PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaichō, founder of the Shinjinbukan School, carries the oldest lineage of Karate.  His teachings are based on Ti, the ancient Okinawan Martial Art, which preceded modern Karate.  He is considered one of the last Masters able to understand and teach Ti. 

Onaga Kaichō's family has its roots in Shuri, the ancient capital of Okinawa.  His parents moved to China, where Onaga Kaichō was born.  After a couple of years, the entire family returned to Okinawa.

As a teenager, he started learning Karate and eventually met his life-long teacher Higa Yūchoku Dai Sensei.  He spent the next 35 years as Higa Sensei's Uchi Deshi, a disciple living in the Dōjō.  In 1988, Onaga Kaichō founded Shinjinbukan. At that time, he wrote his Dōjō Kun or precepts, as a statement of his martial arts philosophy.

Above: Onaga Sensei.  Shinjinbukan Dōjō , Okinawa, 1993.

As a member of the ZenOkiKuRen — Zen Okinawa Karate Dō Renmei (All Okinawa Karate Dō Federation), Onaga Kaichō served in the following capacities:
— Acting President
— Ranking/Certification Executive Director
— Shōrin Ryū Chairman
— Kobayashi Ryū Representative

In 1995, he co-published the book Michi, The Way, A Journey Through the History of Zenokikuren, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Through the years, Shinjinbukan has remained an exclusive organization with a few international branches.  Due to his intense training methods, Onaga Kaichō has always kept a limited number of deshi or disciples.  However, in recent years, Onaga Kaichō established The Shinjinbukai Affiliates, as a part of the Shinjinbukan organization created for the purpose of teaching Ti to other Martial Arts teachers and their students.

Above: The cover to the book Michi. Published in 1995.
Calligraphy by Yagi Meitoku Dai Sensei, Gōjū Ryū, Jū Dan / 10th Dan