The History of karate

Whilst modern-day karate is Generally considered to be Japanese, it was in fact imported into japan from the small island of Okinawa during the early part of the twentieth century. Okinawa is the main island of the Ryukyu archipelago, a string of islands located in the China Sea, approximately 500 miles to the south of Japan.

Contents History

1.Okinawa Karate School.

2.Historical Records.

3.The Development of the Martial arts on the Island.

4.Kushanku.

5.The Satsuma Conquest.

6.The influence of Neighboring Countries.

7.Boddhidarama and Buddhism.

1. Okinawa Karate School

Various Systems of indigenous martial arts have been practiced in Okinawa for centuries and were historically referred to simply as ‘ toudi ‘ ,todi , ‘ or just ‘te ‘ . The word ‘te ‘ translates literally as; ‘Hands’. It is known that over the years these various systems developed into three distinct styles around the main towns of Naha, shuri and tomari, after which they were named. The System of ‘te’ from naha became known simply as naha-te ( hands of naha ), while shuri-te and tomari became known as shuri-te and tomari-te respectively the use of the term ‘ karate ‘ ( empty hans ) to encompass all these indigenous arts is relatively recent, and was agreed at a meeting in Okinawa of prominent martial arts masters in 1936.

While It Is fair to assume that there would have been many different karate schools within the Naha region, it has been established that naha-te was developed in to gojo ryu (the hard of soft school), under the leadership of town prominent masters, kanryo higaonna (1840 -1910) and chojun miyagi (1888–1953).Gojo ryu is how it is still known today.

In the late nineteenth century Shuri-te and tomari-te merged, and took the name shorin ryu (flexible pine school) It is from shorin ryu that shotokan was established by master Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957), and from which shotokai and wado ryu karate have evolved.A further style, named shito ryu, was also developed by master mabuni kenwa (1889 -1952) and is widely practised in Okinawa today. Shito ryu is a combination of the three ancient arts of naha-te, shuri-te and tomari-te and also includes the use of weapons such as the bo( wooden staff) and sai ( three-pronged truncheon) Master Mabuni kenwa was student of both anko itosu of shuri-te lineage, and kanryo Higaonna of naha-te lineage.This is reflected in the name he gave to his style, ‘ shito ryu ‘ ,in from the which ‘shi ‘ derives from the Japanese pronunciation for ‘ in to ‘ in ‘ itosu’, and to from the Japanese pronunciation for ‘Higa ‘ In Higaonna.

Despite the three Labels Being Assigned to the Okinawa styles of ‘te’, there has always been some overlap between them, and this is still evident today in the practice of kata .for example the kata hengetsu (original name seishan) originates from naha-te, but is practised by shotokan and wado ryu.The tekki kata (original name naihanchi) was parcitised equally by naha-te and shuru-te, and is now one of the corner-stones of shotokan karate.

2. Historical Records.

Form where the Okinawan ‘Te’ first evolved, or how it arrived On the Island, Is not clear. Many of the early writings that are available lack consistency and are often anecdotal in their accounts. Detailed Historical Research is also hindered for a number of further reasons: Firstly, there was a deliberate veil of secrecy cast over the various school, with past masters teaching there are to just a select few students and behind closed doors. Secondly, it Appears that very few of the old master documented their systems and techniques: and thirdly, many of Okinawa’s official records, and the historical documents that did exist, were destroyed when the island was bombed durining world war 2.

Nevertheless, despite the difficulties inherent in pursuing meaningful factual research, all has not been lost and some karate historians, such as Patrick Mc carthy, have made considerable inroads in to historical records held by the families of prominent martial artists. Surviving records that have been maintained over the years by early British sailors visiting Okinawa also provide some insight in to the culture and living conditions at the time when the systems of ‘TE were being developed.

On 15 September 1816 two British ships, the Alcester and the Lyra, docked at Okinawa while on a voyage of discovery to china, Korea and the surrounding area .They Remained in the region untile 27 October that year. Captain basil hall, the commander of the lyra, and john McLeod the surgeon on the bord the alceste,both kept diaries recording the reception they received on going ashore ,and their various encounters with the island’s inhabitants. There are some very interesting accounts for the martial arts’ perspective.

Historically Okinawa is referred to as loo-choo, and the town of Naha as Napa kiang. loo-choo is a phonetic pronunciation of the Chinese name ; liu chu iu , give to the island and pronounced in Japanese as ‘ryukyu’ .Napaappears have been the original name of the town, but since the connection with china the term ‘ kiang ‘ has been added, Making napakiang.Kiang is a Chinese word signifying ‘river ‘ and when coupled with ‘napa’ means the river port, or anchorage of the place it must also be remembered that the towns of naha, Shuri and tomari were not big cities, but rather wha nowadays we would consider to be large villages, or at most small towns.

