Early Life
Harada was born on 16 November 1928 in Dairen, Manchuria, which was then part of the Empire of Japan; his father was a Japanese army officer. He lived there until the age of 9 years, when his family returned to Tokyo. Harada began training in karate in 1943 at the Shotokan karate dojo (training hall) in Zōshigaya, Toshima Ward, Tokyo. His first class was taught by Genshin Hironishi, then ranked 4th dan. He later met Gigō Funakoshi there, only two years before the latter's death due to illness. On 29 April 1945, an Allied bombing raid on Tokyo destroyed the Shotokan dojo; Harada wrote a letter to Gichin Funakoshi requesting to continue training if possible, and Funakoshi invited him to train at his eldest son's home, in Koishikawa. Harada studied directly under Gichin Funakoshi.
In 1948, Harada began studying economics and commerce at Waseda University. At the university, he trained under both Funakoshi (on Saturdays) and Toshio Kamata (Watanabe), and befriended Tsutomu Ohshima. In 1949, the Japan Karate Association (JKA) was formed; Harada was often escorting Funakoshi by taxi around this time. He also came into contact with Shigeru Egami (also studying commerce at the time) and Tadao Okuyama, then ranked 3rd dan, at Waseda. Harada trained under both men, and they had a significant influence on his karate style. Harada completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1953 and went on to complete a master's degree in 1955. During postgraduate studies, he assisted Masatoshi Nakayama in teaching karate to US military personnel.
Read more about this topic: Mitsusuke Harada
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)