 |
This article looks like it needs to be 20% cooler with at least an image. It would be lame otherwise. |
Sato Toguchi, also known as Master Sato, is the overarching antagonist of The Karate Kid Part II and a minor character of Season 5 of Cobra Kai.
He is the uncle of Chozen Toguchi and the owner of the biggest dojo in Okinawa. Sato was Mr. Miyagi's archenemy until he saved his life.
He was portrayed by the late Danny Kamekona in The Karate Kid Part II and Akihiro Kitamura as young Sato in Cobra Kai.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Sato was born 1925 in Okinawa, Sato's father was the richest man in his village, who was best friends with Mr. Miyagi's Father, this caused Miyagi to be best friends with Sato they were taught Karate by Miyagi's father thus breaking the tradition of only father and son Miyagi members should be taught.
In 1943, Sato's father arranged him to marry Yukie, but Miyagi made a big speech in front of the whole village about breaking tradition of arranged marriage so he could marry Yukie, Sato felt disgraced and challenged Miyagi to fight to death to save his honor, but Miyagi not wanting his best friend to die left Okinawa by boat. Two years later, in 1945, Sato became an instructor for the United States' military at the young age of 20, a job he would hold for 40 years.
Film series[]
The Karate Kid Part II[]
Sato re-encountered Miyagi when he returned to Okinawa with Daniel LaRusso after learning that his father was dying. During Miyagi's stay in Okinawa, Sato tried to challenge him to a fight again but ultimately choose to face him after Miyagi sees his father. When Miyagi refused to fight him even after seeing his dying father already, Sato attempted to fight with him immediately until they both learned that Miyagi's father was in his last moments. The two former friends were present during their teacher's death and Sato gave Miyagi three days to mourn his father before the fight.
After Miyagi continued to refuse to fight, Sato went as far as to destroy the village with his nephew to fight him, which angered Miyagi enough to agree to fight him. However, when typhoon hit the village, Miyagi saved Sato from death and Sato was so impressed by Miyagi and Daniel's courage helping the villagers during the storm and disgusted with Chozen's refusal to help them that insisted on assisting them himself. After the story, Sato renounced his hate and asked for forgiveness of Miyagi, which he granted immediately and wholeheartedly. After the two made peace, Sato also decided to disown Chozen after he refused to help the people during the typhoon. He also helped rebuild the village. When Chozen interrupted the O-bon festival, Sato and Miyagi supported Daniel during his fight with Chozen by utilizing a daiko to help Daniel use the drum technique.
Interim Years[]
After Daniel and Miyagi's departure, despite his disgust towards his nephew's actions, Sato chose to help Chozen rather than abandoning him completely, preventing him from committing suicide. Sato saving his life and subsequent teachings helped to make his nephew a better person, one who also gave up on anything but a rather humorous revenge against Daniel and who dedicated his life to teaching others the things that he had learned. Prior to his death, Sato gave Chozen all Miyagi artifacts.
Sato had also modified Tomi Village to become a tourist attraction sometime after Daniel and Mr. Miyagi's departure from Okinawa, as well as its reason to solve the drought that hit upon the village. His business decision boosted the local economy before his passing. For his action, Tomi Village's inhabitants hold his memory in high regard, as thanks to him they were finally free from the poverty Sato's own father brought onto them decades before.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 3[]
Years later, Daniel Larusso would return to Okinawa in order to boost his morale, there he met a redeemed Chozen, who helped Daniel by teaching him new Miyagi-Do techniques. Chozen told Daniel about how Sato helped him by giving him a second chance, which ultimately made Chozen earn Daniel's forgiveness.
Season 5[]
When Chozen traveled to America in order to help Daniel finish Cobra Kai, he told LaRusso about the feud between Sato and Kim Sun-Yung after finding out that Terry Silver was using techniques that belonged to Master Kim.
Personality[]
Sato was both a man that valued honor above everything else and a person with a lot of anger in his heart. Despite his cold hearted and cruel behavior that manifested after he felt betrayed by Miyagi during his early years, Sato was able to maintain his honor. Despite showing a lot of anger, Sato was able to control himself when the situation called for it, and tried to pass this line of thinking to his nephew Chozen, although he was unsuccessful at first, as Chozen was not as honorable as him.
When Miyagi's Father died in 1985, making clear that his last wish was for his son and Sato to reconcile, Sato set his revenge with Miyagi aside for the time being and gave him three days to mourn for his death as a way of honoring their teacher. Sato also honored his teacher by attending his funeral. When Daniel was perplexed by Sato's insistence on honoring his sensei, Miyagi told Daniel that deep down, Sato still knew wrong from right.
Another aspect of Sato's dual attitude was when Chozen threatened Daniel to break slabs of ice in a rough bar in Naha. Mr. Miyagi bet a lot of money that Daniel could do so (likely to get Chozen to back off), causing Chozen to protest he could not cover a bet like that. Sato, just having entered the bar, took out a wad of bills and told Chozen he will cover the bet. Daniel won the bet, causing Chozen to call off the bet, saying foreigners like Daniel and cowards like Mr. Miyagi do not deserved to win bets, but an angry Sato still pays off the bet, and sternly tells his nephew never to dishonor the family name again. Showing that Sato can set his hatred for Miyagi aside and do the right thing.
After Miyagi saves Sato's life during a terrible storm, Sato redeemed himself by rekindling his friendship with Miyagi, helping rebuild the village, and rebuking Chozen's vicious and dishonorable behavior. While Sato was quick to disown Chozen for his behavior, he still begged for him to stop his actions during the festival, and later gave his nephew a second chance after Daniel and Miyagi left Okinawa. Sato allowed Chozen to redeem himself and become a truly honorable individual, leaving both of them at a happier place when Sato eventually passed away.
Trivia[]
- Ironically, despite it being his main motivation in the movie, Sato is the only major villain from the original films who never fights Mr. Miyagi.
- He heard of Kim Sun-Yung growing up and hated him.
External Links[]
- Sato Toguchi on the The Karate Kid Wiki
- Sato Toguchi on the Villains Wiki