Jitsumi Gà Âgen Yamaguchi (å±±å£åÂÂçÂÂ; January 20, 1909 – May 20, 1989), also known as Gà Âgen Yamaguchi, was a Japanese martial artist and student of Gà Âjà «-ryà « Karate under Chà Âjun Miyagi. He was one of the most well-known karate-dà  masters from Japan and he founded the International Karate-dà  Gà Âjà « Kai Association.
Prior to his death, Yamaguchi was decorated by the Emperor of Japan in 1968 with the Ranjà «-Hà Âshà Â, ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã ãÂȋÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂ(èÂÂ綬è¤Âç« ), the Blue Ribbon Medal of the fifth order of merit, for his enormous contribution to the spread worldwide of the Japanese martial arts. For many years he was listed in the Guinness Book of Records regarding his rank and achievements. According to an obituary:
According to his autobiographical work: Karate Gojà «-ryà « by the Cat Tokyo, Japan (1963), Gà Âgen Yamaguchi was born on January 20, 1909, in Miyakonojà  Shonai, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, near Kagoshima City on the island of Kyà «shà «. In his 5th year of primary school Yamaguchi commenced his karate-dà  training under the guidance of Takeo Maruta, a carpenter joiner from Okinawa. Maruta was a Gà Âjà «-ryà « practitioner.
Gà Âgen Yamaguchi was named Jitsumi Yamaguchi by his father Tokutarà  who was a merchant and later a schoolteacher and superintendent; his mother was Yoshimatsu. Jitsumi was their 3rd son, and there were ten children in this very large Japanese family.
Gà Âgen Yamaguchi was also famously known in the world of karate-dà  as âÂÂthe CatâÂÂ; he was a very small man, just over five feet (1.52 meters) and a mere 160 pounds (73 kg); however, he projected the impression of great bulk and an aura reminiscent of the samurai era. He was first dubbed 'the Cat' by American GIs for his gliding walk and flowing hair. He alone was primarily responsible for the spread of Gà Âjà «-kai throughout the world today whereby hundreds of thousands of practitioners have experienced some form of training within traditional and non-traditional karate dojo.
According to GÃ Âgen Yamaguchi himself when interviewed by French magazine Karate journalist Rolland Gaillac, April 1977 edition, he stated: "Even today, young man, if you were to face me in combat, I would be able to determine in a second the strength of your Ki. Immediately I would know if you were a good opponent. It is this quality, and no other, which has given me the name of The Cat."
Gà Âgen then began the serious study of karate-dà  with Sensei Takeo Maruta after his family relocated to Kyoto. Maruta was also a carpenter or joiner by trade and was himself a student of the legendary Chà Âjun Miyagi of Okinawa. Gà Âgen Yamaguchi studied directly with Chà Âjun Miyagi later in 1929, after he and his then-current teacher and friend Jitsuei Yogi wrote to Chà Âjun Miyagi and invited him to come to Japan.
Chà Âjun Miyagi visited the university dojo of Kansai, Osaka, Ritsumeikan, Kyoto, and Doshisha Universities, whilst Gà Âgen was attending Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. There he studied Law and in 1930 Yogi together with Gà Âgen Yamaguchi co-founded the , the first karate club at Ritsumeikan University. The Ritsumeikan Karate-dà  Kenkyà «-kai was the first university karate club in western Japan and was infamous for its hard style training and fierce karate fighters. Both Yogi and Yamaguchi attended Ritsumeikan University during the time Chà Âjun Miyagi visited, and Chà Âjun Miyagi stayed in Yogi's apartment.
Chà Âjun Miyagi later gave Gà Âgen Yamaguchi the responsibility for spreading Gà Âjà «-ryà « in mainland Japan. In the early 1930s, Gà Âgen designed what would become the legendary signature Gà Âjà «-kai fist. It is said to be modeled after the right fist of Chà Âjun Miyagi.
After graduating from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto in 1934, that same year Gà Âgen designed and introduced Jiyà «-kumite which has become known today as sport and tournament fighting kumite. In 1935 he officially formed the All Japan Karate-dà  Gà Âjà «-kai Association (which later split into the JKF Gojukai and the J.K.G.A.) Also in 1935 Gà Âgen began his travels with the Japanese government as an intelligence officer and his first son Norimi Gà Âsei Yamaguchi was born (Gà Âsei is the current leader of Gà Âjà «-kai USA).
During his military tour in Manchuria in World War II, Gà Âgen was captured by the Soviet military in 1942 and incarcerated as a prisoner of war in a Russian concentration camp; it was here that he battled and defeated a live tiger according to his autobiography (cited above). He was originally targeted for hard labour in the POW camp. However, he had impressed even the hard-nosed Russians. They discovered who he was and requested that he teach karate-dà  to the Russian soldiers. It was then that, 'the prisoner became the master of the guards, who became his students'.
