Karate Master
- Creator
- Ikki Kajiwara
- Publisher
- Kodansha Comics
- Language
- Japanese
- Genre
- action anime and manga
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q11597408 · wikipedia · Karate Master
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Ja Kanji — 空手バカ一代 • Ja Romaji — Karate Baka Ichidai • Genre — * Martial Arts • Action
Key facts
Key facts
• Type — manga • Author — Ikki Kajiwara • Illustrator — Jirō Tsunoda (vol. Volume 1–11) Jōya Kagemaru (vol. 12–29) • Publisher — Kodansha • Magazine — Weekly Shōnen Magazine • First — 1971 • Last — 1977 • Volumes — 29
Key facts
Key facts
• Type — tv series • Director — Eiji Okabe and Osamu Dezaki • Producer — Eisuke Nozawa Nobuo Inada • Studio — A Production Tokyo Movie • Network — ANN (NET) • First — October 3, 1973 • Last — September 25, 1974 • Episodes — 47
Key facts
Key facts
• Type — live film • Director — Kazuhiko Yamaguchi • Studio — Toei • Released — 14 May 1977 • Runtime — 91 minutes
Key facts
Key facts
• Portal — yes Karate Master is a Japanese manga drawn by Jirō Tsunoda and Jōya Kagemaru, with the story written by Ikki Kajiwara. The story was inspired by the life of the real-life karate martial artist Mas Oyama. The manga was published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine between 1971 and 1977, and accumulated in 29 tankōbon volumes. It was adapted into an anime television series from 1973 to 1974, and a live-action film in 1977.
Course of the series
Dated record
Course of the series
Explore 1990–2025
The full dated record · 4 entries
1990
Karate master II digitised by Open Library.
1991
Karate Master Three (1991) is digitised and catalogued by Open Library.
2025
Fleeting Karate Master (2025) is digitised and catalogued by Open Library.
2025
Fleeting Karate Master digitised by Open Library.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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- Japan
Primary material
Digitised editions and texts
Karate Masters (3 catalogued editions) (2001) — Open Library. Karate Masters (2 catalogued editions) (2005) — Open Library.
Karate Masters Volume 5 (2010) — Open Library
Karate Masters Volume 3 (2010) — Open Library
Karate master II (1990) — Open Library
Karate Master (1998) — Open Library
Anime and film adaptations
The anime television series was produced by Tokyo Movie and aired Wednesdays, from 19:30 to 20:00, on NET from October 3, 1973, to September 25, 1974, totaling 47 episodes. The manga was first adapted into a live-action film by Toei as Karate Baka Ichidai, which was released on 14 May 1977 (the English release title was Karate for Life). It was directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi and starred Shin'ichi ("Sonny") Chiba. The two-part film, Shin Karate Baka Ichidai: Kakutōsha, which was directed by Takeshi Miyasaka and released in 2003 and 2004 to commemorate the seventeenth anniversary of Kajiwara's death, is often treated as an adaptation of the manga, but its direct source is a book by Hisao Maki, Kajiwara's younger brother. The anime is now available on Hulu (in the U.S.) under the name Karate Master. Discotek Media has licensed the anime for home video release in North America.
Reception and legacy
The success of the manga and the anime are often credited for producing a "karate boom" in Japan in the early 1970s. Video game artist Keiji Inafune drew inspiration from Karate Master for several character designs in the arcade fighting game Street Fighter (1987).
Literature
Literature
Literature
Self-Defence Scroll of Kyokushinkai Karate: Analysing the Mokuroku Ōyama Masutatsu Received from Daitō-ryū Aikijūjutsu Master Yoshida Kōtarō, Távol-keleti Tanulmányok, 2025. The Feet of the Master: Three Stages in the Appropriation of Okinawan Karate Into Anglo-American Culture, Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 2001.
Templates Generation, Matching and Visualization Applied to Motion Capture of Highly-Skilled Karate Athletes, Sensors, 2017
Dynamic Stability Assessment of the Lower Limbs of Karate Kyokushin Master Class Athletes, Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2014
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Shogakukan. Karate baka ichidai. Dejitaru Daijisen Purasu.
- 2.Waru Action Manga Artist Joya Kagemaru Passes Away. Anime News Network.
- 3.Karate baka ichidai. Movie Square.
- 4.TV Anime Karate baka ichidai. AllCinema.
- 5.Kinema Junpo. Karate baka ichidai. Kinenote.
- 6.Shin Karate Baka Ichidai: Kakutōsha. Cinema Topics Online.
- 7.Discotek Adds Hana Yori Dango, 07-Ghost, Beelzebub, Kyousougiga, Getter Robo Armageddon, Z/X Iginition, Karate Master. Anime News Network. August 27, 2015.
- 8.Hashimoto, Norihiro. 'Karate Saikyō Gensō' Futatabi. Number. Bungei Shunju.
- 9.Kokushin Kaikan. 1969-1987. Kokushin Kaikan no Rekishi.
- 10.McLaughlin, Rus. IGN Presents the History of Street Fighter. IGN. 16 February 2009.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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