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| “ | I know Silver's address. 4 of us, one of him. Tonight, we cut off HEAD OF SNAKE! | „ |
| ~ Chozen before going off with Johnny and Mike to fight Silver. |
Chozen Toguchi is a major character in The Karate Kid franchise. He is the main antagonist of The Karate Kid Part II, and one of the main characters in the YouTube Red/Netflix series Cobra Kai.
He is the nephew of the late Sato and formerly a cruel enemy of Daniel, who years later joined him in becoming one of the Miyagi-Do co-sensei's to fight against Cobra Kai.
He is portrayed by Yuji Okumoto.
Biography[]
Chozen was born in Okinawa. After his father died by suicide, he was raised by his uncle, Sato Toguchi. One day in 1972 while training with his uncle and fellow classmates Sato catches Chozen cheating during a training exercise, and berated him for it, saying that a man without honor is no man at all. He eventually became Sato's best student of Miyagi-Do Karate. He also developed a friendship with Kumiko, a girl from Tomi Village. As he gets older, Chozen has become dishonorable and and quick-tempered.
The Karate Kid Part II[]
In 1985, Chozen meets Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, who arrived at Okinawa as Mr. Miyagi's father is dying. He takes them to meet Sato rather than Tomi Village. When Daniel accidentally exposes corruption in Chozen's grocery business. He accuses Daniel of insulting his honor and begins harassing him several times especially when he's with Kumiko, going as far as threatening to kill him.
After several encounters, their feud comes to a head when Chozen vandalizes the Miyagi family property and attacks Daniel. Daniel and Mr. Miyagi decide to leave and return to the U.S., but Sato threatens to destroy the village if Mr. Miyagi doesn't fight him, so a date is set. However, a typhoon cancels the fight, and Daniel and Mr. Miyagi rescue Sato, effectively ending the feud. When Sato sees a young girl trapped in the bell tower, he tells Chozen to help Daniel rescue her. As Chozen is too reluctant to do so due to his resentment towards Daniel, Sato helps Daniel rescue her instead and disowns Chozen who runs out into the storm.
Later, Chozen appears at the O-bon festival, takes Kumiko hostage, and demands to fight Daniel. As Daniel accepts the challenge, acknowledging that this time it isn't a tournament and Chozen will kill him if he gives him the opportunity, Daniel throws the bridge away to create a fight arena for him and Chozen. Chozen proves to be a quite difficult opponent, even avoiding defeat with the crane kick.
However, the audience, including Sato and Miyagi, resolve to aid Daniel by using handheld drums they brought to the celebration to distract Chozen enough so Daniel can defeat him by using the drum technique to counter his attacks. Daniel grabs the vanquished Chozen and threatens to end his life by saying, "Live or die, man?!" Chozen chooses death, but, Daniel chooses to let Chozen live so he could live with the humiliation of having been defeated, tweaking his nose and rendering Chozen unconscious.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 3[]
It's revealed that Chozen kept being trained by Sato after his defeat to Daniel in the second film and has reconciled with Sato through Kumiko's help. And unlike Daniel, Chozen dedicated his whole time to practice Miyagi-Do karate with no other business or family to worry about. By the time he and Daniel meet again 35 years later after being invited by Kumiko and informed of Daniel's return to Okinawa, Chozen has become a master of Miyagi-Do himself and proves to be a better fighter than Daniel, defeating him in a sparring match with little effort. Daniel eventually asks him to teach him, which Chozen gladly accepts. He reconciles with Daniel and gives him the scroll that contains the Miyagi-Do secret that Chozen inherited from the late Sato to bring with him back home.
Season 4[]
After Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang Karate lose to Cobra Kai in the 2019 All-Valley Karate Tournament, Daniel visits Mr. Miyagi's grave where even though he lost, he won't give up and he asks Chozen for help to defeat Cobra Kai once and for all. Chozen agrees to help him and the two men bow together in respect to Mr. Miyagi.
Season 5[]
Chozen moves into the LaRusso House with Daniel and his family, making himself comfortable within the boundaries set. He gets to meet Daniel's wife Amanda, their daughter Sam, and their son Anthony. He swims nude in the pool as he's accustomed to swimming in the hot springs of Okinawa every morning. He waves to Amanda as she's cleaning up the pool area, an act that disturbs her because he's nude. After being introduced to Terry Silver, Chozen asks Daniel to take him to the new Cobra Kai dojo. While Chozen did not personally experience what Daniel did back in 1985, he realizes that Silver is a student of Kim Sun-Yung, a master of Tang Soo Do while watching him spar against an opponent. He demonstrates the technique to Daniel in the LaRusso's home dojo; the brutal honor less methods of attacking when the opponent is bowing, inflicting pain, and being aggressive. He warns that every offensive attack will be expected - they must be careful. The two then concoct a plan to expose Silver, which involves him posing as a local sensei, under the alias Sensei Joe, that Silver is looking to hire.
