Soke Chojiro Tani (* 25 January 1921; † 11 January 1998) is the founder of “Tani-Ha Shito-Ryu”, which he himself named Shukokai, meaning “way for all” or “union of those training together”.
Chojiro Tani was born on 25 January 1921 in Kobe, Japan. He initially trained under Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju-Ryu, and completed this training with the 2nd Dan. In 1939 he began karate training under the style founder of Shito-Ryu, Kenwa Mabuni, who is still considered one of the greatest karate masters today. Tani received permission from him to use his own name for his form of karate: Tani-Ha Shito-Ryu. In 1949 he then founded his first school, which he called ‘Shukokai’. His most famous students are Shigeru Kimura (Shukokai), Shigemasa Kawata (Seikukai), Yamada (Gishinkan), Nanbu (Nanbu-Do), Suzuki and Tomiyama (Kofukan). Soke Tani was a very respected man in Japan and in Shito-Ryu until his death in 1998. Today, Shito-Ryu is divided into the style houses Mabuni-Shito-Ryu, Motobu-ha Shito-Ryu (Seishinkai), Tani-ha Shito-Ryu (Shukokai) and Hayashi-ha Shito-Ryu.
