Prior to his death, Yamaguchi was decorated by the Emperor of Japan in 1968 with the Ranjū-Hōshō, らんじゅほうしょう(藍綬褒章),[8] the Blue Ribbon Medal of the fifth order of merit, for his enormous contribution to the spread worldwide of the Japanese martial arts.

In his 5th year of primary school Yamaguchi commenced his karate-dō training under the guidance of Takeo Maruta, a carpenter joiner from Okinawa.

Gōgen Yamaguchi was also famously known in the world of karate-dō as ‘the Cat’; he was a very small man, just over five feet (1.52 meters) and a mere 160 pounds (73 kg); however, he projected the impression of great bulk and an aura reminiscent of the samurai era.

He alone was primarily responsible for the spread of Gōjū-ryū throughout the world today whereby hundreds of thousands of practitioners have experienced some form of training within traditional and non-traditional karate dojo.

[9] According to Gōgen Yamaguchi himself when interviewed by French magazine Karate journalist Rolland Gaillac, April 1977 edition, he stated: "Even today, young man, if you were to face me in combat, I would be able to determine in a second the strength of your Ki.

There he studied Law and in 1930 Yogi together with Gōgen Yamaguchi co-founded the Ritsumeikan daigaku karate kenkyū-kai (立命館大学空手研究会, lit.

After graduating from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto in 1934, that same year Gōgen designed and introduced Jiyū-kumite which has become known today as sport and tournament fighting kumite.

In 1945, Gōgen returned to Japan where he re-opened his initial karate-dō dojo in Nippori, which was later destroyed by fire, and advertised with a sign outside reading Gōjū-ryū-kai.

Many people thought his school was closed forever and that he had been killed in the war; accordingly Gōgen held large exhibitions in Tokyo, which showcased the various Chinese and Japanese martial arts that he had experienced.

The rapid growth and expansion was reinforced by Gōgen's energetic and forceful persona, which resulted in a worldwide network of karate schools, which he alone built into a powerful martial arts empire.

Mention must be made here of Gōgen Yamaguchi's legendary discussion noted in his autobiography regarding his military duty in Manchuria during World War II, whereby Gōgen was a prisoner of War of the Soviet Army in 1942 and incarcerated at a Russian concentration camp; it was here that he admitted having battled and defeated a live tiger, after he was locked in a cell with the beast which his captors expected would devour him.

Gōgen Yamaguchi established the Gōjū-kai Headquarters in Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan, nearby to the busy shopping precinct of Roppongi.

The Kokusai Budō Renmei - (The International Martial Arts Federation) in Japan, whose chairman was Prince Higashikuni of the Japanese Imperial Family appointed Yamaguchi as a Shihan - master of that organisation's karate-dō division.

Kishio, who died in the early 1990s, was deeply involved in the running of the I.K.G.A whilst his youngest sister Wakako Yamaguchi was an All Japan Kata Champion for a number of years.