Shigeru Egami

was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the Shōtōkai style. He was a student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate.

Early life Egami was born on December 7, 1912, in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. He was one of Gichin Funakoshi's earliest students.

After Egami turned 40, his health worsened. After 1956, he underwent two operations, and at one point was in cardiac arrest for just under 10 minutes. Revised editions were published posthumously as The Heart of Karate-Do in 1986 and 2000.

Later life In his later years, Egami was troubled by many illnesses. A cerebral embolia saw him go three months without eating solid food, which tested his strength, and he eventually weighed only 37 kg. Egami died at 7:00 PM on January 8, 1981, in Tokyo.