Takayuki Mikami

is a Japanese master of Shotokan karate based in the United States of America. He holds the rank of 9th dan black belt in the art, awarded under the Japan Karate Association. In 1958, Mikami tied for first place in the All Japan Karate Championships. The following year, he became the All Japan champion in kumite (sparring) as well as kata (patterns). In 1961, Mikami won first place in kata again. He was also the first person to graduate from the Japan Karate Association's (JKA) instructor training program instituted by Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama.

Early life Mikami was born on December 10, 1933, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As a youth, he participated in track and field sports, and was a short-distance runner. In 1955, he was appointed Team Captain of the Hosei University karate club. Mikami and Kanazawa had been classmates and roommates for most of their karate careers, but had never fought each other in the All Japan Championships before, as Mikami had been teaching in the Philippines. When they faced each other in the final round, very few techniques were thrown, because they knew each other too well. They ended up mostly circling each other, searching for openings, until time was up. It was decided that both instructors were All Japan Kumite Champions for 1958. In 1984, he was promoted to the rank of 8th dan by the JKA. In 2007, after the ISKF split from JKA, Mikami decided to remain in association with the JKA. Mikami founded the JKA American Federation (JKA/AF) in 2008. Mikami was promoted to 9th dan on September 30, 2011, by JKA headquarters in Tokyo.