Heian series
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The Heian series of kata is a series of kata adapted from more ancient kata such as Kanku dai, Gojushiho dai and others. The Heian kata were a product of Anko Itosu's effort to streamline several kata, namely the Pinan series, into forms suitable for teaching the gross body movement skills of karate to young students. "Heian" is translated as "long peace."
The Heian kata were introduced into the school systems on Okinawa in the early 1900's, and were subsequently adopted by many teachers and schools. Thus, they are present today in the curriculum of the Shorin/Shorei styles, Shotokan, Matsubayashi-ryu, and several others.
The Heian series, like the Pinan series, are all based at least loosely on an I-shaped embusen or shape. The two series of kata are very similar: no karate system teaches both series as different kata.
