Mitsusuke Harada

Mitsusuke Harada: A Brilliant Career.

President of Karate-Do Shotokai (KDS)

Mitsusuke Harada Sensei, son of a Japanese Army officer, was born in Manchuria in 1928. They stayed in China until he was nine years old, then they returned to Tokyo. He started practicing karate when he was 15 years old, in 1943, where he met Yoshitaka Funakoshi sensei (Waka sensei, the young sensei).

In 1948 he started his Economy studies at the Waseda University, and at the same time his Karate training. These classes were given by renowned Sempai, and once a week Master Gichin Funakoshi would personally supervise the courses. One of Master Funakoshi's own students, Shigeru Egami, noticed Harada's abilities and invited him to train with him. In only eight years of practice Harada received his 5th dan in 1956, with Master Funakoshi's signature.

He later traveled to Brazil where he stayed until 1962. In 1963 he was invited to go to France, Paris, by invitation of Ohshima Sensei, as a professor. Due to visa problems he later travels to Great Britain where he lives until today, here he directs Shotokai of Europe.

Archival Perspective: The Egami-Harada Technical Dialogue

Following his departure for Brazil in 1956 and subsequently Europe, Mitsusuke Harada maintained a voluminous correspondence with Master Shigeru Egami. As recorded in the research surrounding Kimikagesō, these detailed technical exchanges bridged the distance between Tokyo and the West. While Egami explored profound relaxation and non-contraction through his physical vulnerability in Tokyo, Harada investigated softness, evasion, and natural speed across the United Kingdom, founding Karate-do Shotokai (KDS).

Read more on Master Harada and the postwar transmission in the Kimikagesō Masters & Disciples Dossier.