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What does Tokaido mean?

The name "Tokaido" is composed of three kanji (Chinese characters) which mean "East", "Sea" and a suffix meaning "Shop". Together, the name means "Eastern Sea Shop". As the founder of Tokaido was originally from the area of Japan near what is called the "Eastern Sea," he named the shop Tokaido in honor of his homeland.

About 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
Shizuo Sugiora 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 Shizuo Sugiora 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.

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