Kanō Jigorō and Motobu Chōki
Kanō’s visit to Okinawa and Motobu’s karate demonstration in front of him
Written by Motobu Naoki and translated by Andreas Quast
A 2014 book of the Okinawa Shōrin-ryū Karatedō Association contains an article about a round-table discussion, written by Ishikawa Seitoku of Shōrin-ryū in 1999. It contains the following passage.
Director Ishikawa: (omission) Kanō Jigorō Sensei had already seen Funakoshi Sensei’s karate in Tōkyō, but since he was coming to Okinawa, Motobu Sensei and Gusukuma Sensei decided they had to show him the karate of Okinawa. Therefore, they summoned Shimabukuro Tarō, a fourth-year student at the Commercial High School (in Naha), and with permission of the school, they had him demonstrate (the kata) Chintō (Note 1).
According to Ishikawa Sensei, when Kanō Shihan came to Okinawa, Motobu Chōki and Gusukuma Shinpan acted as his hosts and called Shimabukuro Tarō to have him perform (the kata) Chintō. Also, at that time, Kanō Shihan asked Motobu Chōki, “When you are cornered in a critical situation and there is no way out of it, how can you escape danger?” When Motobu answered, “By entering a hole that cannot be entered” (wattāga, iraran anankai irēkan dusuru), Kanō Shihan was deeply impressed (Note 2).
Perhaps this is a statement about the essence of “irimi” (literally, entering the opponent’s body) that Motobu Chōki emphasized. Kanō Shihan probably thought that the principles of Karate were similar to the principles of Jūdō. At that time, the expression “to attack and defend at will” (kōbō jizai) was born.
At that time, the expression “to attack and defend at will” (kōbō jizai) was born as a representation of an important technique of karate. This expression was used by Kanō Sensei to evaluate the Karate of Okinawa. It means “offense and defense depends on your own martial skills” (fushijishin, shimīshin, dujishin ka iduandu) (Note 3).
Now, is this anecdote a fact? Yokomoto Isekichi’s “A Companion’s Account of Ryūkyū and Kyūshū” (1927) has the following text.
In the afternoon, at the City Assembly Hall, a lecture was given for students of the Women’s Normal School, Girl’s High School, and other secondary girl’s schools, on the knowledge of girls, maximum efficient use of energy (seiryoku zenyō), and mutual prosperity (jita kyōei). After the lecture, we saw a demonstration by a local bōjutsu person, and a demonstration by Mr. Motobu, who broke a board that seemed to be 2.424 cm thick with his clenched fist, and who easily broke two boards with his palm (the muscle on the little finger side of the hand). Mr. Motobu has been studying the practical application of karate for many years and in reference to this he is called Okinawa’s Number One. (Kanō) Shihan personally touched Mr. Motobu’s fist and palm with his hand, and greatly praised his practice. In addition, he also had Mr. Ōshiro show us a demonstration of how to pierce a standing board with the fist (Note 4).
Kanō Shihan visited Okinawa for four days (4 nights and 5 days) from January 3 to 7, 1927. At that time, he was accompanied by Nagaoka Hideichi (8th dan) and Yokomoto Isekichi (5th dan), and the above event took place on the afternoon of January 7 during their stay.
At this time, Motobu Chōki gave a demonstration of board breaking. He broke a board of 2.4 cm thickness with his fist. He broke two more boards with his palm (the muscles on the little finger side). This would mean that he used his little finger side with his palm open, that is, he broke it with a shutō (knife hand).
The practical application of Karate seems to refer to the practical application of kata, that is, kumite. Motobu Chōki was introduced as being called Okinawa’s Number One (Okinawa Dai Ichi) in kumite.
Mr. Ōshiro probably refers to Ōshiro Chōjo. It seems that he also demonstrated bōjutsu. At that time, Ōshiro Sensei was a leading figure of Yamane-ryū. Although the name of Gusukuma Shinpan does not appear, I do not know whether Ishikawa Sensei mistook Ōshiro Sensei and Gusukuma Sensei, or Gusukuma Sensei also attended, but was omitted in Yokomoto’s text. There is no mention of Shimabukuro Sensei’s performance of Chintō, so it might have taken place at another occasion.
