00:00While Japan thrived in the 1980s, Koshiro Tanaka, an office worker and master of kiyoshin karate, felt his country had
00:09lost its samurai spirit.
00:11Frustrated by Japan's indifference to the Soviet occupation of the Kuril Islands, he left his job at 46 and traveled
00:20alone to Pakistan to join the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviets.
00:26Swapping his business suit for Afghan clothing, Tanaka, neither a soldier nor a Muslim, and with no combat experience, trekked
00:36into the mountains relying on his martial arts skills.
00:40In his first firefight near Kabul, a bullet grazed past him and instead of fear, he felt a rush of
00:48adrenaline.
00:49He soon began teaching karate to the Mujahideen, fighting alongside them in the harsh terrain.
00:56Over four years, Tanaka made seven trips to Afghanistan, earning the nickname Afghan Samurai from the international press.
01:06He endured malaria, jaundice, kidney stones, and a broken leg, always carrying an extra grenade to avoid the disgrace of
01:15capture in line with his samurai code.
01:18When the Soviets withdrew in 1989, Tanaka returned to Japan without recognition or reward.
01:26The government dismissed his actions as irrational, but he continued teaching karate, wearing both Japanese and Afghan flag patches, a
01:36symbol that part of him remained on distant battlefields bound by a personal code that transcended borders and eras.
01:44He's massively
01:44So, at that point, it is a symbol that it works with him.
01:44So, the devil will pass.
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