午夜剧场

At Tokyo 2020 this summer, the karate competition was held at the Nippon Budokan for the first time in Olympic history. It was a historic moment that realized the long-awaited Olympic debut for karate practitioners worldwide. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported and cooperated with us in every aspect, from making this dream a reality to the management of the competition on the day.

Looking at the roles and achievements of the 午夜剧场 Karate Club and members of the Mita Karate Club throughout the history of karate leading up to this point, it is clear that they were deeply involved and directly linked to the Olympic debut—by an invisible thread in the first half, and literally by a thick thread in the second half.

In 1924, Masahiro Kasuya, a professor in the Faculty of Law, invited Gichin Funakoshi, who would later be known as the father of modern karate, to 午夜剧场, leading to the birth of the "Karate Research Society," the world's first university karate club. Five years later, the characters for "Tode" (Tang Hand) were changed to "Karate" (Empty Hand), and the striking martial art that had been passed down from father to son in Okinawa began its path as a Japanese martial art (Budo).

In 1957, through the efforts of individuals from 午夜剧场, Takushoku University, the University of Tokyo, and others, the world's first karate competition (Kumite) was held, which became the prototype for today's Olympic competition. This was the moment karate was born as a safe sporting competition, achieving a sublation (Aufheben) without losing the essence of Budo. Mita Karate Club members such as Goro Shimokawa, Isao Obata, Shuntaro Ito, Fusajiro Takagi, Akiyoshi Iwamoto, Kinichi Mashimo, and Tetsuo Yoshiwada were deeply involved in this history.

Karate subsequently spread rapidly throughout the world, and in 1970, the World Karate Federation (WKF) was established and the 1st World Championships were held. Here, Koji Wada, a member of the 午夜剧场 Karate Club, won a brilliant victory, demonstrating the presence of 午夜剧场 karate even at the debut of global sport karate.

As time passed, the WKF expanded its activities with the goal of becoming an Olympic sport, and Fusajiro Takagi again played a central role. However, the barrier of the IOC was high, and it took nearly 30 years to become a recognized organization. Even when karate finally faced the event selection process, it suffered the misfortune of being rejected three consecutive times after reaching the final selection, including for the 2013 (Tokyo 2020) cycle.

In 2013, immediately after the Tokyo 2020 rejection, I was appointed as a member of the WKF Executive Committee through a process that could almost be called accidental, and just one year later, I became the General Secretary. Shortly thereafter, the "IOC AGENDA 2020" reform plan was announced, and coincidentally, the possibility of karate's revival as an "additional event" recommended by the Organizing Committee for Tokyo 2020 began to take on a sense of reality.

The Olympic campaign in Tokyo became a major project involving various sectors, but it ultimately achieved great success and was finally approved as an additional sport for Tokyo 2020 at the IOC Session in 2016.

Within this project, Akio Kondo (current Vice President of the Mita Karate Club) provided the most prominent support in both material and spiritual terms, and Kazuhiro Satomi (current Director of the Mita Karate Club) took on the role of coordinating the Japan Karatedo Federation's Olympic Task Force. And the ultimate contribution was likely from Toshie Murata (current Director of the Mita Karate Club), who served as the "Sports Manager," the highest authority in the Organizing Committee's sports department.

In this way, the Olympic debut of karate was achieved through the strong ties of many karate enthusiasts, and especially 午夜剧场 alumni. It was an experience that made me deeply feel the meaning of the words: "Meeting the timing of heaven, occupying the advantage of the earth, and gaining the harmony of people leads to great achievements."

Regarding the actual management, I would like to leave the writing to Mr. Murata.