Scholarly Bibliography & Archival Repositories for Kimikagesō
The Kimikagesō research project is grounded in primary Japanese documentary sources, first-edition martial treatises, memorial volumes, and verified digital repositories preserved across Japan and internationally.
1. Primary Archival Print Source
君影草: 夫・江上茂の遺したもの
Kimikagesō: Otto Egami Shigeru no Nokoshita Mono (Kimikagesō - Lily of the Valley: What My Husband Shigeru Egami Left Behind)
Author: Chiyoko Egami (江上 千代子, c. 1920-1991; records also note 1917-2002)
Place & Date: Tokyo, Japan · January 1991
Pagination: 268 pages with family photographs and calligraphy
NDL Status: Private memorial imprint (*hi-baihin*) / Non-commercial dojo circulation
Structure: 4 Main Chapters subdivided into 68 distinct episodes
Context: Tenth memorial anniversary of Master Shigeru Egami
This monograph provides the most authoritative and intimate record of Shigeru Egami's life. Printed privately in January 1991 for the tenth anniversary of Master Egami's passing, it was produced for distribution among family, close disciples, and the Shotokai dojo community rather than commercial retail channels (which accounts for its absence from standard commercial book trade registries and the National Diet Library public catalog). Unlike external technical accounts, Chiyoko Egami captures the personal reality behind the legend: the brutal conditioning at Waseda, the daily sparring encounters with Yoshitaka Funakoshi at Mejiro Shotokan, wartime hardships, pulmonary collapse in Korea, and the biomechanical transformations that followed Egami's life-threatening abdominal surgeries between 1955 and 1960.
2. Canonical Treatises of Master Gichin Funakoshi
空手道教範 (Karate-do Kyohan: The Master Text)
Kobundo, 1935 (1st Edition)Gichin Funakoshi · Technical demonstrations by Yoshitaka Funakoshi and Shigeru Egami
The foundational masterwork standardizing modern Karate in Japan. In its original 1935 edition, Yoshitaka Funakoshi served as principal kata demonstrator, while Shigeru Egami and Genshin Hironishi posed for kumite and throwing techniques (nage-waza). This stands as the definitive visual record of Yoshitaka and Egami pre-war collaboration.
空手道入門 (Karate-do Nyumon: The Master Introductory Text)
Kobundo, 1943 / KodanshaGichin Funakoshi • Technical demonstrations by Yoshitaka Funakoshi
Master Gichin Funakoshi's essential introductory treatise. Combines his historical memoirs and ethical principles for practitioners with technical instructions and fundamental forms formulated and demonstrated with his son Yoshitaka Funakoshi.
錬胆護身 唐手術 (Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu)
Okura Kobundo, 1925Gichin Funakoshi · Second major publication following the Great Kanto Earthquake
Published after the printing plates for Ryukyu Kempo Karate were lost in the 1923 earthquake. Sets forth the ethical and physical training discipline through which Funakoshi educated the first university generation in Tokyo, including Shigeru Egami.
空手道一路 (Karate-do Ichiro / Karate-do: My Way of Life)
Kodansha, 1956 / 1975Autobiography of Gichin Funakoshi
The final autobiographical reflections of the Supreme Master. Covers his Okinawan upbringing under Azato and Itosu, his 1922 arrival on the mainland, and his non-sporting vision of martial practice as character perfection.
3. Canonical Treatises of Master Shigeru Egami
空手道 専門家のために (Karate-do: For the Specialist)
Shoto-kai / Kodansha, 1970Shigeru Egami · Principal technical demonstrator: Hiroyuki Aoki
The most radical technical exposition of non-contraction. In this volume, Master Egami formally broke with conventional rigid kime, advancing deep relaxation, flexible shockwave penetration, and mind-body unity. Hiroyuki Aoki served as the primary photographic model, demonstrating maximum elongation and fluid physical release.