Chozen introduces himself to Silver using the name Jokichi Tatsuya, a local sensei originating from Kyoto. He works with Tory, but senses that her heart is not in it. She then asks him why he is a sensei, to which Chozen replies, "honor". Tory is surprised and asks if that is the only reason, to which Chozen replies that honor is everything. He then tells Silver that he is training Tory and that as a teacher his task is to train the mind and then body. He also tells Tory that if she wants to break free of troubles she must face them directly. Chozen then does a demonstration which leads Silver to ask if he knows Tang Soo Do. Chozen says that he does and receives an invitation to dinner at Silver's mansion. Daniel is impressed with how Chozen was able to connect with Silver. Daniel tells him that Terry is a man without honor. Before Chozen has dinner with Silver, Daniel adds that Chozen has to blend in and has to get ready to be manipulated and if he finds out about him, he needs to be ready to fight.
During dinner, Silver confirms Chozen's suspicion that his karate master was Kim Sun-Yung. Chozen tells him that he was raised by his uncle as his father died when he was young, implied to have been by suicide. He offers Chozen 50% stake in the dojo as he's looking for a partner, though the man isn't here for the money. They share a toast to their new alliance while Chozen inadvertently blows his cover by saying "Karii", the Okinawan term for cheers instead of "Kanpai", the Japanese word for cheers. The next day in the dojo, Silver reveals that he knows Chozen's true identity due to this mistake, and has the remaining senseis attack him. Chozen easily defeats all of them within minutes. He then turns to Silver and threatens him to leave Miyagi-Do and the LaRusso family alone or he will fight back.
At a country club, Daniel and Chozen finish a game with Anoush and Louie. Silver confronts Daniel for sabotaging Cobra Kai and says to stand down or nothing will be the same, stating that "he is playing with fire." Chozen looks directly at Terry and makes a comical remark that he is gasoline. Silver leaves confused. At Miyagi-Do, Chozen asks Daniel if Terry had previous connections and he remembers Mike Barnes. The two goes to Mike Barnes's house where Daniel tells Chozen about his past with Mike Barnes. They follow him to a furniture store in Agoura Hills. Chozen notices the tools he's using and the purposes of it. Daniel tells Chozen he will follow him alone. After several minutes, Chozen gets antsy and enters the warehouse, finding the Agoura Fine Furnishings store within the building. He misinterprets Daniel and Barnes's play-sparring as real, and mercilessly attacks Barnes. The men brawl as Daniel frantically tries to stop the fight. By the time he explains to Chozen what's going on, the men are bruised and bleeding. It is revealed that Mike has changed, turned his life around, is married, and the owner of the store. He explains that he hasn't saw Silver in years and doesn't want anything to do with his plans as he put the karate business behind him. Chozen tells Mike that the couch that they are sitting on is very comfortable and Mike offers it for $2000 even though the price is $1200 due to Chozen attacking him and his staff.
Daniel and Chozen finds out that Terry burned down Mike's store when he found out through Daniel's voicemail. While Daniel and Amanda attend a high-class charity event, Chozen stays at the LaRusso home to make sure Silver doesn't attack the home or the dealership. He watches the reality series, 90 Day Fiancé, while doing his task. Later that day, the couple returns in a heated argument over Daniel's actions with Silver. She is upset that Daniel can't let go of the past and can't go through one day without karate drama. Daniel asks for her trust into letting him and Chozen to handle this situation, so she snaps for him to handle it, but she won't be around to watch. She leaves for Columbus, Ohio and takes Sam and Anthony with her.
With his wife and kids gone, Daniel spirals into a depressive and alcohol-ridden spiral. Chozen doesn't accept this and tells him they must not give up. Daniel notices something that came in the mail: a newspaper clipping of Kreese’s trial with a photo included of Stingray’s testimony. Written on it is the word “liar” and an address to Stingray's house. Chozen convinces Daniel to go there. They arrive just as Stingray is going inside. The two confront him about the newspaper clip about his trial and Stingray refuses to talk. Daniel gets angry and causes Stingray to break his PS4. Chozen stops him and takes him outside. When Daniel decides to give up his vendetta, Chozen plans to head back to Okinawa, but he cancels his trip when Silver brutalizes Daniel.
