SENSEI

Mitsusuke Harada
Our senior instructor, Sensei (master) Mitsusuke Harada, was born in Manchuria in 1928. He started his karate training with Master Funakoshi's group in Tokyo. Master Harada entered Waseda University in 1948, and immediately joined the University karate club, which was at the time very strong. During this period, Harada Sensei received instruction from Master Funakoshi who, by this time, was very old.

After gaining his Master's Degree in 1953, Master Harada started work in a Tokyo bank, which in 1956 sent him to Sao Paulo, Brazil. He founded his own group in Brazil and at this time, at the age of 28, he received his 5th Dan black belt directly from Funakoshi. This was the highest grade awarded at the time, and 5th Dan remains the highest level of black belt in the Shotokai organisation.

In 1963, Harada Sensei was invited to Paris to teach karate. It was during this period that he decided to devote his life to karate and so resigned from the bank. In the mid-1960s he formed the Karate-do Shotokai (KDS), and so began a long association between Harada Sensei and French karate, with KDS clubs all over France, including Paris, Reims, Mâcon, Toulouse . . . and now Gourdon!

Master Harada now lives in the UK and is still physically practising karate. His role is that of overall Sensei (instructor) of the KDS organisation, and advisor to the Technical Executive on matters relating to the practice of Karate-Do. He travels all over the world (including, of course, France) to teach and demonstrate at courses, during which he welcomes questions about karate from his students, regardless of grade.

In the Queen's Birthday Honours List of June 2007 Harada Sensei was awarded an MBE in recognition of his services to karate.