Isao Obata

Martial artist

小畑功

Born

1904, Tokyo

Died

1976

Citizenship

Japan, Empire of Japan

Sport

karate

Occupation

karateka

Isao Obata (小畑 功, Obata Isao; 1904–1976) was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a senior student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate, and was a key figure in the establishment of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) under Funakoshi in 1949. Obata also helped introduce karate to the United States of America through his demonstrations of the art to United States Air Force personnel, and through his students, most notably Tsutomu Ohshima.

Teachers

• Gichin Funakoshi

Students

• Tsutomu Ohshima

External links

• Wikipedia
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q6078918 (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.