Gōgen Yamaguchi

Japanese karateka (1909-1989)

山口剛玄

Born

20 January 1909, Shonai

Died

20 May 1989, Tokyo

Citizenship

Japan, Empire of Japan

Sport

karate

Occupation

karateka

Jitsumi Gōgen Yamaguchi (山口剛玄; January 20, 1909 – May 20, 1989), also known as Gōgen Yamaguchi, was a Japanese martial artist and student of Gōjū-ryū Karate under Chōjun Miyagi. He was one of the most well-known karate-dō masters from Japan and he founded the International Karate-dō Gōjū Kai Association.

Prior to his death, Yamaguchi 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 worldwide of the Japanese martial arts. For many years he was listed in the Guinness Book of Records regarding his rank and achievements. According to an 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.

Awards and honours

• Hanshi

Teachers

• Chōjun Miyagi

Students

• Paul Starling
• Nisar Smiler
• Tino Ceberano

External links

• Wikipedia
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q268880 (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.