[3] Chinen was born on June 8, 1941, in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, of Okinawan and Japanese ancestry.

[5][7] Although Okinawan, Chinen's father adopted Japanese ways, and this included the naming conventions applied to his children.

"[7] Chinen's father died in 1944 when the captain of his ship decided to sink the vessel rather than surrender to Allied forces.

[6] Chinen began training in Gōjū-ryū karate under one of Chojun Miyagi's senior students Ei'ichi Miyazato (1922–1999) in 1954.

[1][7] Prior to leaving Yoyogi Dojo for Spokane, Miyazato promoted Chinen to yondan (fourth degree blackbelt).

[3] What was initially planned as a three-month visit led to him settling in Spokane, which became the base of operations for his karate organization.

[3] In 1995, Chinen became ill from undiagnosed diabetes,[7] but still traveled across Europe and North America teaching karate, and he continued to lead Jundokan International.