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{{short description|Okinawan karateka}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox martial artist
| name            = Mabuni Kenei
| residence       = [[Osaka]], [[Japan]]
| other_names     =
| image           =
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| birth_name      =
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1918|02|13}}
| birth_place     = [[Shuri, Okinawa|Shuri]], [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]
| death_date      = {{death date and age|2015|12|19|1918|02|13}}
| death_place     =
| death_cause     =
| martial_art     = [[Shitō-ryū]]
| teacher         = [[Mabuni Kenwa]], [[Yasuhiro Konishi|Konishi Yasuhiro]], [[Fujita Seiko]]
| rank            = [[Soke (martial arts)|2nd Sōke]], Official head of [[Shitō-ryū]]
| students        =
| website         =
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}}
{{nihongo|'''Mabuni Kenei'''|摩文仁 賢榮|Kenei Mabuni|February 13, 1918 – December 19, 2015}} was a Japanese [[martial arts|martial arts expert]], holder of the 10th [[Dan (rank)|Dan]].
==Personal history==
Kenei Mabuni was born in [[Shuri, Okinawa|Shuri]], [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]. As the son of [[Kenwa Mabuni]], the founder of the [[Shitō-ryū]] and one of the most important [[karate]] experts in the history of the martial arts, he was in touch with karate and some of its greatest masters such as [[Miyagi Chojun]], [[Funakoshi Gichin]], and [[Motobu Chōki]] from childhood. Besides his karate practice he also studied several other martial arts such as [[Aikido|aikidō]], [[kendō]], [[Okinawan kobudō]], [[jujutsu]], [[jûdô]], and [[ninjutsu]]. At the age of 34 he became the head of Shitō-ryū.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shitokai.com/kenei.php |title=Soke Kenei Mabuni, Shitokai, Sensei Tanzadeh Shitoryu Karate do Cyber Academy |website=www.shitokai.com |access-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202040930/http://www.shitokai.com/kenei.php |archive-date=2 February 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>"The Essence of Budo By,Kenei Mabuni."</ref>
In particular, Mabuni Kenei emphasized the importance of the spiritual contents and values of karatedō. Without generally refusing sport-oriented karate he supported a clear distinction between traditional karatedō and [[sport karate]].
Among his achievements is the completion of the [[Karate kata|kata]] Shimpā that his father had created but not completed. This kata was inspired by the [[Uechi-ryū]]. He was the author of several books about the Shitō-ryū techniques and of one book about the historical roots and the spiritual basics of karate as budō art. On December 19, 2015, he died at the age of 97.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnoticias.pt/actualidade/desporto/557630-faleceu-o-filho-do-fundador-do-karate-shitoryu|title=Faleceu o filho do fundador do Karaté Shitoryu - DNOTICIAS.PT|publisher=dnoticias.pt}}</ref>
Kenei Mabuni was succeeded by his son, Kenyu Mabuni, as the third Soke of Shito-Ryu. Kenyu was anointed the next Soke (successor) of the system in an inauguration ceremony held on February 28, 2016, in Osaka, continuing his father's and his grandfather's work which is the spread of the original Shito ryu Karate do worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pelekis |first1=George |title=Soke Kenyu Mabuni |url=http://www.shitoryugreece.com/en/history/kenyu-mabuni |website=Shitokai Greece |access-date=30 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wong |first1=Shihan |title=Soke Kenyu Mabuni |url=http://ska.org.sg/3rd-soke-of-shitoryu-karatedo/ |website=Shitoryu Karate Association |access-date=30 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Soke Kenyu Mabuni |url=https://sites.google.com/site/internationalkenshikai/shitoryu/kenyu-mabuni |website=ISKK |access-date=30 November 2020}}</ref>
== Publications ==
*{{cite book |title= Empty Hand: The Essence of Budō Karate |last= Mabuni |first= Kenei |others=Edited by Carlos Molina |year=2009 |publisher=Palisander Verlag |location=Chemnitz |isbn=978-3-938305-13-3 }}
*{{cite book |title= Shito-Ryu Karate-Do: The Essence of Budō Karate |last= Mabuni |first= Kenei |others=Assisted by Con Kassis |year=1997 |publisher=Dominie Press |location=Victoria, Australia}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Gabrielle & Roland Habersetzer, Encyclopédie des arts martiaux de l'Extrême-Orient, Ed. Amphora, Paris, 2004.
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080520074559/http://www.shitokai.co.uk/kenei.html British Karate-Do Shito-Kai]
*[http://www.shitoryu.org/ Canadian & International Shito-Ryu Karate Resource Center]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenei, Mabuni}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:Okinawan male karateka]]
[[Category:People from Naha]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:Shitō-ryū practitioners]]
[[Category:20th-century Japanese sportsmen]]