Wadō-Ryū was created by Hironori Ohtsuka, and is one of the four recognized major styles of Karate in the world today. In 1938, Gōjū-Ryū was the fourth major style registered with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, the Japanese governmental organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Japanese martial arts.

Wadō-Ryū, like Shito-Ryu and Shotokan, may be considered a compilation art. Ohtsuka studied jujutsu and was a licensed Shindo Yoshin-Ryu jujutsu instructor before beginning his training with Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan. After learning from Funakoshi, Ohtsuka later trained with other Okinawan masters including Kenwa Mabuni and Choki Motobu. It was then that Ohtsuka blended Shindo Yoshin-Ryu with Okinawan Karate to create Wadō-Ryū.

While Wadō-Ryū may look similar to other styles of Karate, primarily Shotokan, it's principles and methodologies differ. It's philosohies lie rooted in Shindo Yoshin-Ryu, it's jujutsu heritage.

* Information taken from wikipedia.org