Master Masatoshi Nakayama

Masatoshi Nakayama was a world renown famous Japanese master of Shotokan karate, martial arts was in his blood. He was a descendant of the Sanada clan, in the Nagano region. His ances-tors were highly-skilled instructors of kenjutsu.

Master Nakayama was born in 1913 in Yamaguchi Prefecture and his introduction to Karate came when entering Takushoku University in 1932. He studied at the university’s karate club, under Master Funakoshi Gichin. And from that moment he devoted his life to karate and later traveled to China for further training. He helped establish the Japan Karate Association in 1949.

His adaptation of kata and kumite for the match system was a huge success in the Japan Karate Championship in 1961.

For almost 40 years, until his death in 1987, Sensei Nakayama worked to spread the art of Shotokan karate around the globe. He was the first master in Shotokan history to attain the rank of 9th dan while alive.

In 1961, on a historical visit to Indonesia he met Guru Hanafi and he began training the young Hanafi in his infamous Shotokan Karate. Together they founded Indonesia’s first Karate champi-onships with the association of Persatuan Olah Raga Karate Indonesia.