Taiji Kase

was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate who was one of the earliest masters responsible for introducing this martial art into Europe. He taught his style of karate, Shotokan Ryu Kase Ha, in France from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. In his later years, he travelled across the world teaching karate, but Paris remained his home. Kase held the rank of 9th dan in karate.

Early life Kase was born on 9 February 1929 in Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. His father was Nobuaki Kase, who held the rank of 5th dan in judo. Genshin Hironishi took on most of the teaching duties from that point. Along with Hironishi, Tadao Okuyama also influenced the young Kase's development in karate. Of his four instructors, Hironishi taught him the longest—six years. Kase had been due to be tested for his 3rd dan in judo, but elected to focus on karate instead. He went on to teach karate there for almost 20 years in France before deciding to close his dojo in the mid-1980s. He then began travelling around the world to teach karate.

Later life In 1989, Kase and Shirai founded the World Karate-Do Shotokan Academy (WKSA). meaning Shotokan with Kase's personal touch. He returned home later on, and appeared to be recovering, but on the morning of 19 November his wife was unable to wake him. One of their daughters, Sachiko, was in attendance at the ceremony.