SHOTOKAN HISTORY
Nisei Week Karate Exhibition & Tournament
The Nisei Week Karate Exhibition & Tournament is an important annual tradition connected to Tsutomu Ohshima, Shotokan Karate of America, Little Tokyo, and the first official public demonstration of traditional karate in the United States.
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A Festival, a Community, and a Karate Tradition
Nisei Week began as a Japanese American cultural festival in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. It later became the setting for an important moment in traditional karate history through Tsutomu Ohshima and his students.
FESTIVAL ORIGINS
Nisei Week and Little Tokyo
Nisei Week was created in Los Angeles during the 1930s by young second-generation Japanese Americans known as the Nisei. The festival celebrated Japanese and Japanese American culture while helping bring visitors, shoppers, and activity into Little Tokyo during the difficult years of the Great Depression.
The festival included cultural demonstrations, community events, food, art, music, dancing, tea ceremony, calligraphy, flower arranging, and other public displays of Japanese culture. Traditional martial arts such as judo and kendo were also part of the festival atmosphere.
During World War II, the festival was interrupted while Japanese Americans were incarcerated in internment camps. The community later restored Nisei Week, and the festival continued as an important cultural event in Los Angeles.
1957
The First Official Public Karate Demonstration in the United States
Tsutomu Ohshima came to the United States in 1955 after graduating from Waseda University, where he had been captain of the university karate club. He had trained directly under Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of modern karate.
In 1957, Tatsuo Inouye invited Mr. Ohshima to take part in a Nisei Week judo exhibition at Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo. Because Mr. Ohshima was the only black belt present, he performed much of the karate demonstration himself.
That event is remembered as the first official public demonstration of traditional karate in the United States. It became the beginning of an annual karate tradition for Mr. Ohshima’s students.
SHOTOKAN IN AMERICA
From Demonstration to Organization
With support from community leaders in Little Tokyo, a separate karate tournament was added to Nisei Week in 1958 under Mr. Ohshima’s direction. The event grew from a demonstration into a formal annual exhibition and tournament.
The early Nisei Week karate events helped introduce traditional Shotokan karate to a wider American audience. Students, community leaders, martial artists, and spectators came together around an event that joined Japanese American culture with serious karate practice.
In 1959, Mr. Ohshima’s group was formally organized as the Southern California Karate Association. In 1969, that organization was incorporated as Shotokan Karate of America.
ANNUAL TRADITION
A Continuing Exhibition and Tournament
For many years, Koyasan Temple was the home of the Nisei Week Karate Exhibition and Tournament. As the event grew, it included local, national, and international black belts from Mr. Ohshima’s dojos and other karate groups.
The exhibition later moved to larger facilities as crowds and participation increased. Over time, it became one of the important annual events connected to Mr. Ohshima’s karate tradition and Shotokan Karate of America.
The event has included demonstrations of karate technique, tournament matches, and participation from students connected to Mr. Ohshima’s teaching around the world.
KARATE HISTORY
More Than a Tournament
The Nisei Week Karate Exhibition and Tournament is not only a competitive or public demonstration event. It is also a historical connection point between Little Tokyo, Japanese American culture, Shotokan Karate of America, and the teaching of Gichin Funakoshi and Tsutomu Ohshima.
For students, this history gives context to the practice of traditional karate: etiquette, seriousness, discipline, community, and the transmission of training from teacher to student over many generations.
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Current Nisei Week Event Information
For current Nisei Week Karate Exhibition and Tournament details, including date, location, schedule, and official event information, visit the Shotokan Karate of America page.
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