The Way of Karate: Beyond Technique
Kodansha International, 1976Shigeru Egami · Original photographic model: Tomoji Miyamoto
The landmark work introducing the Shotokai revolution to the English-speaking world. Featuring Tomoji Miyamoto as the technical photo model in the first edition, the text details Egami empirical strikes against senior practitioners to measure true wave penetration, warning against the sportification of martial arts. (Later reissued as The Heart of Karate-do, 2000).
4. Memorial Compilations & Disciple Testimonies
江上茂先生追悼録 (Egami Shigeru Sensei Tsuitōroku)
Nihon Karate-do Shotokai, Tokyo, 1982Official memorial compendium published for the first anniversary of Master Egami passing. Brings together memorial essays, technical reflections, and intimate tributes by his direct disciples, including Genshin Hironishi, Hiroyuki Aoki, Tomoji Miyamoto, Tetsuji Sugimoto, and overseas instructors.
空手道 大学空手の歩み (Karate-do: Daigaku Karate no Ayumi)
Genshin Hironishi · Waseda Karate Alumni, TokyoDetailed history of university Karate in Japan from the late 1920s onward. Supplies crucial documentation regarding the founding of the Waseda Karate Club by Hironishi and Egami, and Yoshitaka Funakoshi catalytic leadership among collegiate youth.
5. Digital Archives & Authoritative Repositories
Nihon Karate-do Shoto-kai (NKS)
Main portal of the Nihon Karate-do Shotokai headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Hosts institutional archives, records of the Shoto-kan Honbu Dojo in Kikukawa (Sumida-ku, Tokyo), and foundational non-sporting budo declarations.
Association Karate-do Mushinkai
International historical portal preserving Master Hiroyuki Aoki teachings, the historical background of Karate-do: For the Specialist (1970), and primary testimonies of training under Shigeru Egami.
Shotokai Karate-do Chile
Founded by Master Humberto Heyden. Preserves historical documentation, correspondence, and archives on the development of Shotokai Karate-do in Chile and South America.
Shintaido International Archives
Documentation concerning the Rakutenkai research group (1965-1966), Master Aoki biomechanical inquiries under Egami mentorship, and the extension of non-contraction beyond traditional karate boundaries.
Master Kenjiro Kawanabe (1932 - 2022) Profile & Insights
Historical profile and doctrinal insights of Master Kenjiro Kawanabe, direct disciple of Master Gichin Funakoshi at Waseda University and founder of Kawanabe Budo Karate. Documents his testimonies on Master Funakoshi, Yoshitaka Funakoshi, Shigeru Egami spiritual studies under Master Noriaki Inoue, Tadao Okuyama transmission, and his 1974 official authorization granted to Humberto Heyden Sensei for Escuela Shotokai de Chile.
6. Critical Methodology & Fact-Checking Notes
Photographic Attribution in Egami Treatises (1970 vs 1976)
Western publications and unspecialized websites have frequently conflated the photographic models in Master Egami two major texts. Documentary research confirms conclusively: (1) In Karate-do: For the Specialist (1970), the primary technical photographic demonstrator is Hiroyuki Aoki, accompanied by senior Shoto-kai instructors. (2) In The Way of Karate: Beyond Technique (1976), the technical photographic model of the original edition is Tomoji Miyamoto. Furthermore, Tomoji Miyamoto is the demonstrator in the historic 16-kata film series featuring a personal introduction by Master Shigeru Egami.
Evolution of the Central Headquarters: Shoto-kan Honbu Dojo
The physical home of Shotokai Karate-do has existed in three historical iterations: (1) The original Mejiro Shoto-kan, inaugurated in January 1939 and destroyed in the Tokyo air raids of 1945; (2) The rebuilt dojo in Shibaura, Minato-ku, inaugurated on January 18, 1976 under Genshin Hironishi and Shigeru Egami; and (3) The current central dojo, Nihon Karate Do Shoto-kai Honbu Dojo Shoto-kan, relocated in 2003 to 2-1-7 Kikukawa, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (Postal Code 130-0024).
