Gōgen Yamaguchi

Who was Gōgen Yamaguchi?

Jitsumi Gōgen Yamaguchi 山口剛玄, Yamaguchi Gōgen; b.20 January 1909 d.20 May 1989. was a world-renown Grandmaster of Japanese Karate-dō and founder of the International Karate-dō Gōjū Kai Association; he was one of the most well-known of all Karate-dō masters to come out of Japan. Prior to his death, he was decorated by the Emperor of Japan in 1968 with the Ranjū-Hōshō, らんじゅほうしょう(藍綬褒章), the Blue Ribbon Medal of the fifth order of merit, for his enormous contribution to the spread world wide of the Japanese martial arts. For many years Gōgen Yamaguchi was listed in the Guinness Book of Records regarding his rank and achievements. According to his obituary, "His name was a household word in Karate circles, and he appeared in all the major Martial Arts magazines and publications, both in Japan and the western world."