Mr. Miyagi

Kesuke Miyagi or, Mr. Miyagi, is the mentor of Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, played by Noriyuki "Pat" Morita. Mr. Miyagi has a deep philosophical knowledge of life and has extraordinary martial arts skill. His character is most likely a descendant of Chōjun Miyagi, the legendary founder of Goju Ryu Karate, as Miyagi refers to his style of karate as Miyagi-do karate. Also, Mr. Miyagi's knowledge of Chinese acupressure techniques as well as the Crane Kick show that the style of karate he practices is very likely Goju Ryu. Lastly, the real Chojun Miyagi was indeed able to catch flies with chopsticks, something Mr. Miyagi tries to do throughout the series.

An Okinawan immigrant to the United States, Mr. Miyagi was most likely born in 1923 (inferred from his immigration to the U.S. and war service). He had learned karate originally from his father, who had been a fisherman. He came to the United States after leaving Okinawa to avoid a fight to the death between him and his former best friend Sato. Miyagi was in love with a young woman named Yuki from his village. Yukie however was arranged to marry Sato. Miyagi rebuked the marriage in front of the whole village, claiming that he and Yukie were in love, and Miyagi was set to go against tradition and marry Yuki anyway. This greatly dishonoured Sato, who challenged Miyagi to a fight to the death. To avoid the fight - by the conduct of karate - Miyagi left Okinawa and Yukie behind. It was not until 1986 when Miyagi's father (also Sato's sensei) was dying that Miyagi returned to his village. Upon his return, Miyagi was reunited with Yukie. After Miyagi's father passed away, Yukie revealed to Miyagi that his father was proud that his son didn't take up Sato's challenge and that Miyagi indeed did the right thing. However, also on this return, Miyagi was eventually forced to face his history with Sato.

After leaving Okinawa, Miyagi met and married another woman. Miyagi and his wife soon were expecting their first born when Mrs Miyagi was interned in the Manzanar Japanese internment camp in California during World War II. During this time, Miyagi joined the U.S. Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team and fought in Europe, eventually rising to the rank of Sergeant (if not higher) and being awarded the Medal of Honor. Unfortunately, during his service, Mrs. Miyagi and their son died in the Manzanar camp due to complications during childbirth. Though normally a very disciplined and modest man, he is shown in one scene in the first movie in a maudlin state of extreme drunkenness on the anniversary of his son's birth and wife and son's death. (The loss of his family, and the death of Daniel's father prior to the beginning of the movie, provide a thematic justification of Miyagi and Daniel's relationship as surrogate father and son).

What he did in the interim between the war and the first movie is not revealed in much detail. At the start of the first movie, he works as a maintenance man in Daniel's apartment building, though this may be a sort of semi-retirement and he likely has worked or does work at other pursuits. In addition to this, it is suggested that he has worked variously at landscaping, carpentry, gardening and classic car restoration, either as a business or a hobby. Despite this last pursuit, he does not have a driver's license. He has fished as well for his whole life, since being taught by his father. In the third movie, he and Daniel begin a business of growing bonsai trees. He claims in the first movie never to have taught karate to anyone before Daniel, though contradicts this in The Next Karate Kid by claiming to have taught his former Army commanding officer, Lt. Masters.