Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū
Translated by Motobu Naoki
The following passage is found in Higaonna Morio’s History of Gōjū-ryū Karatedō (2001):
One of Chōjun Sensei’s students, Kina Seikō, said: “Chōjun Sensei recommended that I learn Shuri-te as well, so Motobu Umē Sensei taught me Unsū kata. I am still practicing that kata. I also teach it to my students.” (note)
Umē is written in kanji as “御前” (Gozen in Japanese). The Ryukyu phonetic database (now closed) has the following explanation.
Umē /umee/
noun: GozenMeaning:
Gozen (My Lord). Gozen-sama (Your Highness). Tono-sama (Lord). A term of respect for the master of the udun (palace). In ancient times, the people called aji built their palaces (udun) in Shuri and came to live there. Since then, they have been called umē.
Hence, Motobu no Umē (Motobu’s Umē) is Prince Motobu, or Motobu Chōyū. Mr. Kina learned Unsū from Motobu Chōyū at the advice of Miyagi Sensei.
Although Unsū is not included in the current Gōjū-ryū kata, Miyagi Sensei must have thought that this kata is valuable enough to keep for future generations. But why did he recommend learning Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū instead of Arakaki Seishō’s? If it was Aragaki-ha’s Unsū, Miyagi Sensei could have learned it from his friend Mabuni Kenwa without any hesitation, or have his student learn from him.
Arakaki Seishō is said to be a master of Higaonna Kanryō, according to one theory. I am skeptical of this theory, but the kata of Arakaki Seishō in Kumemura-te (Kume Village-te) seems to be of more interest to Miyagi Sensei than the kata of Motobu Chōyū of Shuri-te. However, Miyagi Sensei seems to have been more interested in Motobu Chōyū’s kata.
The reason why I assumed that Shisōchin was originally Motobu’s Sōchin is because of Miyagi Sensei’s interest in Motobu Chōyū’s kata. To the best of my knowledge, there is no other instance in which Miyagi Sensei recommended his students to learn kata from another teacher.
In any case, it is not a common Shuri-te kata, whether Sōchin or Unsū. How Motobu Chōyū knew these kata is also an interesting topic.
Note: Higashionna Morio, supervised by Miyagi An’ichi, History of Gōjū-ryū Karatedō: Two Great Fist Saints, Higaonna Kanryō and Miyagi Chōjun, Champ, 2001, p. 48.
Translated by Andreas Quast
In last week’s article, I introduced the story that Miyagi Chōjun recommended his disciple Kina Seikō to learn the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū. What kind of kata was this Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū? Is it similar to the Arakaki-ha's Unsū (Unsū of the Arakaki school)?
The following sentence is found in the section “Mr. Higa Yūchoku and the Infinite Path of Studying Shōrin-ryū” in the program booklet of “The 3rd Okinawa Prefecture Karate-dō Martial Arts Festival” (1992).
Next, the purpose of the meeting with Motobu no Umē (Motobu Chōyū) Sensei was to study the kata of “Gojūshiho” and “Unsuū” [sic]. (Note)
It is a somewhat ambiguous expression. It says that Higa Sensei met Motobu Chōyū for the purpose of studying Gojūshiho and Unsū from him, but it does not say that he did learn it. Higa Sensei started karate in 1927, but Motobu Chōyū died in 1928, and he had been ill since the previous year. In addition, since Higa Sensei has never mentioned Motobu Chōyū other than in the above text, it may be an indirect expression of learning the kata through a third party. The video below is the Unsū.
Next, there is the following sentence in the article “Exploring the Kata of Okinawa Karate (16)” by Kadekaru Tōru in the Okinawa Times (December 2, 2018).
During his time at the Karate club of the University of the Ryukyus, Miyagi Takeshi (chairman of the Okinawa Kobayashi Shōrin-ryū Karate-dō Association) was taught “Unsū” by Takamine Chōkei, who was a practitioner of karate as well as of classical Ryūkyūan dances (Ryūkyū buyō). This was at the time when he [Miyagi] began practicing karate in earnest. His teacher Miyahira Katsuya, in his later years, informed Miyagi that it [Unsū] had been handed down from Motobu Chōyū to Takamine. Takamine’s “Unsū” is a kata with unique features. Miyagi, who became a karate coach, preserved these [unique features] to his disciples, overcoming the danger of losing the tradition.
Does Takamine Chōkei refer to Takamine Zenkei? Seikichi Uehara testified that Takamine Zenkei had undoubtedly participated in the kata class of Motobu Chōyū. After the war, he was active as a practitioner of classical Ryūkyūan dance (Ryūkyū buyō).
Unsū, which was handed down by Miyagi Takeshi Sensei, seems to be the one in the following video.
Although the details are different from the Unsū of the Kyūdōkan, it can be seen that they are almost the same kata. Therefore, both kata undoubtedly seem to belong to the lineage of the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū. It is characterized by movements related to tuiti (joint locks and throws), such as the tsukami-dī (seizing or grabbing hand).