In any case, Motobu Chōki gave a demonstration of Karate in front of Kanō Shihan. At that time, there was probably a question-and-answer session, as mentioned by Ishikawa Sensei. In addition, Kanō Shihan praised Motobu Chōki’s practice, so it seems that the story is generally correct.
Note 1: Okinawa Shōrin-ryū Karatedō Association Book — Rationality and Legitimacy — Coexistence and Co-prosperity. Okinawa Shōrin-ryū Karatedō Kyōkai, 2014, page 116.
Note 2: Same as above, page 116.
Note 3: Same as above, page 116.
Note 4: Sakkō (Promoting). March 1927. Kōdōkan Bunkakai (Kōdōkan Cultural Association), pages 34, 35.
Written and translated by Motobu Naoki
On January 7, 1927, Motobu Chōki performed karate in front of Kanō Jigorō, who was visiting Okinawa. However, the two actually met on another day as well. In “ The Sayings of Motobu Chōki Sensei,” by Nakata Mizuhiko (1978), we find the following text:
31. When I was in Okinawa, Mr. Kanō Jigorō of the Kōdōkan came to Okinawa and wanted to talk with me, and through an acquaintance invited me to a restaurant. We chatted about various things, and Mr. Kanō asked me about karate, “What do you do when you punch the opponent and it misses?” I replied with a gesture, “Then I use the elbow of the same hand to immediately follow up,” to which he silently nodded and did not ask me anything more about karate.
Note [by Nakata]: This is a very meaningful story between masters.
Shortly after the karate demonstration on the afternoon of January 7, Kanō Shihan left Naha for Kagoshima by ship at 4 p.m. Therefore, the above meeting must have taken place before January 6.
Now, I have a question. Why did Motobu Chōki come to demonstrate in front of Kanō Shihan? Normally, when an educational official comes to Okinawa, a school teacher with karate training or someone who teaches karate at the Okinawa Normal School as a temporary instructor would be chosen as the performer. In fact, both Gusukuma Shinpan and Ōshiro Chōjo were school teachers.
The following is what Motobu Chōki’s disciple, Marukawa Kenji-sensei, told us.
During his visit to Okinawa, Kanō Shihan took a quick look at karate. However, it was not what he had expected. He asked his attendant, “Is kata the only way to practice karate?” The demonstration Kanō Shihan saw was mainly kata.
When the attendant heard this, he guessed that Kanō Shihan was more interested in kumite. So he said, “There is a martial artist (bushi) in Okinawa who excels in kumite, but unfortunately he is currently away from Naha. I will call him up immediately, so please wait for a while. So Motobu Chōki was hurriedly summoned.
In other words, Motobu Chōki’s demonstration was not originally scheduled. The reason why the demonstration was set up just before Kanō Shihan’s departure was probably because it was decided at short notice and that was the only time available.
Kanō Shihan is a man who revolutionized traditional Jūjuitsu, which was based on kata training, and founded Judo, which is based on randori (freestyle) training. Since he had come all the way to Okinawa, he must have wanted to hear about kumite and be shown the techniques in person.
The person who called Motobu Chōki is unknown, but one of the attendants at the time was Ōta Chōfu. He had studied under Kanō Shihan at Gakushūin (a noble school) when he went to Tokyo to study, and was a childhood friend of Motobu Chōki. When he was young, he once tried to force Motobu Chōki to fight in an actual fight (kakedameshi). Therefore, he may have been the “acquaintance” who called Motobu Chōki. Ōshiro Kengi, who funded the Okinawa Karate Research Club, was also one of the attendants.
