Fuji Ryu & Koshiro Tanaka Books & DVDs

About

Koshiro Tanaka (born 1940 in Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese martial artist, veteran of the Soviet-Afghan War, and self-styled "Afghan Samurai." Raised in a family with a strong martial arts tradition, Tanaka began studying karate in childhood, later mastering judo, aikido, and kendo. He earned a sixth-degree black belt in Kyokushin Karate and became a skilled instructor. After graduating from Kanagawa University with a degree in Law and Economics, he pursued a career as a businessman in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. However, feeling unfulfilled, Tanaka embraced martial arts as his true calling, seeking a greater test of his spirit and skills. In 1985, driven by a desire to confront his fear of death and oppose Soviet expansionism—partly motivated by Japan’s loss of the Kuril Islands to the Soviet Union after World War II—Tanaka left his office job and traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan. From there, he moved to Afghanistan to join the mujahideen in their fight against Soviet and Afghan government forces during the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989). With no prior battlefield experience, he adopted the local salwar kameez, joined the Jamiat-e Islami faction led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, and taught hand-to-hand combat to the mujahideen, applying his martial arts expertise. He participated in combat, including a notable raid near Jagdalak in 1985, earning the nickname "Afghan Samurai" from global media. Despite warnings from the Japanese Embassy in Islamabad to cease involvement, Tanaka made at least six trips to Afghanistan between 1985 and 1987, funding his efforts with $10,000 raised through his company and donating proceeds from his autobiography, Soviet Soldiers in a Gun Sight, My Battle in Afghanistan (1987), to the mujahideen. Tanaka’s actions were controversial in Japan, where his government criticized his involvement due to the country’s pacifist constitution. He endured malaria, jaundice, kidney stones, and a broken foot during his time in Afghanistan. Viewing himself as a m