"Karate" means empty hand.

Shotokan Karate is a form of unarmed combat - However the "karate-ka" also uses their feet, knees and  elbows. Karate as a martial art was cultivated in the island of  Okinawa, south of mainland Japan. 

After many years, the development of Karate as a means of self  defense gained tremendous popularity, as the Japanese government on the island had prohibited the use of weapons. 

Because of this national policy, the self defense techniques  were developed into a unique Okinawan martial art of Karate. 

Master Gichin Funakoshi is widely considered the primary "father" of modern karate due to his efforts to introduce the Okinawan art to mainland Japan, from where it spread to the rest of the world. Funakoshi Gichin was also the founder of what is now known as Shotokan karate. His style of karate originated from him having trained under two famous Okinawan karate masters, Yasatsune Azato and Anko Itosu. After being observed by the Japanese Minister of Education during a karate demonstration In 1922, , Funakoshi was asked to bring his karate to Japan for instruction in the universities there. His introduction of the previously "secret" art of karate allowed the martial arts to grow to previously unheard of numbers. In 1936, Japanese karate-ka gathered donations to build the first official karate dojo, which they named Shotokan in honor of Funakoshi Sensei.