Senior Advisors
Hidetaka Nishiyama
Teruyuki Okazaki
President
Takayuki Mikami
Chairman
Hidehiko (Hidy) Ochiai
Vice-Chairmen
Gosei Yamaguchi
Masataka Mori
Kiyohisa Hirano
Vice-Presidents
Sadaharu Honda
Chuzo Kotaka
Aribrator
Yutaka Yaguchi
Treasurer
Sadaharu Kurobane
University Liaison
Kazumi Tabata
Managing Director
Hiroyasu Kobayashi
Secretary
Hiroyuki Tanabe
Vice-Secretary
Shoji Nishimura
Tomohiro Arashiro
Fumio Demura
Hiroyasu Fujishima
Takafumi Hamabata
Morio Higaonna
Hirokazu Kanazawa
Katsuhide Kinjo
Shojiro Koyama
Takayuki Kubota
Minobu Miki
Yukiyoshi Marutani
Akio Minakami
Toshio Osaka
Masaharu Sakimukai
Takako Sakimukai
Masayuki Shimabukuro
Isami Shiroma
Koji Sugimoto
Shu Takahashi
Toshio Takahashi
Kazumasa Yokoyama
Osamu Ozawa (posthumous)
NEW YORK OFFICE
(Event Headquarters)
317 Vestal Parkway West
Vestal, New York 13850
Tel: (607) 748-8480
Fax: (607) 748-6557

COLORADO OFFICE
(National Headquarters)
195 South Main St., Suite 12
Longmont, Colorado 80501
Tel: (303) 651-7156
Fax: (303) 678-1657

If you would like
to make a donation
to Hokubei Shihankai,
please click here

ABOUT US
DEDICATED TO PRESERVING THE ART
OF TRADITIONAL JAPANESE KARATE

Hokubei Shihankai, also known as the Japanese Karate Masters Association of North America or the Hokubei Karate-do Shihan-kai, was founded in 1994 as an organization dedicated to promoting, cultivating, and maintaining an understanding of the principles of traditional Japanese martial arts, both technically and philosophically. There are 36 founding members of the Hokubei Shihankai, who have achieved "Master Level" status in their art, and who teach traditional Japanese martial arts in North America. To learn more about each of Shihankai's founding members, click here.

The experience and knowledge of these 36 founding members represents the collective wisdom of generations and centuries of traditional martial arts in Japan. Consequently, Shihankai's members seek to educate the people in the West as to the true meaning of the traditional ways of Japanese martial arts, and to set forth guidelines for upholding the high standards of teaching these arts. Further, Shihankai seeks to promote friendship and understanding among its members, which consists of many varying styles of traditional Japanese martial arts.

Hokubei Shihankai Annual Meeting -- 2005, Las Vegas
 Left Standing: T. Arashiro, P. Price (Shihankai laywer), S. Nishimura, S. Sakimukai, K. Sugimoto
H. Kobayashi, guest, guest, Y. Marutani, S. Kurobane, M. Shimabukuro, F. Nakamura
Left Seated: H. Tanabe, H. Fujishima, H. Ochiai, T. Mikami, H. Kanazawa, S. Koyama, C. Kotaka

In 2005, Hokubei Karate-do Shihankai was incorporated as a non-profit (501c3) organization. For its first major fundraising event, Hokubei Shihankai will host its world-premier event Masters of the Rising Sun - the Soul of Traditional Karate on October 6, 2007. Here Shihankai's founding masters will perform and demonstrate at the Performing Arts Center (Recital Hall) at Purchase College (State University of New York). Never before in the history of the martial arts have so many masters of various styles shared the stage and co-sponsored such an event.

In time, Hokubei Shihankai seeks to facilitate the opportunity for interested parties to learn traditional Japanese martial arts, by sanctioning certain schools and teachers as being true representations of the traditional Japanese martial arts. A "Hokubei Shihankai Sanctioned" school may display the mark of authenticity presented by Hokubei Shihankai, and may enjoy being accepted by the public as an authentic school of traditional Japanese martial arts.

For Event Details & Tickets Please Click Here