It is with much sadness that we share the information we received last night to inform us that Soke Yamamoto had passed away. Soke was 78 years old, born on July 10, 1938. At 9:41 on February 11, 2017 CST, and 12:41 on February 12, 2017 in Japan, his long and courageous battle with cancer came to a peaceful end.
After being involved in martial arts for many years and becoming the founder of Yoshukai Karate in 1963, he has touched many lives and inspired so many people with his bravery and strength of mind.
He continued this legacy even through this last and most difficult battle to the end. We lift up his family with prayers or wishes for comfort during this difficult time. He was blessed to have wonderful care from them, and was so happy to have them by his side during this illness. We will now carry on his legacy with pride, not forgetting the many teachings and lessons we all gained from him.
Soke gathered much strength from WYKKO, as well as we did from him. We will continue to share that with his family and stay close, assisting in any way we can. These are the things he would want as his great legacy continues to live on in the way he wished. Soke's family has expressed their gratitude for the love and support of the WYKKO organization during his illness.
Minako San, his eldest daughter, has posted on Facebook this morning and you may send condolences there, for those who can and wish to do so. We personally continue to pray for his family, students, and for his friends that have known him for a long time and will miss him dearly. Osu!
Hiroaki and Donna Toyama
Mike and Denese Culbreth
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