Historical Chronology: The Life of Shigeru Egami & Milestones of Shotokai

Birth of Shigeru Egami in Miyanoura-cho, Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Birth of Chiyoko Egami.

Egami begins judo at age thirteen; later practices kendo and an aiki art.

Egami enters Waseda University School of Commerce; trains under Takeshi Shimoda and Gichin Funakoshi.

Passing of assistant Takeshi Shimoda; Yoshitaka Funakoshi assumes technical leadership.

Founding of the Shotokai association to support Master Funakoshi.

Egami appointed to the Shotokan Evaluation Committee at age 24.

Opening of the first dedicated dojo building, named Shotokan, in Zoshigaya, Tokyo.

Egami teaches unarmed combat at the Army Nakano Espionage Academy alongside Yoshitaka Funakoshi and Tadao Okuyama.

Marriage of Shigeru Egami and Chiyoko through an arranged match.

Wartime evacuation to Omuta; Egami opens a two-room dojo teaching self-defense and character.

Destruction of Mejiro Shotokan in air raids; passing of Yoshitaka Funakoshi.

Mitsusuke Harada departs for Brazil, maintaining voluminous letter exchanges with Egami.

Tsutomu Ohshima arrives in the United States; later starts the Caltech club (1957) and SCKA (1959).

Egami begins the 'Funakoshi-Egami Style' overhaul, discarding rigid tension and makiwara training.

Severe gastric surgeries at Keio Hospital; cardiac crisis on the table where Egami is gone for ten minutes.

Passing of Master Gichin Funakoshi; Egami is the sole student at his hospital bedside.

Funakoshi funeral conducted by Shotokai; JKA declines to attend, marking the formal institutional division.

Formal opening of the Tokyu Karate Dojo with Egami appointed shihan.

Legal incorporation of Nihon Karate-do Shotokai; Hironishi becomes president, Egami chief instructor.

Mitsusuke Harada settles in Great Britain, founding Karate-do Shotokai (KDS).

Egami initiates systematic inquiry into bio-magnetic waves, solar cycles, and distance projection (toate).

Founding of Rakutenkai at Iwai Beach; radical experiments in holistic movement (Sogo Budo).

Atsuo Hiruma moves to Spain; Kazuhiko Sekine establishes the Sapporo branch in Hokkaido.

Tetsuji Murakami aligns his European dojo network with Shotokai.

Hiroyuki Aoki founds Shintaido; Masatake Egami joins him; Master Egami maintains policy of non-pursuit.

Publication of Karate-do: For the Specialist; Hiroyuki Aoki and Rakutenkai serve as technical photo models.

Tomoji Miyamoto films the definitive 16-Kata video archive under Egami's direct eye.

Publication of The Way of Karate: Beyond Technique (Kodansha); Tomoji Miyamoto serves as sole technical photo model.

Dedication of the rebuilt Central Headquarters Dojo Shotokan in Kikukawa, Tokyo.

European journey across France, Switzerland, Italy, and Portugal; Egami writes the Soku-Ze-Dojo letter.

Visits to Taiwan (Taipei/Taichung) and Spain (Madrid/Seville/Valencia); severe physical exhaustion.

Egami collapses during an instructors' seminar; cerebral hemorrhage on Oct 12; hospitalization at Keio.

Passing of Master Shigeru Egami at 7:00 PM (age 68) from pneumonia; brief bedside lucidity on Jan 7.

Passing of Chiyoko Egami (age 71); Kimikagesō preserved as a vital historical record.

Modern reconstruction of the Nihon Karate-do Shotokai Central Headquarters Dojo (Honbu Dojo Shoto-kan) at 2-1-7 Kikukawa, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (Zip 130-0024); Jotaro Takagi becomes 3rd Kancho and Fumito Sugimoto becomes Chief Instructor (Shihan).

Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Shotokan and 130th Anniversary of Master Gichin Funakoshi's birth celebrated at the Kikukawa Honbu Dojo, presided over by Master Genshin Hironishi, welcoming international delegations from Europe and the Americas.

Passing of Master Fumito Sugimoto.

Passing of Master Jotaro Takagi; Yoshinori Takita appointed 4th Kancho.

Continuing global transmission of orthodox Shotokai, Egami-ryu, KDS, and Shintaido.