Kempo literally translates from Japanese as Fist Law. Its meaning can be traced back to what is called the mudra, which are hand postures. Each of Kempo's hand postures represent both the physical and the spiritual realm. These realms are inexorably linked. Kempo itself is an entity. It is not a style of martial arts or a form of techniques. 

James Mitose Sensei, explained that Kempo is a philosophy. Mitose brought Kosho Shorei Ryu Kempo from Japan to the U. S. Kosho is a philosophy of growth, of study, and of struggle. The martial arts become simple, even self-evident, through understanding the process of growth, study, and struggle.