The name Shotokai is formed by three ideograms or kanji. The first one "Sho"
denotes a Pine, the second one "To" means wave and the third one "Kai" means
association or organization. But Japanese ideograms do not only represent isolated
word, normally they denote things that are not expressed completely even in
a few words. In this context Shoto is a pseudonym that Gichin Funakoshi chose
to sign his poems and literary works. Shoto denotes the sound that is generated
when the wind blows through pine needles, a sort of wave sound. Gichin Funakoshi
enjoyed to meditate in pine forests. 