Hidetaka Nishiyama

The architect of modern traditional karate

Hidetaka Nishiyama was born in Tokyo in 1928. He began his karate training in 1943 under Gichin Funakoshi himself, and that same year earned his 1st Dan in kendō — an art in which he would eventually reach 3rd Dan.

University and the JKA

As a student at Takushoku University, he was a member and, by 1949, captain of the university karate team. In 1957 he helped found the Japan Karate Association (JKA) alongside his friend Masatoshi Nakayama, an organization recognized that same year by the Japanese Ministry of Education.

The United States and the ITKF

In 1961, Nishiyama organized in Los Angeles, California, the first National Karate Championship under the AAKF, and established his dojo there. In 1985, the IAKF was renamed the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF) to distinguish traditional karate from the generic sport. Nishiyama was its founder and first president.

Honors

In November 2000, the Emperor of Japan awarded him the Kun Yo-To (Fourth Order of Merit) and the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Zuiho-shō) for his contribution to spreading Japanese culture through traditional karate. He passed away on November 7, 2008, in Los Angeles.

It is through Nishiyama that the Funakoshi lineage reaches the Americas — and, by the same path, Venezuela.