Art of self-defense that uses no weapons and relies instead on three main techniques: arm strikes (uchi), thrusts (tsuki), and kicks (keri). A distinction is made between offensive and defensive techniques, which are modified according to the position of one's opponent. For defense, there are various parrying methods (uke) corresponding to each of the methods of offense. There are two sections in karate competitions: form (kata) competition and sparring (kumite) matches.

Karate was historically most widely practiced in China and Okinawa and thus is not considered one of the traditional Japanese martial arts; it is, however, loosely referred to as such outside of Japan. Current forms of karate developed from a style of Chinese boxing called quanfa (ch'üan-fa, literally, “rules of the fist”; known as kung fu in the West; J: kempō), which is thought to have been transmitted by the Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma (d ca 532) along with Zen (Ch: Chan or Ch'an) Buddhist teachings to Chinese disciples at Shaolin temple (J: Shōrinji) in the southern province of Henan (Honan). The method of self-defense traced to these beginnings is called Shōrinji kempō in Japan; it had spread widely through China by the time of the medieval Ming dynasty (1368−1644), but it was suppressed in the Qing (Ch'ing) period (1644−1912) because it was used by a secret society aspiring to reestablish Ming rule. The subsequent development of karate took place primarily in Okinawa. Chinese fighting techniques (referred to in Japanese as tōde; literally, “Tang [T'ang] hand”) merged with indigenous techniques (called te; literally, “hand”) to produce the karate style. A karate club was established at a middle school in Okinawa in 1905 after the islands had become a prefecture of modern Japan, and the sport thereafter began to emerge from obscurity. It became known throughout mainland Japan in 1922, when Funakoshi Gichin, an Okinawan master, performed a demonstration in Tōkyō. In the late 1920s a karate club was founded at Keiō Gijuku (now Keiō University), and thereafter the development of the sport centered on the universities. Two schools developed, one of which emphasized strengthening the body, and the other, quick movements. Numerous styles (ryū) have emerged over the years.

After World War II, karate and the other martial arts experienced a decline that lasted until around 1955. After that the sport increased in popularity, and it is more widespread now than ever. A federation of student karate organizations was established in 1962. A general federation of the various karate organizations in Japan was established in 1964, after karatedō (the Way of karate) had achieved a large following abroad.