In 1945, Gà Âgen returned to Japan, where he re-opened his initial karate-dà  dojo (which was later destroyed by fire) in Nippori and advertised with a sign outside reading 'Gà Âjà «-ryà «-kai' Many people thought his school was closed forever and that he had been killed in the war; accordingly, Gà Âgen held large exhibitions in Tokyo, which showcased the various Chinese and Japanese martial arts that he had experienced. His school reopened and moved at a later date to the Suginami-ku area of Tokyo. Here he quickly expanded throughout a network of independent Gà Âjà «-ryà « dojo. The rapid growth and expansion was reinforced by Gà Âgen's energetic and forceful persona, which resulted in a worldwide network of karate schools, which he alone built into a powerful martial arts empire.
In his autobiography, GÃ Âgen Yamaguchi's described a legendary event during his military duty in Manchuria during World War II. He was a prisoner of War of the Soviet Army in 1942, incarcerated at a Russian concentration camp; he claimed that it was here that having battled and defeated a live tiger, after he was locked in a cell with the beast which his captors expected would devour him. This claim has created much controversy; however, Russian sources from the time would need to be located in order to verify this event.
Gà Âgen Yamaguchi established the Gà Âjà «-kai Headquarters in Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan, near the busy shopping precinct of Roppongi. By 1950, Gà Âjà «-kai Headquarters was officially relocated to the Suginami Tokyo school, which contributed to an almost tripling of membership to 450,000, according to his autobiography. Five years later, he officially chartered the I.K.G.A. Later in 1964, Gà Âgen Yamaguchi along with other founder members à Âtsuka Hironori from Wadà Â-ryà «; Nakayama Masatoshi from Shotokan; Mabuni Kenei and Iwata Manzao of Shità Â-ryà «, unified all the karate dojo in Japan to form the All Japan Karate-dà  Federation, which is still in existence today as the Japan Karate Federation (JKF).
By 1966, his organization comprised more than 200 dojo and clubs and 60,000 members within the Gà Âjà «-kai system.
His most notable students included Yamamoto Gonnohyoue and Yamaguchi Gosei. Another notable student was Mas Oyama who attained 8th Dan under Yamaguchi Gogen before starting his own style the Kyokushin-kai.
In Australia, Paul Starling (the most senior Caucasian pupil graded by GÃ Âgen Yamaguchi in his lifetime) and now 8th Dan Hanshi, had been training with GÃ Âgen's first Australian student Mervyn Oakley who opened his Sydney Goju Kai School in 1963.
Gà Âgen Yamaguchi's contributions to Gà Âjà «-ryà « karate-dà  and to karate-dà  in general have been enormous. Under his leadership and guidance the International Karate-dà  Gà Âjà «-kai Association (I.K.G.A) has developed and thrived. The organization has increased in popularity both in Japan and other Asian and Western countries throughout the world. By 2008 there were approximately 60-70 countries teaching the Gà Âjà «-kai karate-dà  principles and training methods. Gà Âgen Yamaguchi succeeded in unifying all the karate schools in Japan into a single union which resulted in the formation of The Federation of All Japan Karate-dà  Organization (F.A.J.K.O.) in 1964. The Kokusai Budà  Renmei - (The International Martial Arts Federation) in Japan, whose chairman was Prince Higashikuni of the Japanese Imperial Family appointed Yamaguchi as a Shihan - master of that organisation's karate-dà  division. Yamaguchi added to the Gà Âjà « system the Taikyoku kata forms, - training methods for the beginner students to prepare them for the more advanced kata.
It has been argued that never before has a single man had such profound effect on the development and propagation of karate-dà Â'. (De Jong, Ingo, 1989). Goju-Kai Karate-do Hard and Soft in Harmony - Volume 1. Sweden, Jakobsbergs Tryckeri AB.
GÃ Âgen Yamaguchi visited Sydney and Melbourne, Australia on two occasions, in 1970 and 1972.
Gà Âgen Yamaguchi Kaiso died on May 20, 1989. He had been married twice, firstly to Midori with whom he had four children: Gà Âsei Norimi Yamaguchi (b. 1935), Gà Âsen Kishio Yamaguchi (1940-1990), Makiko Yamaguchi, and Gà Âshi Hirofumi Yamaguchi (b. 1942). He and his second wife, Mitsue, had one child, Gà Âkyà Âko Wakako Yamaguchi. All of his children practiced karate-dà  and became masters in their own right. The names commencing with gà  (Ã¥ÂÂ) were their karate names. Gà Âsei Norimi Yamaguchi has his own organisation in the United States and Gà Âshi Hirofumi Yamaguchi is the President of the International Karate-dà  Gà Âjà «-kai, with branches in 60 countries. Gà Âsen Kishio Yamaguchi was the Vice President of Japan Airlines. Kishio, who died in the early 1990s, was deeply involved in the running of the I.K.G.A whilst his youngest sister Wakako Yamaguchi was an All Japan Kata Champion for a number of years. Makiko Yamaguchi died from subarachnoid hemorrhage at a relatively young age during the late 1980s.