When Daniel decides to give up, Chozen, Johnny Lawrence, Amanda, and Sam brainstorm their next move. He and Johnny teams up to confront Silver at one of Cobra Kai's new location while getting to know each other and explaining their past history with Daniel. When they go inside the dojo, the pair take on one of Silver's new Cobra Kai senseis, but flee when Kim Da-Eun shows up with the other senseis. They bring Amanda and Sam up to speed. The group understands that they need to fight, but they need Daniel to guide them, so they bring him to Mr. Miyagi’s household where Sam brought all the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students and inspire him to carry on.
While Daniel and Johnny visit Kreese in prison to find out about Silver's next plan, Chozen teaches the Miyagi-Do's and Eagle Fangs a new lesson. He gives the students eggs, tasking them with protecting the egg at all costs. He is successful at breaking all of their eggs so he forces them to do the lesson again. Anthony thinks they should put all their eggs in one basket and protect it as group. When Chozen emerges with his weapons and attacks, the students work together to keep Chozen from breaking through their barrier. Because of their tenacity, Chozen is unable to get through the wall of karate kids and concedes. He reaffirms that the lesson was to work together, as that is what separates them from the enemy.
After finding out from Kreese that Silver's plan to enter Cobra Kai in the Sekai Taikai tournament to expand the dojo worldwide, Chozen, Daniel, Johnny, and Amanda interrupts Silver's pitch to the Sekai board who are visiting the Cobra Kai Dojo. They want the now-combined Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang dojos to fight for a spot in the tournament. The board, interested by the duel styles of fighting, agrees to let them audition. He and Daniel train Sam to get her ready for the girls demonstration. Sam happily explains that she is back where she belongs. Daniel and Chozen tell her about their former rivalry. Chozen explains how Daniel won because he knew what he was fighting for, giving Sam something to think about. Chozen and the combined Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang at the Cobra Kai dojo for the demonstration. During Sam's match, the referee keeps giving false calls (unbeknownst to everyone expect Tory, he is bribed by Silver to ensure Cobra Kai's victory) to her opponent, Devon Lee. Sam manages to win when after listening to Daniel, Miguel, and Chozen, she fights to hit Devon in a so surely fairly that the referee cannot refuse to declare her winner, and because of this, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are admitted to Sekai Taikai along with Cobra Kai.
After hearing about Johnny and Carmen having a baby, Chozen goes with him, Daniel, Amanda, Carmen, and Louie to a club to celebrate. Chozen gets drunk and lets slip to Johnny that he has feelings for Kumiko. Johnny tells this to Daniel. Daniel talks to Chozen about Kumiko. Chozen talks about him and Kumiko when they were kids, and how Kumiko was able to forgive him after his disgrace in the village. Chozen does not want to tell Kumiko how he feels because of what he did to her, which was unforgivable. However, Daniel tells him that he has changed and Kumiko has forgiven him. Chozen is encouraged by Daniel. When he leaves, he leaves a voicemail saying that he's excited to see her when he gets home and should've brought her to California. When Daniel, Johnny, Chozen leave the club to go to another bar, they are celebrating in the limo but are trapped after the driver steals it and takes them to an unknown location. They think that Silver has kidnapped them and the driver starts driving recklessly causing the trio to worry.
The driver reveals himself to be Mike Barnes and berates him for his store burning down. Daniel explains that it was Silver who burnt it down and did not mean to get him caught in their conflict. Now ready for revenge, Daniel's three former rivals go to Silver's mansion to confront him. Daniel disagrees with it due to them being drunk and he is abandoned. Chozen, Johnny, and Mike arrive at Silver's mansion and breaks in. After Mike is knocked out by one of Silvers' Cobra Kai sensei's, Chozen and Johnny attack the Cobra Kai sensei's. Chozen faces off against Silver in hand-to-hand combat and later weapons, Chozen a pair of sais and Silver a katana. Chozen is able to knock Silver down and is about to kill him when he is distracted by Johnny's screams, allowing Silver to slice Chozen's back, causing Chozen to fall. However, he is later rescued by Mike and Johnny, who defeat the other sensei's. Chozen, Johnny, and Mike arrives at the Cobra Kai flagship dojo just as Silver has been defeated and arrested for his crimes. Chozen is put into an ambulance to recover his injuries with help from Daniel, Johnny, and Mike.
