Nearly Dying For Karate Secrets

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]Channelnews: Singaporeans lost for a day in Japan searching for 'karate master'
Three Singaporeans were lost for a day in the freezing mountains of Aomori, Japan on a quest to fulfil the dying wish of a family member by trying to find a karate master. Nine others also joined them in their quest in Japan. It was on Thursday that the Japanese media began reporting about the 13 Singaporeans in Aomori prefecture, northern Japan. Three of them went missing on Wednesday in the mountains, where there was still two metres of snow. Luckily, they were spotted trying to beat the freezing weather in an abandoned car. They were dressed lightly, totally unprepared for the snow. It was not the fact that they got lost that attracted media attention; rather it was their reason for being in Aomori. They were in search of a karate master in Aomori's Soma village. It was to fulfil the wish of a karate master in Singapore, who died some years ago, to find a man in Japan who possessed secrets about karate. According to Ms Asari of Hirosaki City in Aomori, the group did not possess a photo or any concrete materials about the man, except that he was quiet, a widower and had two daughters. The city brought the one and only person who practises karate in Soma village to meet the group, but the Singaporeans said he wasn't the one. Hirosaki's tourism board is hoping to help them find the man and most of the Singaporeans intend to stay in the area until the end of this month.

[Taro Toporific]

Channelnews: Singaporeans lost for a day in Japan searching for 'karate master'.

Singaporeans believed to have found Japanese martial arts master
Channelnewsasia.com: 13 April 2006 1950 hrs GMT + 8 hours
SINGAPORE :Three Singaporeans in search of a karate master in northern Japan are believed to have located him.
He is 61-year-old Shoen Fukuda who lives in Aomori's Hiranai City. But it turns out that instead of karate, Mr Fukuda teaches Chinese-style martial arts.
The search started when a Singaporean karate master made a wish on his death bed for his family to locate a Japanese man with a secret karate manuscript.
His family, together with neighbours, travelled to Japan armed only with the information that the man is a widower of about 65 who has two daughters.
When three members in the group of 13 went missing on Aomori's snowy mountains, their rescue and their quest attracted much media attention in Japan.
With the help of Aomori officials and volunteers, Mr Fukuda was found.
He recalls meeting a Singaporean by the name of Xu and showing him his secret manuscript.
But Mr Fukuda has refused to present his manuscript to the Singaporean karate master's son and wife, saying it is something he cannot disclose.
As a gesture of friendship, however, he has offered to present something to the Singaporeans in a ceremony on Friday.