Hironori Ōtsuka

was a Japanese master of karate who created the Wadō-ryū style of karate. He was the first Grand Master of Wadō-ryū karate, and received high awards within Japan for his contributions to karate.

Early life Ōtsuka was born on June 1, 1892, in Shimodate City, Ibaraki, Japan. At the age of 5 years, he began training in the martial art of jujutsu under his great-uncle, Chojiro Ebashi (a samurai). At the age of 13, Ōtsuka became the student of Tatsusaburo Nakayama in Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu.

In 1911, while studying business administration at Waseda University in Tokyo, Ōtsuka trained in various jujutsu schools in the area. and the two men parted ways in the early 1930s.

Wado-ryu karate On April 1, 1934, Ōtsuka opened his own karate school the Dai Nippon Karate Shinko Kai at 63 Banchi Suehiro-Cho, Kanda, Tokyo. After a few years, however, the ban was lifted; through the 1950s, Ōtsuka held various karate competitions. In 1964, three of Ōtsuka's students Tatsuo Suzuki, Toru Arakawa, and Hajime Takashima) from Nihon University toured Europe and the United States of America, demonstrating Wadō-ryū karate.

Later life On April 29, 1966, Emperor Hirohito awarded Ōtsuka the Order of the Rising Sun, Fifth Class for his contributions to karate. In the next few years, Ōtsuka wrote two books on karate: Karate-Do, Volume 1 (1967, focused on kata) and Karate-Do, Volume 2 (1970, focused on kumite).

Ōtsuka continued to teach and lead Wadō-ryū karate into the 1980s, and died on January 29, 1982. In 1983, his son, Jiro Ohtsuka, became the second Grand Master of Wadō-ryū karate and honoured his father by taking the name "Hironori Ōtsuka II."