize each other’s activities, but each Kyokushin Organization agreeing upon the pursuit of unified tournaments and unified promotion tests.
If we cannot come to such a move, society will always associate Kyokushin with arguments and misgivings.
If we would seize now the possibility of uniting the Branch Chiefs, that were already Branch Chiefs under Sosai, then we could sweep away all the uncertainties and confusion. Wishing to do away with the doubt which way to turn, we have started up the All Japan Kyokushin Union, and changed its name in January 2017 into International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan Union. What is more, we firmly believe that overseas countries, overseas Branches also can be settled in the Internatinal Karate Organization Union, with the aim of finding a way to continue unifying Kyokushin all over the world.
This info does not only result from our understanding, but it is also thanks to guidance, assistance and encouragement from many others that it can be provided herewith.
December 2001
- Shigeru Tabata (Yamagata Prefecture)
- Jun Miwa (Tokyo)
- Shigenori Sakamoto (Tokyo)
- Daigo Oishi (Shizuoka Pref. and Yamanashi Pref.)
- Toshikazu Seto (Kanagawa Pref.)
- Yasuo Takahashi (Fukui Pref.)
- Yukio Okada (Osaka)
- Kazuyuki Hasegawa (Aichi Pref. and Tokushima Pref.)
- Yasuhiro Kuwajima (Kagawa Pref.)
- Yasuhiro Shichinohe (Okinawa Pref.)