August 15th, 2009 - 11:00AM to 1:30PM
California Institute of Technology - BRAUN Gymnasium
1200 East California Boulevard
Pasadena, California
SHOTOKAN KARATE OF AMERICA HOSTS 53rd ANNUAL NISEI WEEK KARATE EXHIBITION AND TOURNAMENT
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, May 26, 2009 On Saturday, August 15, 2009, Shotokan Karate of America will host its 53rd Annual Nisei Week Karate Exhibition and Tournament at the Braun Gymnasium of the California Institute of Technology . SKA's Nisei Week Karate Exhibition and Tournament is the oldest karate demonstration in the United States. Fighters and participants will come to Los Angeles from dojos nationwide and abroad to compete and give individual and group demonstrations.
SKA's Nisei Week Exhibition and Tournament started in 1957 when Mr. Tsutomu Ohshima gave the first official demonstration of karate to the American public. Mr. Ohshima is a direct student of Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of modern day karate who brought karate from Okinawa to mainland Japan. For over 50 years, SKA, under the leadership and guidance of Mr. Ohshima, has spread the teachings of Master Funakoshi and traditional karate-do. Mr. Ohshima travels throughout the world teaching karate to thousands of students and is currently the head instructor of karate organizations in fifteen countries, including Shotokan Karate of America, France Shotokan, Israel Shotokan, Canada Shotokan, Swiss Shotokan, Spain Shotokan, Belgium Shotokan and Morocco Shotokan.
The 53rd Annual Nisei Week Karate Exhibition and Tournament will be held on Saturday August 15, 2009 from 11 am to 1:30 pm. at the Braun Gymnasium of Caltech located at 1200 East California Boulevard in Pasadena, California. The public is welcome to attend. Admission and parking are free. The doors will open at 10:30 am.
2009 Nisei Week Exhibition & Tournament - Location and Map
(A map is provided courtesy of MapQuest.com, Inc.)
SKA at Nisei Week History
From the opening of Japan to the West in the late 1800's through the early 1900's, large groups of Japanese emigrated to Hawaii, the United States and South America. The North American migrants settled primarily in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The first generation of immigrants was known as the Issei. By the 1930's, Los Angeles contained the largest Japanese American population on the U.S. mainland. Little Tokyo, in downtown Los Angeles, represented the center of that community. Retail and commercial businesses, community and religious centers, and professional services centered in Little Tokyo. However, business stagnated as the entire nation struggled through the Great Depression.
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Photos, Previous Years
Mr. Ohshima's Interview
The following interview with Mr. Ohshima by San Francisco dojo member Jane Uyeda was published during the Nisei Week in Rafu Shimpo Los Angeles Japanese Daily News on Tuesday, August 6, 1996.[more ...]
Nisei Week Links
Nisei Week Japanese Festival Website