On describing their arrival at Naha in 1816, john McLeod remarks: we came across a considerable town with a number of vessels at anchor under it in a harbor, the mouth of which was formed by two piers.’ captain hall describes an evening’s entertainment with native chiefs at Naha on 19 October 1816. He records the names of the local chiefs present as ookooma, shayoon, issacha sandoo, jema and issacha hackeeboocool: a man named jeeroo was also invited but did not attend. A man named Madera, while not considered one of the chiefs, was also in attendance. Madera is recorded as having been frequent diner on bord the ship .It is also apparent that ookooma is the most senior local representative present captain Hall States:

“A dinner was given today by… Before leaving the cabin they showed us a loo choo dance around the table. Madera placed himself at the head before ookooma, while the others ranged themselves in line behind him.He began by song and nearly at the same time commenced the dance which consisted principally in throwing the body into variet of postures and twisting the hands about… The feet moved with the occasional long sweeping step to one side and then back again the perfection of the dance appeared to be in the proper use of the hand and body.

It is known that classical Okinawan dances, usually performed by men during seasonal fe festival, contain certain steps that resemble karate movements. These dances have been performed since earliest recorded history, and sensei gichin funakoshi refers to this in his book karate fustsu, the following is a passage taken from it:

“In Okinawa’s rural areas, one can see men performing dances to the accompaniments of the samisen on festive occasions. These dances are different in execution from ordinary dances and bear string similarities to karate I cannot but feel that these dances reflect native Okinawan movements, and are the fore runners today”

Captain Hall’s account of the evening goes on:

“ on returning to the cabin to tea ,they were all in high spirits, and while amusing themselves with a sort of wrestling game, ookooma who had seen us placing ourselves in sparring attitudes, threw himself suddenly in to the boxer’s position of defense , of look which we had never seen before in any of them . The gentle men to whom he addressed himself, thinking that ookooma wanted to spar, prepared to indulge him: But Madera’s quick eye saw what was going on, and by a word or two made him instantly resume his wonted sedateness. we tried in vain to make Madera explain the magical words, which he had used to ookooma, but he appeared anxious to turn our thoughts from the subject by saying , ‘ loo-choo’ man no fight , loo- choo man write — no fight, no good,no no’. “

Captain hall in writing about this event, states: ‘ possibly he considered that ookooma was taking too great a liberty.’

From this account of events it seems probable that ookooma and Madera were both exponents of Okinawan ‘Te ‘. Madera is likely to have been the sensei or master, being located at the head of the dance demonstration and also the one calling out the command to stop from a social hierarchical perspective it would have been unheard of in other circumstances for Madera to give orders to ookooma, bearing in mind that he was the senior official present. Madera’s quick’s action was taken possibly for one of two reason firstly he , being aware of ookooma martial arts’ skills and the damage that he could do, took the steps to prevent this , and the diplomatic fall-out that would have resulted. Secondly — albeit speculatively — it could have been a deliberate move not to allow ookooma to give a dis play of ‘Te ‘ to the foreign visitors. This would be in line with the prevailing culture of teaching in secret.

On the 15 October 1816, captain hall sailed his ship from Naha along the coast in order to commence a survey of the island. When they had sailed a short distance along the coast north -west of Naha they discovered a deep bay, and on its shore a ‘ large and beautiful village almost hidden amongst the trees ‘ this village was called ‘ oonting, and they named it port Melville.

They Continued the same day with the coastal survey, and came across a bay and village on the north -east side of the island not more than 10 miles (16km) from Naha. Captain hall and others went ashore and encountered more of the island’s inhabitants. He states:

“ We had scarcely landed when the natives began to assemble in groups on the top of the cliff, and in a short tie they came down to us, most of them carrying long poles in their hands .. we were sufficiently aware of their inoffensive character to have no apprehension of their intentions, otherwise their appearance would have been some what formidable. “

The Long pole referred to would have been a ‘ bo’ ,a well — known weapon of okinawan martial arts .The bo is known to have been used in shito ryu karate, furthermore sensei funakoshi the founder of shotokan karate , was also an exponent of bujitsu it seems that captain hall was unaware of the significance of the poles because in his notes he states

As well as unarmed combat , the native okinawans also developed certain weapon systems. mark bishop , an authority on okinawan weponry being used : these included innocent- looking farming implements which the native people cloud carry for an apparently legitimate purpose . captain hall’s remarks therefore serve to support this theory,and he could be referring to a tuja or three pronged fishing spear in waht may be a further reference to a demonstration of martial arts .

3.The Development Of the Martial Arts on the Island.

