Shimabukuro, Zenryo ( -1961)

Master Zenryo Shimabukuro, 10th Dan Red Belt, was the foremost disciple of Sensei Chotoku Kyan. Master Zenryo Shimabukuro, a baker by trade, was only 5 foot 2 inches tall, but he was a very strong man. After completing 10 years of Karate as a private student under the great Master Chotoku Kyan, he began teaching. During WWII all karate instruction ceased. With the end of the war he resumed active teaching. Early in his carrier as a karate teacher Shimabukuro Sensei had no Dojo (training hall). All his instruction was conducted outside at his home, with a hand full of students, such as his son Sensei Zenpo Shimabukuro (presently Supreme Sensei of this Style) and his nephew Zenji Shimabukuro.

In 1962 he built his own Dojo and named it Seibukan (Holy Art School). Seibukan radiates Sensei Shimabukuro's philosophy of Karate. He was a very highly respected member of his community and received many certificates of appreciation from city officials for his work for the betterment of the Okinawan people.

In 1964 he was awarded the highest rank in Karate by the All Okinawan Karate do Federation, the 10th Dan Red Belt. Master Zenryo Shimabukuro developed Karate to a very high level in Okinawa. He was also one of the founding members of the Chubu Shorin Ryu, which was a very strong association. During the American Occupation of Okinawa, he was persuaded to teach American service men stationed in Okinawa and such spreading the art to the states and many other countries. A small man, but a giant to the world of Karate, Master Zenyro Shimabukuro died in 1969 at the age of 61 of appendicitis. Today his son Sensei Sensei Zenpo Shimabukuro carries on where his father left off.

Reproduced with permission of Dan Smith from www.Seibukan.Org. (Edited for punctuation and clarity)