It is unclear from Yokomoto Isekichi’s “A Companion’s Account of Ryūkyū and Kyūshū” (1927) whether Motobu Chōki was actually able to perform kumite in front of Kanō Shihan. Or, he may have performed at least yakusoku (prearranged) kumite. In any case, from reading Yokomoto’s article, it seems that Kanō Shihan was satisfied with the demonstration, so it must have been a success.
Written and translated by Motobu Naoki
In the previous articles, I have introduced the relationship between Kanō Jigorō and Motobu Chōki in such works as Yokomoto Isekichi’s “A Companion’s Account of Ryūkyū and Kyūshū” (1927), Nakata Mizuhiko’s “The Sayings of Motobu Chōki Sensei” (1978), and “Ishikawa Seitoku Sensei’s Karate Talks” (1999). The visit of Kanō Shihan to Okinawa is an important theme not only from the viewpoint of karate history but also from the viewpoint of judo history, but there are only a few documents describing it.
Now, in addition to the above, a German karate researcher, Andreas Quast Sensei, has introduced a description of the “Posthumous Manuscript” of Nagamine Shōshin (1907–1997) of Matsubayashi-ryū. This manuscript was handwritten in a notebook by Nagamine Sensei before his death, and Quast Sensei copied it with the permission of his son, Takayoshi Sensei. The following is the description:
Around 1925, Okinawan karate and kobujutsu (kobodo) were introduced to Kanō Jigorō Sensei of Judo. The people who performed at that time were the following people in Shuri-te.
Motobu Chōki, Gusukuma Shinpan
Chibana Chōshin, Shimabukuro Tarō
Oshiro Chōjo
(Note 1)
The year 1925 is different from the year 1927 when Kanō Shihan came to Okinawa, but the names of the performers are consistent with the testimonies of Ishikawa Sensei and Mr. Yokomoto. However, Chibana Sensei’s name was not there. It is unnatural for Ishikawa Sensei of Kobayashi-ryū to omit the name of his master, so further research on this point may be necessary.
As mentioned in the previous article, Motobu Chōki was summoned through an attendant of Kanō Shihan to give a demonstration at short notice. Therefore, Motobu Chōki may have brought in Gusukuma Sensei (1891–1957) and Ōshiro Sensei (1887–1935), and then Shimabukuro Sensei (1906–1980) in consultation with Gusukuma Sensei. Shimabukuro Sensei had studied under Gusukuma Sensei when he was a junior high school student.
By the way, it was pointed out to me that Shimabukuro Sensei’s age does not match the fact that he performed when he was in the fourth grade of the Commercial School, so I researched it.
The following is from Nagamine Sensei’s book Preserving the Historical Facts and Traditions: Okinawan Karate-dō (1975).
In 1925, when I was 19 years old, I wanted to practice karate in earnest, so I came to the door of Shimabukuro Tarō, who was one year ahead of me. I started my daily routine of walking about 8 km to Shimabukuro’s house in Torihori Town, Shuri City, and back (Note 2).
In 1925, Nagamine Sensei was 18 years old, so his age of 19 was based on the East Asian age reckoning. Since Nagamine Sensei graduated from the Commercial School in March 1928 (Note 3), Shimabukuro Sensei must have graduated in March 1927 (Note 4).
Since Naha Commercial School was a five-year system at that time, Shimabukuro Sensei was a fifth-year student at the Commercial School at the time of the demonstration for Kanō Shihan, making him approximately 20 years old, or 22 years old according to the East Asian age reckoning. Therefore, the testimony of Ishikawa Sensei seems to be true, since he (Shimabukuro) was still in school, although his grade was one year different.
Note 1: Nagamine Shōshin, “Posthumous Manuscript,” p. 40.
Note 2: Nagamine Shōshin, Preserving Historical Facts and Traditions: Okinawan Karate-dō, Shinjinbutsu Ōrai-sha, 1975, p. 55.
Note 3: Ibid, p. 372.
The original Japanese article was posted on Ameblo on July 17, 19, and 23, 2021, and the English translation was posted on July 17, 20, and 24, 2021.
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