Season 6[]
Part 1[]
Chozen has gotten better and recovered from his injuries. While still living at the LaRusso house, he reads a newspaper of Terry Silver's arrest and his past friendship with John Kreese. With the merge of the Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do dojos, Hawk and Demetri reveal that the students have decided the the new dojo name should be Miyagi Fang Karate, unveiling a banner showing Mr. Miyagi sporting fangs. Only Johnny is in favor of the idea, while Daniel strenuously objects as it ruins Mr. Miyagi’s legacy. Chozen agrees they should just stick with Miyagi-Do, but Johnny suggests they go with “Eagle-Do Fang.” Chozen and Johnny argue over the name to the point that Chozen suggests they fight to settle it.
Daniel later finds Chozen outside, repeatedly chopping at a wooden board with his hand. He tells him he must strengthen his resolve, but Daniel, having already tried and failed with Johnny, suggests that they find another way to settle the argument. Daniel says that what he's really worried about is their partnership. Chozen shares that the night he lost to Terry Silver, he drunkenly called Kumiko, pouring his heart out to her, but she never called back. Chozen wants to hold on to Miyagi-Do’s legacy since he feels like it’s the only thing he has left. On the day of the fight, Daniel tells Chozen that they should go with Johnny’s choice for the dojo name because Mr. Miyagi never cared about tournaments and titles; he only wanted karate to be taught the honorable way. Chozen admits that he can live with this, but then Johnny shows up, saying that he concedes, much to Daniel and Chozen's surprise. He explains that he thought about it and that Eagle Fang is ultimately just another version of Cobra Kai, that it's not the legacy he wants since Cobra Kai is Kreese's legacy. Johnny admits that Daniel and Chozen have made him a better sensei, and he will do what he can to carry on Mr. Miyagi’s legacy. Johnny and Chozen are still going to fight because why not. Daniel referees their match. The new banner is revealed. It now features the tree of Miyagi-Do, but also an eagle soaring above to indicate the partnership between Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen.
Johnny pays a visit to the LaRusso house, explaining to Daniel and Amanda that he needs to borrow an air mattress because Carmen's place is flooded. He says that the Diaz family be staying at his place unless he can find somewhere better to rent. Chozen comments that it's not a good time to rent. Daniel suggests that Johnny could take Chozen with him and use his experience. Johnny and Chozen are looking at houses for rent, but have a run-in with the realtor at the first house they go to. He insults him (especially his haircut), but Chozen diffuses the situation. Johnny and Chozen leave the house after Johnny kicks the open house sign. On the way to look at another house, Johnny asks Chozen if he's blaming him for the agent's attitude. Chozen tells him that he should be embracing Miyagi-Do, that it's a way of life. When they arrive at the next house, they see the same agent, who plans to refuse to give Johnny the rent. Johnny is enraged when he is once again insulted by the agent, but takes Chozen's advice to heart and does not act out. As they start to leave, they are approached by the owner, who it turns out is a fan of Johnny's and thus more than willing to rent to him, as well as to smooth things over with the agent. Chozen calls it good karma.
Carmen has her gender reveal at the LaRusso house. Amanda is about to confront Anthony for the cannoli but it was really Chozen, who ate it as a midnight snack. Chozen and everyone cheers when Johnny and Carmen reveals that they are having a girl. At Miyagi-Do, Daniel tells Amanda that he is happy that Chozen will live in Mr. Miyagi's old house after the tournament is over. After he helps Chozen move his bed, he sees a hidden door on the floor. When he opens it, he finds an old box with Mr. Miyagi's old stuff. Daniel looks at Mr. Miyagi's old stuff where he learns big things about him. He learned that he was a boxer and his passport has an old address. Amanda suggests to go to that address. He, Amanda, and Chozen goes to a boxing gym. When they arrive, one of the boxers flees, thinking that Daniel is a police officer. Chozen and Daniel chase him off. Once Chozen captures him, Daniel shows him Mr. Miyagi's passport and it rang a bell with him. The boxer then explains how his grandfather and Mr. Miyagi had a good relationship. He also explains that the reason why he had a fake document because he could've been hiding something. Chozen explains that Miyagi left Okinawa for America but the boxer said he fled from America. Despite their efforts, the boxer leaves them. The next day at Miyagi-Do, Chozen tells Daniel that Mr. Miyagi is a good man but Daniel vents that he hid this information from him for a very long time. When Daniel and Amanda leave, Chozen tries to book a flight to Okinawa.
Part 2[]
After arriving in Okinawa, Chozen attempts to meet Kumiko at her house and confess his love for her only to for the door to be opened by a "shower man". When he asks about Kumiko, the man tells him she's showering and offers to call her for him, but he, realizing that she's in love with this man, heartbrokenly leaves.
