Kaisaido
The Lineage
150 years of Okinawan tradition in four names
Every technique in Kaisaido was shaped by hands that came before. The lineage is not a list of names — it is the chain of transmission through which a living practice travels across generations.
Founder of Naha-te
Kanryo Higaonna
1853–1915
Brought the essence of Chinese Southern Boxing to Okinawa. His teachings — power, structure, breathing — form the bedrock of all that follows.
Founder of Goju-ryu
Chojun Miyagi
1888–1953
Direct student of Higaonna. He named the system Goju-ryu (hard-soft way) and introduced Daruma Taiso — the conditioning exercises that became central to Kaisaido.
Founder of Shorei-Kan
Seikichi Toguchi
1917–1998
Disciple of Miyagi and creator of the Shorei-Kan system. He gave Kaisaido its pedagogical structure: Kiso Kumite, systematic bunkai, progressive curriculum.
Saiko Shihan — Founder of Shorei-Kan Europe
Toshio Tamano
1942 — present
Student of Master Toguchi for nearly forty years. He named the art Kaisaido — making explicit the path of understanding and joy that was always implicit. He has practised and taught without interruption for over fifty-five years.
A living transmission
In the Budo tradition, knowledge is not passed through books. It passes through the body — through years of proximity, of practice, of correction. Each of these four masters spent decades in direct contact with their teacher. What they transmitted was not only technique but understanding: the ability to see what kata contains, to teach it, to continue it.