Shorin-ryu is a popular style of Okinawan karate. Founded by Sokon Matsumura during the 1800s, Shorin-ryu combines elements of the traditional Okinawan fighting styles Shuri-te and Tomari-te. Shorin-ryu is considered to be one of the two major styles of Okinawan karate, along with Goju-ryu.

Sokon Matsumura, while he is often referred to as the "founder" of Shorin-ryu, did not invent all the components the style, and perhaps didn't ever call it "Shorin-ryu. It is thought that he synthesized his knowledge of Okinawan arts with Chinese fighting styles that he learned on his travels and taught it as a coherent system to some eager students, who subsequently refined it, labeled it, and passed it on. (Highlighting Shorin-ryu's Chinese heritage is the fact that "Shorin" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese, "Shaolin"; "ryu" means "way", or "style".)

Shorin-ryu is perhaps the most influential single ancestor of modern Japanese karate. One of Matsumura's students, Anko Asato, was the primary influence on a fellow Okinawan named Gichin Funakoshi. Funakoshi introduced his Okinawan martial arts to mainland Japan in 1922. (The style Funakoshi taught on mainland Japan is now called Shotokan karate.)