Jitsumi Gōgen Yamaguchi (山口剛玄; January 20, 1909 – May 20, 1989), also known as Gōgen Yamaguchi, was a Japanese martial artist and student of Gōjū-ryū Karate under Chōjun Miyagi. He was one of the most well-known karate-dō masters from Japan and he founded the International Karate-dō Gōjū Kai Association.
Prior to his death, Yamaguchi was decorated by the Emperor of Japan in 1968 with the Ranjū-Hōshō, らんじゅほうしょう(藍綬褒章), the Blue Ribbon Medal of the fifth order of merit, for his enormous contribution to the spread worldwide of the Japanese martial arts. For many years he was listed in the Guinness Book of Records regarding his rank and achievements. According to an obituary: His name was a household word in Karate circles, and he appeared in all the major Martial Arts magazines and publications, both in Japan and the western world.
According to his autobiographical work: Karate Gojū-ryū by the Cat Tokyo, Japan (1963), Gōgen Yamaguchi was born on January 20, 1909, in Miyakonojō Shonai, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, near Kagoshima City on the island of Kyūshū. In his 5th year of primary school Yamaguchi commenced his karate-dō training under the guidance of Takeo Maruta, a carpenter joiner from Okinawa. Maruta was a Gōjū-ryū practitioner.
Gōgen Yamaguchi was named Jitsumi Yamaguchi by his father Tokutarō who was a merchant and later a schoolteacher and superintendent; his mother was Yoshimatsu. Jitsumi was their 3rd son, and there were ten children in this very large Japanese family.
Gōgen Yamaguchi was also famously known in the world of karate-dō as ‘the Cat’; he was a very small man, just over five feet (1.52 meters) and a mere 160 pounds (73 kg); however, he projected the impression of great bulk and an aura reminiscent of the samurai era. He was first dubbed 'the Cat' by American GIs for his gliding walk and flowing hair. He alone was primarily responsible for the spread of Gōjū-kai throughout the world today whereby hundreds of thousands of practitioners have experienced some form of training within traditional and non-traditional karate dojo.
According to Gōgen Yamaguchi himself when interviewed by French magazine Karate journalist Rolland Gaillac, April 1977 edition, he stated: "Even today, young man, if you were to face me in combat, I would be able to determine in a second the strength of your Ki. Immediately I would know if you were a good opponent. It is this quality, and no other, which has given me the name of The Cat."
Gōgen then began the serious study of karate-dō with Sensei Takeo Maruta after his family relocated to Kyoto. Maruta was also a carpenter or joiner by trade and was himself a student of the legendary Chōjun Miyagi of Okinawa. Gōgen Yamaguchi studied directly with Chōjun Miyagi later in 1929, after he and his then-current teacher and friend Jitsuei Yogi wrote to Chōjun Miyagi and invited him to come to Japan.
Chōjun Miyagi visited the university dojo of Kansai, Osaka, Ritsumeikan, Kyoto, and Doshisha Universities, whilst Gōgen was attending Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. There he studied Law and in 1930 Yogi together with Gōgen Yamaguchi co-founded the Ritsumeikan daigaku karate kenkyū-kai (立命館大学空手研究会; lit. Ritsumeikan University Karate Research Association), the first karate club at Ritsumeikan University. The Ritsumeikan Karate-dō Kenkyū-kai was the first university karate club in western Japan and was infamous for its hard style training and fierce karate fighters. Both Yogi and Yamaguchi attended Ritsumeikan University during the time Chōjun Miyagi visited, and Chōjun Miyagi stayed in Yogi's apartment.
Chōjun Miyagi later gave Gōgen Yamaguchi the responsibility for spreading Gōjū-ryū in mainland Japan. In the early 1930s, Gōgen designed what would become the legendary signature Gōjū-kai fist. It is said to be modeled after the right fist of Chōjun Miyagi.
Introduces Jiyū Kumite and Forms the All Japan Karate-dō Gōjū-kai Federation
After graduating from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto in 1934, that same year Gōgen designed and introduced Jiyū-kumite which has become known today as sport and tournament fighting kumite. In 1935 he officially formed the All Japan Karate-dō Gōjū-kai Association (which later split into the JKF Gojukai and the J.K.G.A.) Also in 1935 Gōgen began his travels with the Japanese government as an intelligence officer and his first son Norimi Gōsei Yamaguchi was born (Gōsei is the current leader of Gōjū-kai USA).
During his military tour in Manchuria in World War II, Gōgen was captured by the Soviet military in 1942 and incarcerated as a prisoner of war in a Russian concentration camp. He was originally targeted for hard labour in the POW camp. However, he had impressed even the hard-nosed Russians. They discovered who he was and requested that he teach karate-dō to the Russian soldiers. It was then that, 'the prisoner became the master of the guards, who became his students'. He claimed that it was here that he battled and defeated a live tiger, after he was locked in a cell with the beast which his captors expected would devour him. This claim has created much controversy; however, Russian sources from the time would need to be located in order to verify this event.
In 1945, Gōgen returned to Japan, where he re-opened his initial karate-dō dojo (which was later destroyed by fire) in Nippori and advertised with a sign outside reading 'Gōjū-ryū-kai' Many people thought his school was closed forever and that he had been killed in the war; accordingly, Gōgen held large exhibitions in Tokyo, which showcased the various Chinese and Japanese martial arts that he had experienced. His school reopened and moved at a later date to the Suginami-ku area of Tokyo. Here he quickly expanded throughout a network of independent Gōjū-ryū dojo. The rapid growth and expansion was reinforced by Gōgen's energetic and forceful persona, which resulted in a worldwide network of karate schools, which he alone built into a powerful martial arts empire.
Registers the name Gōjū-Kai, opens his Honbu Dojo
Gōgen Yamaguchi established the Gōjū-kai Headquarters in Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan, near the busy shopping precinct of Roppongi. By 1950, Gōjū-kai Headquarters was officially relocated to the Suginami Tokyo school, which contributed to an almost tripling of membership to 450,000, according to his autobiography. Five years later, he officially chartered the I.K.G.A. Later in 1964, Gōgen Yamaguchi along with other founder members Ōtsuka Hironori from Wadō-ryū; Nakayama Masatoshi from Shotokan; Mabuni Kenei and Iwata Manzao of Shitō-ryū, unified all the karate dojo in Japan to form the All Japan Karate-dō Federation, which is still in existence today as the Japan Karate Federation (JKF).
Gōjū-Kai spreads throughout the western world
By 1966, his organization comprised more than 200 dojo and clubs and 60,000 members within the Gōjū-kai system.
His most notable students included Yamamoto Gonnohyoue and Yamaguchi Gosei. Another notable student was Mas Oyama who attained 8th Dan under Yamaguchi before starting his own style, Kyokushin.