Ankō Azato
Martial artist (1827–1906)
安里安恒
Ankō Asato (安里 安恒, Asato Ankō; Azato Yasutsune in Japanese, 1827 – 1906) was a Ryūkyūan master of karate. He and Ankō Itosu were the two main karate masters who taught Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan karate. Not much is known about him, and most information on him comes from Funakoshi. Many articles contain information about Asato, but the relevant parts are clearly based on Funakoshi's descriptions of him.
Funakoshi first met Asato when he was a schoolmate of Asato's son; he called Asato "one of Okinawa's greatest experts in the art of karate." According to Funakoshi, Asato's family belonged to the Tunchi (殿内) class (hereditary town and village chiefs), and held authority in the village of Asato, halfway between Shuri and Naha, and he was not only a master of karate, but also skilled at riding horses, Jigen-ryū kendō (swordsmanship), archery, and an exceptional scholar.
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Facts from Wikidata Q721201 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.