Well, here, one question arises. The Arakaki-ha’s Unsū and the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū have so little in common that they are almost different kata. Is one of them the real thing and the other one an imitation? However, since Arakaki Seishō and Motobu Chōyū were both well-known martial artists, I can’t think of any motive for deliberately forging a kata. Then, are they both offshoots from a common prototype?
Generally, from a phylogenetic point of view, it can be inferred that if there are many things in common, the kata were divided in a close era. If there are few things in common, they were divided in a distant era. Then, is Unsū one of the oldest among the kata of karate?
There are many variations of Kūsankū and Passai, but their characteristics are not as different as in Unsū. At first glance, there is a likeness in [the variations of] Kūsankū and a likeness in [the variations of] Passai. However, there is no such “likeness” in the Arakaki-ha’s Unsū and the Motobu Chōyū’ Unsū.
If the history of Unsū becomes clear, then the understanding of the history of the kata of karate must also proceed.
Note: “The 3rd Okinawa Prefecture Karate-dō Martial Arts Festival,” 1992, page 63.
Translated by Motobu Naoki
In my last article, I introduced two videos of the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū. These videos, which I have recently seen, have made me realize one thing. Five years ago, I had a chance to see Kimo Wall’s “Motobu’s Sōchin” video. He learned this kata from Kina Seikō. I wrote an article about it, but now I realize that it was a video of Unsū, not Sōchin.
Come to think of it, Mr. Kina testified that he learned Unsū from Motobu Chōyū, but he says nothing about Sōchin. I don’t know if Kimo Wall was mistaken, or if someone who was briefed by him was mistaken, but it appears that the name of the kata was misrepresented.
Also, according to the director of the Bunbukan, Mr. Nakamoto Mamoru, there is an Unsū in the dojo of Mr. Ishikawa Seitoku, but it is similar to the Motobu Chōyū Unsū and not to the Arakaki-ha’s Unsū. The Unsū is probably derived from Motobu Chōyū.
So how did Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū of Shuri-te get passed down to Motobu Chōyū? We have never heard of Matsumura Sōkon, Itosu Ankō, Yabu Kentsū or Hanashiro Chōmo practicing Unsū. I wonder if it was not open to the public until the abolition of the feudal system, and was passed down from generation to generation in the Motobu Udun as a secret kata.
The kata is quite different from the Arakaki-ha's Unsū. Therefore, if they are both derived from the same origin, they may have been handed down to Shuri and Kume Village, respectively, from quite a long time ago.
Particularly in the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū, the kata begins with crossed arms in Jūji-uke (crossed-armed block) and then extends them downward as in the gedan-barai (lower sweeping). This is an unusual way to begin a kata. From a technical point of view, it is also an interesting kata.
Translated by Andreas Quast
The other day, in the comment section of the blog, I received a comment that the/an original Unsū was handed down to the system of Ichikawa Sosui of Gōjū-ryū in central Japan. Also, on Facebook, there was a post that a kata similar to the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū was handed down to the lineage of Ichikawa Sosui and Arakawa Busen, both disciples of Izumikawa Kanki (1908–1967).
The following video is a video from Gobukan dōjō, which is of Mr. Ichikawa’s system. From around minute 1:35, “Kata Unsū” is performed by a boy.
Note: The linked video has now been removed.
The beginning of the kata is not shown, but it looks like a variation of the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū, not the Arakaki-ha’s Unsū. Why was Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū handed down to Izumikawa Kanki’s system?
According to the “Encyclopedia of Okinawa Karate Kobudō” (2008), Mr. Izumikawa studied under Higa Seikō of Gōjū-ryū since 1929 and moved to the mainland in 1938. On the other hand, Kina Seikō was also studying under Miyagi Chōjun, and he was also studying under Higa Seikō. Therefore, Mr. Izumikawa may have learned Unsū from Kina Seikō at the dōjō of Higa Seikō before the war.
Also, it is said that the lineage of Tamaki Jūei (1905–1997), a disciple of Higa Seikō, has a kata that is similar to the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū under the name of “Sōchin.” Apparently, through Higa Seikō’s dōjō, Kina Seikō handed down the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū to some dōjōs of Gōjū-ryū to this day.
By the way, there was a post on Facebook that a certain kobudō school in Okinawa also has a kata that is similar to Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū under the name of Sōchin. The predecessor of that school taught Kobudō at the dōjō of Higa Seikō after the war. According to foreigners studying at that school, after the death of Higa Seikō, that kobudō school’s predecessor sent his disciple to Kina Seikō to learn the kata. Since the above information is from Facebook, since I cannot confirm its authenticity from books, I will keep the school name private.
In this way, the Motobu Chōyū’s Unsū was also handed down to some dōjōs of the Gōjū-ryū in Okinawa and central Japan. This year it has been 92 years since Motobu Chōyū (1857–1928) died, and it is interesting to consider how in the meantime, one kata was derived and handed down while its lineage and name have been confused.
The original English translations were posted on the Ameba blog on September 21, 23, 26, and October 4, 2020.
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