Koyama traveled to Okinawa for a thesis project at Kyoto University—back in 1977—and the focus of his trip was the founder of Gōjū-ryū Karate-dō. As a small side note: around 1977, there were hardly any books or writings on Miyagi or Gōjū-ryū for comparison.
This was one year before Okinawa-den Gōjū-ryū Karate-dō (1978) by Miyazato Ei’ichi sensei was published, two years after the 1975 book by Nagamine Shōshin appeared, and in the same year as the book by Uechi Kan‘ei.
It was, therefore, an early pioneering work in Gōjū-ryū research and on Miyagi Chōjun.
Although Koyama sensei is not an Okinawan, that is actually an advantage—namely, his neutrality. He was able to do something that Okinawans affiliated with a dōjō could not: he could speak with every karateka who had personally known Miyagi—and that is exactly what Koyama did.
He spoke not only with Miyagi’s students, but also with family members, such as Miyagi sensei’s second daughter and fourth son.
The series therefore describes Miyagi’s life in considerable detail. Naturally, research has progressed in the years since; new findings have been made and rare documents discovered that were not available to Koyama at the time. Footnotes will be added for these, carefully adapted and included after consultation.
So there is still more to look forward to.
Karate Kenkyū Shitsu 