Sensei Taiji Kase was born on the 9th February, 1929, in Chiba, Japan. He began his karate training in 1944, at which time he already had experience in kendo, aikido and judo, gaining his 2nd Dan in judo that same year. At the age of 15, after meeting with Gichin Funakoshi at his Shotokan dojo, Sensei Kase was taken on as a student and was taught by many different instructors, including Gichin Funakoshi’s son, Yoshitaka Funakoshi.
In 1946, Sensei Kase gained Shodan (1st Dan) in Karate-Do, then Sandan (3rd Dan) in 1949. At this time he was captain of the karate team at Senshu University, from which he graduated in March 1951 with a Degree in Economic Science.
Sensei Kase had always wanted to be a professional Karate teacher. To achieve this goal he joined the JKA (Japanese Karate Association). In 1964, he left Japan to teach in countries all around the world: South Africa, the USA, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and, in 1967, France, where he settled permanently in Paris.
In 1986, Sensei Kase decided to close his Paris dojo to resume travelling around the world to teach.
Sadly, on the 24th November 2004, Sensei Taiji Kase passed away in Paris. He was an inspiration to all his students and will be greatly missed.
