The “Karate Kid” films and “Cobra Kai” all give insight into Miyagi’s fascinating life story, beginning with his life in Okinawa. Miyagi’s father was a fisherman by trade and carried on the tradition of teaching Miyagi-do Karate to his son. As was revealed in “The Karate Kid II,” Miyagi convinced his father to teach the family skills to his friend. This friendship soon went south, with Miyagi choosing to move to the United States rather than fight him. He met his future wife at a Japanese internment camp, where they wed. He then fought in World War II, earning the Medal of Honor. Upon return from the war, he discovered that his wife and their unborn child died, leaving him alone (per Screen Rant). Not much else is known of Miyagi’s life until he meets Daniel LaRusso four decades later.
Ralph Macchio, who plays LaRusso, gave an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, with the publication noting that while some of the gaps in Miyagi’s backstory are filled in with “Cobra Kai,” there is so much left to the unknown. When the subject of a prequel series came up, the actor said, “How do we not explore the backstory of and the origin of Mr. Miyagi? And what happened? What brought him to that place, working in that apartment in Reseda? What was his life before then? I think that would be fascinating.”
