HVA BETYR TOKAIDO?
Navnet «Tokaido» er sammensatt av tre kanji (kinesiske tegn) som betyr «Øst», «Hav» og et suffiks som betyr «butikk». Til sammen betyr navnet «Østhavsbutikken». Siden grunnleggeren av Tokaido opprinnelig var fra området i Japan nær det som kalles «Østhavet», kalte han butikken Tokaido til ære for sitt hjemland.
Tokaido – Inspired by Passion
Tokaido was the first producer of karate uniforms, after Karate came from the Ryūkyū-Islands to central Japan and later the world. Before that athletes mostly practiced Karate while wearing their regular clothes or even Judo suits.
Our Karate gear profits from our huge experience and is still regarded as the worldwide standard. The uniforms are made from active and experienced Karateka by manual labour.
The cotton we use comes from a centuries old process that has been used for making the best cotton textiles of Japan. Through the use of the newest science and new manufacturing processes we have managed to improve our products even further and to customize them for the needs of our customers.
For that reason our suits are very durable and will last for decades if you take care of them properly. Check them out and you will understand why Top athletes and passionate Karatekas have chosen Tokaido
History of TOKAIDO:
The history of our company is strongly connected within the spread of the Karate to the entire world in the 1950s.
Since there was no official uniform Karate was practiced with regular clothes or even judo uniforms. For that reason ShizuoSugiora started to make some uniforms for his friends who already practiced Karate.
Sugiora was a Martial Arts enthusiast himself and was interested in a large variety of sports. As time went by he became increasingly interested in Karate and understood that there was a demand for an official sporting gear. Since Karate was getting more and more popular and he worked in the garment industry he grabbed the opportunity to combine his hobby with his work. So he started to develop a suit, which he introduced to instructors. At first they criticized him a lot, but ShizuoSugiora took advice he was given and improved his blue print, until they were satisfied.
The uniform became very popular shortly after its release and for that reason Mr. Sugiora decided to found Tokaido- the first company that has produced Karate gis.
Today as well as back then the brand Tokaido stands for choice quality Karate gear that is developed together with active and experienced athletes. We hope that you will chose us and convince yourself from our quality.