Seishiro "Henry" Okazaki (January 28, 1890 – July 12, 1951) was a Japanese American

Japanese American

are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...

 healer, martial artist, and founder of Danzan Ryu

Danzan Ryu

Danzan-Ryū is a Ryū of jujutsu founded by Henry Seishiro Okazaki in Hawaii. Danzan Ryū is ubiquitous in the United States, particularly on the west coast....

 jujitsu.
Born in Kakeda, Date County

Date, Fukushima

is a city located in northern Fukushima, Japan.As of May 2011, the town has an estimated population of 65,409 and the total area is 265 km².There were nine towns in Date District, Fukushima. On January 1, 2006, five towns in Date District merged to form the city of Date. Merged towns were Hobara,...

 in Fukushima Prefecture

Fukushima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, he immigrated to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 in 1906. At the age of 19 he learned he had tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

. Through hard training in the martial arts, Okazaki recovered completely and vowed to dedicate his life to propagating jujutsu

Jujutsu

Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....

 and judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

. From 1927 to 1928, Okazaki developed a complete, integrated martial arts system: Danzan Ryu Jujutsu. A synthesis of several older styles of jujutsu, Okazaki included in the system elements of his studies of Okinawan karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

, Chinese

Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...

 kung-fu, Hawaiian

Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...

 Lua

Kapu Kuialua

Kapu Kuialua; Kuialua; or just Lua; is an ancient Hawaiian martial art based on bone breaking, joint locks, throws, pressure point manipulation, strikes, usage of various weapons, battlefield strategy, open ocean warfare as well as the usage of introduced firearms from the Europeans.The actual name...

, Filipino

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 knife fighting (escrima), boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 and wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

, as well as traditional Japanese restorative massage

Massage

Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...

 and healing techniques (Seifukujutsu

Seifukujutsu

Seifukujutsu is a healing art developed in Japan about 1200 to 1600 years ago. The origins of the art are rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine....

).

Gradually, Okazaki developed a system comprising courses for men, women, and children. In his system, he stressed the ancient system of philosophical and moral training within the martial and restorative arts.
He is credited with being the first to teach the full jujutsu course to non-Asians. He also taught perhaps the first women's self-defense course in the country. He founded the American Jujitsu Institute in the Territory of Hawaii in 1939. This is the original Danzan Ryu Jujitsu organization and remains in operation to the present day. In addition to his work in martial arts, he was also very well known for his healing arts.

Okazaki initially faced opposition within the Japanese-American community for teaching outsiders Japanese martial arts. This changed after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Like tens of thousands of other Japanese-Americans, Okazaki was interned

Japanese American internment

Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...

 during the war. Unlike others, however, his home and property were not looted; his students guarded them during the war. Upon their release, Okazaki helped support others in the Japanese-American community. For this he ultimately gained their respect.

History as a Healer

In addition to the martial disciplines, Okazaki studied health sciences and physical therapy, and ultimately gained a reputation as a healer of the sick and injured. In 1930, Okazaki opened the Nikko Sanatorium of Restoration Massage in Honolulu, which is still in operation today. Many famous personalities of the times came to the Sanatorium to meet, be taught by or be treated by Okazaki. Among the most famous were President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

, actress Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...

, actor George Burns

George Burns

George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...

, and Olympic athlete, actor Johnny Weismuller.