Hidetaka Nishiyama

was a Japanese karateka, known for helping to establish the Japan Karate Association, and later pioneering Shotokan karate in the United States. At the time of his death in 2008, he was one of the surviving students of Shotokan founder Gichin Funakoshi.

Early life Nishiyama was born on October 10, 1928, in Tokyo, Japan. His father was a lawyer and a kendo master, and he had two sisters, Sumiye and Michiko. He started learning kendo in 1933 and judo in 1938. By the time Nishiyama reached 14 years of age, he had attained black belt status in judo. That year, he was appointed to the JKA's board of directors. This work has been recognized as a seminal textbook on karate; the cover of a 1990 reprint noted that over 300,000 copies had been sold. In June 1960, Nishiyama was promoted to the rank of 5th dan in Shotokan karate. The arrangement did not work out satisfactorily, and was to be a source of bitterness between the two men. Four years later, in 1965, Nishiyama organized the first United States vs. Japan Goodwill Karate Tournament. In that letter, he warned of the dangers of unqualified competitors and officials. Nishiyama was elected as the inaugural President of the new AAKF. In 1989, he published the Traditional Karate Coach's Manual.

In the early 1990s, Nishiyama's refusal to align his ITKF organization with the World Union of Karate-Do Organizations (WUKO) caused the International Olympic Committee to suspend its recognition of WUKO as amateur karate's international governing body. The ITKF and WUKO had been due to merge and form a unified karate organization, but this did not eventuate. The WUKO eventually became the World Union of Karate-Do Federations in late 2008. The flag was awarded in recognition of his contributions to traditional karate. Nishiyama was one of only 11 recipients of the award from outside Japan in that year.

Nishiyama died of lung cancer on November 7, 2008, in Los Angeles, following a long illness. His funeral was held on November 30 at the Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles, with over 500 people in attendance. He was survived by his wife, Yohko, and their three daughters: Yumi, Amy, and Nami.

On October 10, 2009, the ITKF posthumously awarded the rank of 10th dan to Nishiyama; his daughter Nami accepted the honor on his behalf. ITKF Chairman Richard Jorgensen recalled, "[Nishiyama] always said he never wanted to achieve the level of 10th Dan because he believed to do so and acquire the highest rank meant that his learning and his life would be over ... he would never accept the rank while he lived."