Masaru Shintani
| Masaru Shintani | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
February 3, 1927 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | May 7, 2000 (aged 73) Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada Heart Attack |
| Style | Wadō-ryū, Shōrin-ryū Karate |
| Teacher(s) | Hironori Ohtsuka, Akira Kitigawa |
| Rank | 9th dan karate |
| Website | Official site |
Masaru Shintani (February 3, 1927 – May 7, 2000) was a Japanese-Canadian master of karate who introduced the Wadō-ryū style of karate in Canada and founded the Shintani Wado-Kai Karate Federation.
At the time of his death he was the Supreme Instructor of Wado Kai Karate in Canada. Shintani devoted over 50 years to the study of Karate. He also held ranks in Judo (Sandan), Aikido (Shodan), and Kendo (Shodan).
Shintani was born February 3, 1927 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the eldest child of six born to Kanaye Shintani and Tsuruye Shintani (Matsumoto) of the Matsumoto samurai family. Shintani's father died when he was only seven years old.
At the start of World War II, all Canadians of Japanese descent were sent to relocation centres throughout the country. Shintani and his family were sent to New Denver, British Columbia.
Shintani's early martial arts training was in the relocation camps at the age of 14, studying judo, kendo and aikido.
In 1947, Shintani and his family moved to Beamsville, Ontario. In 1952 he formed his first karate club at the Hamilton, Ontario YMCA.
Some time in the early 1940s, Shintani and a group of boys from the relocation camp were looking for a place to play Hockey, when they came across Akira Kitagawa practicing Shōrin-ryū karate, using a tree as a makiwara.
Kitagawa invited them to try his sport, which he simply called 'kumite'. Shintani trained with Kitagawa for 20 years, and when Kitagawa died, Shintani began searching for another teacher.
In the mid-1950s, during a trip to Japan to compete in a karate tournament, Shintani met Hironori Ohtsuka. After this meeting, Shintani and Ohtsuka began to develop a very close relationship. He once said to Shintani "you come from a fine grain". Shintani would make regular trips to Japan to learn from Ohtsuka, and Ohtsuka visited Shintani in Canada during several of his international trips.
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