MASTER MITSUSUKE HARADA - A TEACHER OF ORTHODOX SHOTOKAN KARATE

"Mitsusuke Harada was born in 1928, and joined the famous Shotokan dojo to train Karate in Tokyo in 1943, where he was taught by the father of modern Karate Gichin Funakoshi and legendary masters like Motonobu Hironishi, Wado Uemura, Tadao Okuyama, Shigeru Egami and Yoshiaki Hayashi. Harada is also one of the few men still living who trained under Yoshitaka Funakoshi, a karateka of truly formidable reputation."

After the Shotokan was destroyed in the war, Harada practiced as a private student to Gichin Funakoshi, the master credited with introducing karate to Japan from Okinawa, and the founder of the Shotokan style. Then, at Waseda University, Harada came under the further influence of Funakoshi, and the likes of Masters Hiroshi Noguchi, Tochio Kamata and Tadao Okuyama, and was the close friends with Tsutomu Oshima, before training as a private student to Shigeru Egami, a man whose ability in Japanese karate circles was second to none. Such a lineage is a remarkable as it is unique.

Master Harada introduced karate to Brazil in 1955, the year he received his 5th Dan diploma from Master Funakoshi*, and traveled to Europe in 1963, teaching in France and Belgium, before becoming the first Japanese karate instructor to take up residence in Great Britain that same year. Today, Master Harada teaches karate in Europe, Scandinavia and North America, and is chief instructor to the Karate-Do Shotokai (KDS)organization."

From the book "Reminiscences by Master Mitsusuke Harada" by Dr. Clive Layton

Harada in Finland

Sensei Mitsusuke Harada used to make visits to Finland twice a year with some of his senior students like Tony Lima 5th Dan, Steve Hope 5th Dan, Marie Kellet 5th Dan, Roy Margetts 5th Dan and Mark Hallam 5th Dan.

We try to organise visits from senior instructors as often as possible - usually 3-5 times a year - to ensure a TOP level of teaching and guidance in the way of Karate Do. Without Sensei Mitsusuke Harada and his seniors our practice would not be at the level that it is today, but even with this extraordinary knowledge that Sensei Harada provides us we have really light-years ahead of us before we can catch the level where he is now, but that is the fun of practice, you always have to go forward.

MBE - Member of the Order

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. It is the most junior of the British orders of chivalry and has more members than any other. The Order's motto is For God and the Empire.

The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight/Dame Grand Cross, Knight/Dame Commander, Commander, Officer and Member.

In the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2007, Harada Sensei received an MBE for services to karate.