Manzo Iwata (9 February 1924 – 4 June 1993) was a Japanese martial artist.

Life and career

Early years

Manzo Iwata was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan, to a family that owned the Iwata-en Tea Company. He began the study of Shito-ryu karate at the age of 10. In junior high school, he also studied

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

and

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spr ...

. He studied aikido with Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in a ...

and a good friend of his grandfather. Iwata enrolled at

Toyo University is a university with several branches in Japan, including Hakusan, Asaka, Kawagoe, Itakura, and Akabane. Overview The predecessor to Toyo University was , which was founded at Rinsho-in Temple by Enryo Inoue in 1887. Inoue felt that the ...

in 1941 and began training in karate directly under Grandmaster

Kenwa Mabuni was one of the first karateka to teach karate in mainland Japan and is credited as developing the style known as Shitō-ryū. Originally, he chose the name Hanko-ryu, literally "half-hard style", to imply that the style used both hard and sof ...

, the founder of Shito-ryu karate. After beginning training in Kobudo Bujutsu or staff, Iwata was advised by Mabuni to study Jojutsu, or short staff, under

Seiko Fujita , born , was a prominent Japanese martial artist, researcher and author. Regarded as the 14th and final heir to the Kōga-ryū Wada-ha Ninjutsu tradition, he was highly respected by his peers and a core member of Japan's classical martial arts co ...

. In 1943, Iwata received a Jojutsu Shihan diploma from Fujita. After graduating from Toyo University in 1944, Iwata also received a Shihan diploma from Mabuni. After the death of Fujita in 1966, Iwata became heir to many of his styles, but not of Kōga-ryū Wada Ha Ninjutsu.

Later years

In 1960, Iwata established the Nihon Karate-Do Kai Eastern Japan and became its first president. In 1964, he became vice-president of the All Japan Karate-Do Federation Shito-Kai. In 1969, he became the Saitama Prefecture Karate-Do Federation vice-president. In 1972, he became an All Japan Karate-do Federation first grade referee. In 1980, he became the president of Shito-Kai, and in 1993 received the Japan Martial Arts Distinguished Service Medal. He died of heart failure in 1993.

References

1924 births 1993 deaths Shitō-ryū practitioners Japanese male karateka People from Tokyo {{Japan-karate-bio-stub