He later arrives in Barcelona, Spain where the Sekai Taikai will be held with him, Johnny, and Daniel sharing a hotel room. He shows up at the luncheon while being drunk and still depressed about his trip to Okinawa. He tells Daniel and Johnny about his trip before he smashes a flower that resembles the one he bought. His behavior embarrasses Johnny and Daniel before hotel security enforces the trio to leave while John Kreese watches the scene.
Later, Daniel informs Chozen about Johnny's situation and his kidnapping the other day. Chozen assures him when Kreese tends to retaliate, they will show restrain. He tells Daniel to get some rest while he stays awake in case Cobra Kai attacks. Remembering that Hawk and the Miyagi-Do students were going out for the evening, Chozen leaves the hotel to find them. He goes to the bar and unexpectedly runs into Kim Da-Eun, who is also looking for her students. They interrogate men and reveal the location of the bar where their respective students are at. He confronts Kim about kidnapping Daniel, but Kim replies that she had nothing to with it. Later at the bar, Chozen and Kim fight, but ends up making out.
The next day, Chozen and Kim sit together drinking coffee at a cafe where she tells him to keep their encounter to themselves. When they spot the long-haired man with the Cobra Kai tattoo leaving the cafe, Kim insists that she doesn't recognize him. They call Daniel and Kreese to the hotel where the man is at. Walking into the spa of the hotel, they are surprised to find the thug being greeted by Iron Dragon Sensei, Wolf. To the surprise of the four, the man who planned the kidnapping was Terry Silver. He is revealed to be the manager of the Iron Dragons dojo and the thug, Dennis de Guzman, is one of his old associates.
Chozen and Daniel informs Silver's return to their students and later Johnny when he returns with Miguel and Kenny. At the tournament, Daniel, Johnny, Chozen successfully messed with Kreese and Silver's minds by framing Silver for stealing Kreese's eunjangdo knife. After Miyagi-Do defeats the Brazilian dojo, Redentores, in a match, Kim confronts Chozen for supposedly stealing Kreese's knife, but he says he had nothing to do with it. Thanks to the improved teamwork of their students, Miyagi-Do makes the semifinals after defeating Cobra Kai. Silver gives Daniel an envelope with results that includes Mr. Miyagi's Seikai Taikai match. He, Johnny, and Chozen learn that Miyagi killed his opponent which shocks Daniel.
The trio shows the results to Gunther Braun. He tells Daniel that the list is official and adds that death was a rare occurrence. Chozen and Johnny comforts Daniel about it. Miyagi-Do then learns about Cobra Kai's reinstatement following the disqualification of the Russian dojo, Tiger Strike. Chozen allows Daniel and Johnny time to discuss while he trains Sam and Robby before their fathers are ready to train them. However, during the match between Robby and Iron Dragon student, Axel Kovacevic, the Cobra Kai students, including Kwon Jae-Sung, restrains and cheap shots Robby which results in an all-out brawl between the dojos. During the fight, Chozen and Kim team up to fight Tiger Strike senseis, Ivanov and Oksana, with last minute assistance from Gunther. The fight is then stopped when Kwon accidentally impaled himself with Kreese’s knife while he tried to kill Axel much to everyone’s shock.
Fighting Style[]
Chozen holds the distinction of being the only character to successfully land a hit on Miyagi onscreen (though he fought dirty, but still it’s quite an achievement). Season 5 cements this by having Chozen effortlessly defeat all six of Terry Silver's handpicked Cobra Kai senseis by himself (in fact it was this that spurred him to contact Kim Da-Eun) and he even fought Terry in a one-on-one duel (with real weapons and while drunk no less) and proved himself the only one - besides Daniel and Mr. Miyagi himself - to be capable of matching him.
Personality[]
Chozen has spent his life atoning for the misdeeds of his youth, and ultimately confesses to Daniel that his regret is difficult to overcome. This is very prevalent in how he talks to troubled kids as he wants them to overcome their darkness like he did. In the short screen time, he shares with Tory he gives her meaningful advice. Even after turning over a new leaf, Chozen takes his teaching very seriously. In addition to his training being as tough as Johnny's or Silver's, Chozen will not mince words on how he thinks a student is performing (esp. if they're lacking). Nevertheless, his harsh assessments are meant to make students really contemplate on what they're doing wrong and expresses pride when they do figure it out. He was similar to Johnny Lawrence and Mike Barnes.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Chozen Toguchi on the Villains Wiki
- Chozen Toguchi on the Cobra Kai Wiki
- Chozen Toguchi on the Near Pure Good Wiki
- Chozen Toguchi on the Wikipedia
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The Karate Kid (1984) | ||