Shōtō Karate JutsuShotokan Karate
Gichin Funakoshi
The name 'Shotokan' comes from the name 'Shōtō' which was Gichin Funakoshi's pen name, the founder of Shotokan Karate-Do. Gichin Funakoshi was one of a number of Okinawan karate masters invited to main land Japan to demonstrate and promote karate. In addition to being a karate master, Gichin Funakoshi was an avid poet and philosopher who would reportedly go for long walks in the forest where he would meditate and write his poetry.
In 1936, Gichin Funakoshi built the first Shotokan dojo in Tokyo. He changed the name of karate to mean "empty hand" instead of "Chinese hand"; the two words sound the same in Japanese, but are written differently.
Young Gichin Funakoshi
In addition, Gichin Funakoshi argued in his autobiography that a philosophical evaluation of the use of "empty" seemed to fit as it implied a way which was not tethered to any other physical object.
Since Shotokan Karate-Do is a traditional Japanese martial art, the development of character and mental disciplines are as important as the development of the physical skills. Shotokan Karate is meant to be accessible for all ages and abilities.