is a Japanese author and practitioner of

Japanese martial arts Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms (''budō'', ''bujutsu'', and ''bugei'') are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts. The usage ...

. Tokitsu has also written a scholarly work about the legendary swordsman

Musashi Miyamoto , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a '' kensei'' (sword saint) of Japan. He w ...

. He holds

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

s in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and in

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

and

civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

Biography

Kenji Tokitsu was born on 1 August 1947 in Yamaguchi,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. A practitioner of

Shotokan karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thr ...

since youth, in 1984 Tokitsu started his own school, the Shaolin-mon ("door to Shaolin", compare the

Mumonkan ''The Gateless Barrier'' (Mandarin: 無門關 ''Wúménguān''; Japanese: 無門関 ''Mumonkan''), sometimes translated as ''The Gateless Gate'', is a collection of 48 Chan (Zen) koans compiled in the early 13th century by the Chinese Zen maste ...

) school in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he had taught Shotokan karate since 1971. The Shaolin-mon teachings were a hybrid of Tokitsu's dissatisfaction with Shotokan karate combined with what he learned of

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

. Still later, he founded the Tokitsu-ryu Academy in 2001. He was interviewed for his thoughts on Japanese culture in

Chris Marker Chris Marker (; 29 July 1921 – 29 July 2012) (born ''Christian-François Bouche-Villeneuve'') was a French writer, photographer, documentary film director, multimedia artist and Essay#Film, film essayist. His best known films are ''La Jetée' ...

's 1996 documentary film ''Level Five.''

Books

*Tokitsu, Kenji, ''The Inner Art of Karate: Cultivating the Budo Spirit in Your Practice'', trans. 2012, *–––––, ''Ki and the Way of the Martial Arts'', trans. 2003, *–––––, ''

Miyamoto Musashi , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a ''Kensei (honorary title), kensei'' (swo ...

: His Life and Writings'', trans. 2004 by Sherab Chödzin Kohn (from the French ''Miyamoto Musashi'', 2000), Boston:

Shambhala Shambhala (, ),Śambhala m. (also written Sambhala): Name of a town (situated between the Rathaprā and Ganges, and identified by some with Sambhal in Moradabad; the town or district of Śambhala is fabled to be the place where Kalki, the last ...

, (1st ed., hbk)

References

*Shambhala
Biographical article and bibliography
at

Shambhala Publications Shambhala Publications is an Independent publisher, independent publishing company based in Boulder, Colorado. According to the company, it specializes in "books that present creative and conscious ways of transforming the individual, the societ ...

*Tokitsu, , www.tokitsu.com *Tokitsu, , www.tokitsu.com *Tokitsu, , www.tokitsu.com ;Notes

External links

* www.tokitsuryu.it (new official website)
YouTube video of Kenji
1947 births Living people Japanese writers Martial arts writers {{japan-writer-stub