Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 17:40:13 EDT
From: AKIOMI
To: karate@raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Obituary for Sensei Ozawa
Message-ID: <974bd863.35367abf@aol.com>

Obituary

Sensei Osamu Ozawa of Las Vegas died unexpectedly from complications of pneumonia  in the morning of April 15, 1998.  He was seventy-two years old.

Sensei Ozawa was born in Kobe, Japan on November 25, 1925.  After graduating from Hosei University in Tokyo, he worked as an interpreter for the Allied Occupation, and then he became Broadcasting Director of the Osaka Television (current Asahi Mainichi Television).  Sensei Ozawa was the first JKA instructor to open a dojo in the Kansai region, and was the chief instructor of the JKA Kansai.  He once told me that his dojo in Kobe at that time was "frequently threatened by local yakuza, and I could be killed on any given day."

Sensei Ozawa immigrated to the United States in 1964, and opened a dojo in Las Vegas.  His annual Las Vegas tournament, which was held just a few days prior to his death, attracted hundreds of competitors and spectators each year.

Sensei Ozawa was the most senior Shotokan instructor in the United States (2 years senior to Sensei Nishiyama).  Known as one of the most traditional Japanese karate-ka, he wore traditional kimono at his tournaments.

by Akihiro Omi