Toru Arakawa

Tōru Arakawa(荒川通,[1] Arakawa Tōru ; November 1932 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan; – 20 June 2015) was a karate master of the style Wadō-ryū. He was one of the few karateka ranked 9th Dan in Japan.[2]

Toru Arakawa
Born(1932-11-27)27 November 1932
Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Died20 June 2015(2015-06-20) (aged 82)
Tokyo, Japan
StyleWadō-ryū Karate
Teacher(s)Hironori Ōtsuka
Rank9th dan karate hanshi

Biography

Tōru Arakawa began karate training at the Nihon University at the age of 18. At the beginning of the 1960s he traveled to Europe and America together with Tatsuo Suzuki and Hajime Takashima to make karate in the western countries popular.[3]

Arakawa served as the manager of the JKF Wadōkai from 1962 to 1979. In 1982, he played a major role in the creation of the first Shatai [Kata] book, which standardized Kata 's style – encompassing style for JKF competitions. In addition, he trained numerous successful athletes in the 1980s, including Seiji Nishimura and Toshiaki Maeda.[4]

Until his death in June 2015, Arakawa taught in his Dōjō Shibuya and at international seminars in Japan and overseas.

Participation in the following publications
  • Karatedo Shitei Kata, 1982, JKF Wadokai
  • Wado-kai Karatedo Textbook, Kata section (Vol. 1), 2015, JKF Wadokai

References
  1. "Waseda seishinkai". Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. "TORU ARAKAWA 9th Dan JKF, 1932–2015 – Karate BC". Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  3. Ben Pollock: Karate Wadōryu: from Japan to the West, Manchester 2014, 1st edition, ISBN 978-1-291-65036-5, page 80
  4. Salvador Herráiz: Toru Arakawa – Top Master of Japanese Karate Federation in Budo International Martial Arts Magazin, No. 288, May 2015, Budo International, Madrid, page 65
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