Shotokan Kata · Advanced (Dan grade)
Step through all 35 movements. Use the arrows or press play. These are simplified schematics — pair them with the written sequence below and your instructor.
Ji'in is a kata of rooted power and simultaneous defence. Its signature technique — kosa-uke, a crossing block that performs an inside block and a downward block at the same time — appears five times, teaching you to cover two lines of attack in one motion. Around it are strong hammer-fists in horse stance, swirling manji blocks, wedge blocks and front kicks. Because it has no acrobatics, it rewards clean stance, hip power and exact timing. It is often called a “little Jion.”
The name 慈陰 is usually rendered “Temple Ground,” “Temple Shadow,” or literally “Charity/Mercy Shadow” — the original characters were never firmly fixed, so the meaning is genuinely unsettled. It belongs to the Tomari-te tradition, and together with Jion and Jitte forms a three-kata family thought to descend from one lost parent form.
A text reference for the whole kata. It opens from the temple-family salute (left palm covering the right fist below the chin).
| # | Technique | Stance / turn |
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Accuracy note: techniques, stances and the 35-count are firmly corroborated across sources; the two kiai (11 & 35) are confirmed by three independent references. Precise per-move turn angles are not encoded in the standard text tables, so the direction column is segment-level and best confirmed against a Kanazawa/SKIF video and your own dōjō. Move 34’s jōdan straight punch is documented but unusual — some perform it chūdan. Shitō-ryū versions add ~4 movements at the end; don’t merge the two.
Each links to a full breakdown in the techniques glossary.
Read Ji'in as strong, grounded defence that answers two attacks at once.
Kosa-uke blocks a mid punch and a low kick simultaneously — one arm inside, one arm down — then feeds straight into a counter. Covering two lines at once is the kata’s core lesson.
Manji-uke defends high on one side and low on the other in back stance, controlling an attacker to the flank while guarding the opposite line.
Three inside circular hammer-fists in kiba-dachi drive short, heavy strikes into an opponent alongside you — grounded power over reach.
In kosa-uke both arms must arrive together with equal power — a strong upper block and a lazy lower one (or vice-versa) breaks the whole technique.
The ryōken-kakiwake-uke moves are deliberately slow and strong. Snapping them to normal speed loses the tension and breath the kata is teaching.
The three tettsui strikes need a deep, rooted kiba-dachi — the power comes from the stance and hips, not the arm.
All three share the opening salute, but their middle sections differ. Learn Ji'in’s kosa-uke pattern precisely rather than drifting into its cousins.
As a dan-grade kata, Ji'in is judged on the correct temple-family opening salute, simultaneous, balanced crossing blocks, deep rooted kiba-dachi for the hammer-fists, strong hip-driven power throughout, the slow-strong wedge blocks done with proper tension, and the two kiai on moves 11 and 35. Because the JKA dropped it, requirements and even inclusion vary by association — confirm with your dōjō (Kanazawa/SKIF schools grade it; some JKA schools do not teach it at all).
The illustrations on this page are study schematics — they show the shape of each move, not a real body in motion. To see Ji'in performed at full speed by senior instructors, watch reference footage:
▶ Watch “Ji'in” performances on YouTubeOpens a YouTube search in a new tab. Look for JKA / Japan Karate Association or established Shotokan instructor demonstrations for the most standard version of the form.
Or explore the full kata library.