Chosin Chibana was born on June 5, 1885 in the Tori Hori District of
Shuri. He wanted to be a student of karate master Anko Itosu but was
turned down twice. When he was 15 he made a third request and Itosu
accepted him as a student. He studied with Itosu for 15 years until
Itosu's death. After Itosu's death, he became his successor. He opened his
first dojo in Tori Hori in 1918 at the age of 34. His second dojo was
opened in the Kumojo district of Naha. As successor, he made minor changes
to the style. He learned Matsumura's Passai kata from Tawada Sensei and
preferred it to Itosu's.
Chibana barely escaped during the Battle of Okinawa when Shuri was
destroyed. After the war, the US military outlawed martial arts
organizations, which forced him to close his dojo. In the early 1950s, the
US became "more tolerant" and Chosin reopened his school. He returned
first to the Gibo area, then to 10 different sites in the Yamakawa
district of Shuri and Naha before opening his main dojo in Mihara. He was
the karate advisor and senior instructor for the Shuri Police Precinct. In
1956, he was the first president of the Okinawa Karate Federation. On May
5, 1957, he was awarded the title of Hanshi (Grand Master) from the new
Dai Nippon Butokukai.
Chosin's reputation as a karate master spread throughout Okinawa and to
main land Japan. In 1964, he erected a monument at the Itosu family tomb
on the 50th anniversary of Itosu's death. Also in 1964 he was told he had
terminal throat cancer. He continued to teach despite his body's weakened
state. He died the morning of February 26, 1969.
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