Steven Seagal became a wonderful family man in Japan.

In the late 1970s, Steven Seagal looked more like a hero from a samurai legend than an ordinary American guy. At the age of 22, he not only received his first dan in aikido, but also married Miyako Fujitani, the daughter of a respected martial arts master. This union opened the doors to the closed world of Japanese traditions for him. Seagal became the first foreigner to be entrusted with opening his own dojo in Japan — a feat that many considered impossible, almost sacrilegious. But he didn't stop there and soon brought the martial art to the West, becoming a movie star and a living legend. Their children also inherited the fighting spirit: their son Kentaro became an actor and aikido master, and their daughter Ayako became a writer and actress. And Miyako still runs the dojo today, holding a fifth dan, like a guardian of a legacy that has already become part of world history. Japanese students nicknamed Seagal “gaijin samurai” — “foreign samurai” — which in a culture where foreigners are rarely accepted was the highest form of recognition.