31/10/2026
Translated from Shihan Kawabata’s original post. Below is a great introduction about Shihan Eguchi and his wife, Senpai Miyuki who run the Josai Kokubunji branch where I trained during my time in Japan. Written by Shihan Kawabata, the Kyoto Branch Chief. It’s a nostalgic feeling reading this article. Training with the Eguchis was a major influence not just on my karate but inspired me to run a dojo after returning to NZ. I wanted to emulate what Kokubunji Dojo did for me, and create a place where people can gather, train and enjoy a community feel. A dojo has to be a place where you feel welcome and recognised. Kawabata Shihan’s message has been translated into English by Senpai Chat GPT. If you scroll down our page from 2 years ago, there’s an article / video link on Senpai Miyuki.
- Mr. and Mrs. Eguchi from the Jōsai Kokubunji Branch -
"Do you dislike strong women?" "Beauty and the Beast."
If I had given a title like this, Mr. and Mrs. Eguchi might have scolded me.
However, if you know the two of them, just by looking at the photo, I think you can understand why I gave them this title.
Eguchi Shihan was a large figure and had the appearance of a heavyweight karateka during his active days. On the other hand, his wife, Miyuki, is a petite and lovely woman.
At first glance, she is exactly like "Beauty and the Beast."
However, from the impression I got of the two of them, I think the content is quite the opposite.
Of course, I'm not saying Miyuki is a "beast."
Eguchi Shihan is a very kind and considerate man, different from his appearance. I strongly felt this when I met him during the World Cup in Brazil. I had the opportunity to have dinner with him at that time. He pays close attention to the people around him and looks after them. Watching his behavior, I remembered, "Ah, so Mr. Eguchi is such a person at Josai."
I think he's like an older brother. If I use a more old-fashioned phrase, it might be closer to "senpai-kun".
At that time, I was in Kyoto, so I didn't know much about the daily life of the Josai branch led by Shihan Yamada. However, when I met Eguchi Shihan in Brazil, I somehow got the impression that he was a sort of leader among the Josai members. Eguchi Shiahn himself was, of course, a strong athlete.
At the 7th All-Japan Weightlifting Championship in 1990, he took third place in the heavyweight division representing the Jōsai branch.Furthermore, Eguchi Shihan made it to the semifinals of the 22nd All-Japan Championship that year.
After that, he established the Jōsai Kokubunji branch in 1991 and became the branch manager. As a fighter, he fought, and then established his own dojo to train the next generation. However, when talking about this couple, I particularly want to mention the existence of Miyuki Eguchi.
I once held a national women's tournament in Kyoto.Miyuki-san participated in it and won. After that, I watched her compete in tournaments held every year in the United States.
In the women's karate world at that time, I saw Miyuki-san as a top-class athlete who was undoubtedly among the best in the world. And in 2001, Miyuki-san finally won the world tournament and became a world champion.
Her name remains in the records of the current Josai Kokubunji branch as the winner of the 2001 world tournament.
In another article, I talked about the "Mysterious Women's Karate Championship Tournament" held in 1977. It was an era when Ms. Hiroko Hikoi and others fought without any protective gear, using the same direct striking rules as men. It had been over twenty years since then.
Women's full-contact karate has developed significantly, and eventually, Japanese female athletes reached the top of the world. One of those world champions was Ms. Miyuki Eguchi. She looks like a cute woman. However, when it comes to competing, she is really strong. Her determination to compete, her lack of fear of losing, and her willingness to move forward. My own view may be biased, but compared to the strength of the athlete, I think the wife was even more capable than the husband.
So, even if you say "Beauty and the Beast," the appearance and inner qualities are a bit different. The husband who appears tough is actually a kind and caring parent. The wife who looks cute is actually a tough competitor who can reach the top of the world if a tournament were to happen.
That's also the interesting thing about this couple. I have been watching many female athletes in Japan and abroad for a long time. I don't intend to rank them in terms of who is the strongest. The era is different, and the physique is different. The rules and the competitive environment have also changed.
However, among the Japanese female athletes that I have actually seen with my own eyes, I feel that they are among the top not only in Japan but also in the world in terms of heart, technique, and body, and if I had to name the three players that particularly caught my eye, the first three names would be:
Miyuki Eguchi.
Nanami Sato.
And the third is Miyu Nagayoshi, who is a student of Taguchi Shihan of Josai Setagaya. .
I don't intend to rank these three in terms of who is the best, second best, and third best. The three people who are still strongly remembered by me are these three. And what's interesting is that two of these three are related to the Jōsai Kōkubunji branch.
After Miyuki stood at the top of the world, a new fighter named Nanami Sato came out from the Jōsai kōkubunji branch.
Sato-san was also a player that I saw and thought "this is strong". Moreover, both Sato Nanami and her younger sister, Rin are strong. In the 2018 women's lightweight women's world championship, they fought in the final as sisters.
Nanami won, and Rin came in second. And in 2023, the 13th All Japan Karate Championship. Nanami finally won the open world championship. For the Jōsai kōkubunji branch, it was the birth of the second world champion following Miyuki Eguchi in 2001.
A world champion comes out from one dojo. That alone is a big deal. However, a woman who became a world champion on her own continued to be involved with the dojo, and after more than twenty years, another female world champion was born from the same branch.
I think this is something that can't be explained by mere coincidence. The Josai Kokubunji branch, of course, has many excellent male athletes. However, from what I've seen over the years, it seems that the branch has a lot of excellent female athletes.
Along with the presence of branch chief Shihan Eguchi, and the fact that Miyuki, a world champion, is close to us, there is some influence in the form of that. The world champion is not a distant existence in a photo or a book.She is in our own dojo.
That person is wearing a dojo uniform and standing in the same dojo. I think it has a big meaning for young female athletes.
And finally, I would like to write something completely different from their karate records. I always feel that way when I see the Eguchi couple, they are really a great couple.
That's what I feel. They have walked together for many years, run a dojo, and raised athletes. Even from the outside, you can tell that the two are very close.
I'm a little envious.They look like "Beauty and the Beast". But the beast is unexpectedly kind, and the beauty is the strongest when it comes to fighting . And when they leave the dojo, the two are a really close couple who have walked together for many years.
