The Taoist Center

3824 Macarthur Boulevard
Oakland, California 94619
510-336-0129
info@thetaoistcenter.com

Sensei Henry Seishiro Okazaki developed Dan Zan Ryu Jujitsu and taught Ray Law, Dr. Feng’s first American judo/jujitsu teacher.

Sensei Okazaki was born in Japan in 1890 and moved to Hawaii as a young man. At the age of 16 he learned he had tuberculosis. Through hard training in the martial arts, Okazaki recovered completely and vowed to dedicate his life to propagating jujitsu and judo. Standing at a stocky 5'5", he was described as having a head "shaped like an artillery shell and a personality to match."

From 1927 to 1928, Okazaki developed a complete, integrated martial arts system: Danzan Ryu Jujutsu. Dan Zan Ryu means "Hawaiian style". Tan/Dan means "sandalwood"; San/Zan means "mountain"; and Ryu means "stream" or “flow of” – the flow of the sandalwood mountain.

A synthesis of several older styles of jujitsu, Okazaki’s system included elements of his studies of Okinawan karate, Chinese kung fu, Hawaiian Lua, Filipino knife fighting (escrima), boxing and wrestling, as well as traditional Japanese restorative massage and healing techniques (Seifukujutsu).

He studied in the Hawaiian Islands then traveled to Japan to continue his learning. He returned to Hawaii and in the 1920s opened the Kodenkan dojo in Honolulu. When Okazaki opened his dojo, he did an extraordinary thing: he announced he would teach jujitsu to anyone, regardless of race or gender. For a Japanese man to teach outsiders struck many Japanese martial artists as a grave insult. The ancient techniques had been passed down through countless generations of samurai and were sacred.

He published The  Science of Self Defense for Women and Girls in 1929. Believing that if you have the power to hurt, you should also have the power to heal, Okazaki taught his students massage and resuscitation techniques. Although he is often remembered for his martial arts, Prof. Okazaki made his living as a massage therapist.
Many black belts received their instructor's scrolls and moved to the U.S. mainland to open Danzan-Ryu schools. Among them were Bud Estes (1939), Richard Rickerts (1941), Ray Law (1939) and John Cahill (1946). These four formed the American Judo and Jujitsu Federation (AJJF).