The answer to one of the main questions still eludes us : How did the martial arts arrive on the island , or or were they genuinely indigenous to okinawa ? Patrick Mccarthy is a leading historian in this area , and he postulates three hypotheses in relation to the development of ‘Te’ on the island :

1. The thirty-six family theor.

2. Kushankun.

3. The Satsuma conquest.

The Thirty-six Families

In 1393, a chines community of admin istrators and craftsmen settled on okinawa at the direction of the chinese government.The records refer to these early settlers as ‘ sanjuroku seito ‘ which translate as ‘the thirty-six families’ .This original title stuck , and is the name by which they became popularly known.

The purpose of the settlement was to promote relations between the two countries, and it served as an arrival point for chinese diplomats and traders for many years to follow. The settlement was located in the kume ( original name kuninda ) area of naha, also became known as kumemura. oral tradition states that the thirty -six families were responsible for initiating the spread of the chinese martial art of ch’uan fa ( literally ‘ way of the fist’ ) throughout okinawa.

Other records refer to this group as the ‘ hundred names of china’, and perhaps more importantly as the thirty six families of fukien . this provides a direct link between the settlement and the fukien province on the east coast of china, home of the southern shaolin temple.

4.Kushanku.

In 1762 an okinawa ship drifted to tosa in japan , and a man named tobe ryoen was tasked with interviewing and recording the testimony of the pssengers and crew it is said that in his written record, the oshima hikki, there is reference to chinese fighting systems on the okinawan island , and the name of kusankun is mentioned. the name kushanku is often referred to in historical documents, and it is fair to assume that kushanku and kusankan are one and the same . Kusankun was said to have been an expert in ch’uan and had come to okinawa from china. kusankun is also said to have trained a man called shionja from shuri.

Once again, the records relating to Kusankun are unfortunately limited, meaning that to a large degree we have to rely upon word of mouth and folklore one account is that okinawa, feeling threatened by a possible invasion from japan , requested china to despatch military officers to advice the king. One of these advisers was kusankun the date of this not clear , although there is an account of a confrontation between between kusankun and an okinawan named sakugawa, who lived between 1733 and 1815.Sakugawa is said to have been a student of takahara ( 1683 -1760 ) , who is reported to have been a monk and expert in shuri-te after the cofrontation with kusankun,sakugawa is reported to have received insruction from him with the blessing of taksharaThis , therefore, must have been prior o Takahara’s death in 1760.

when kusankun returned to china, it is said that he was followed by sakugawa, who trained with him for a further six years . sakugawa is belived to have been a samurai, which would have made him japanese and presumably a descendant of the satsuma clean . In this respect he was also know by the name of satunuk, or satonushi.

It is widely belived that the kata kanku dai was created or named after kusankun. one school of thought is that the kata was created by sakugawa and named after his mentor kusankun.The connection between kanku dai and kusankun is further evidenced by the kata’s older names, which include kusankun and kushanku.

Two further okinawans who are be lived to have trained with kusankun are bushi matsumura and chatan yara bushi Matsumura, a renowned martial artist, is belived to have trained martial artist , is believed to have trained under sakugawa, and is also said to have travelled to china to train under kusankun directly while chatan yara is said to have trained with kusankun,the detail is sketchy.

5.The Satsuma Coquest

In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries,japan went through a period of political and Military turmoli that culminated with the battle of sekigahara in 1600. the victor emerged as tokugawa leyasu, and in 1603 he assumed the title of shogun.In order to maintain control he redistributed feudal territories, giving preference to the lords that had supported him. with hindsight, the satsuma clan had made an error of judgement by not supporting Ieyasu at the battle of sekighara,and had become is isolated in the southern japanese island of kyusho.In the events that followed, the head of the satsuma clan, yoshihiro, abdicated and was suceeded by his son tadastune ,who set about rebuilding relations with the new shogun.

Tadastune is said to have visited the shogun and recived his blessing for an invasion of okinawa. This he did, and in 1609 the satsuma clean invaded the ryukyu island and imposed martial rule . In doing so, a ban on the carrying of wepons by anyone other than the samurai was enforced.A similar ban had previously been imposed in 1477 by the then king sho shin as a means of controlling rebelliious warlords.On that occasion all wepons were collected and held at shuri castle. One theory that has been promoteed for many years is that okinawan ‘Te’ developed following this banning of the carrying of wepons by the satsuma,and the oppressive method of rule by the japanese that then prevailed.This is supported to some degree by evidence of okinawans using everyday farming or fishing implements as offensive wepons during this period ,as referred to above.

Although quite a number of years after the satsuma invasion , there is some evidence of japanese oppression recorded by the bishop of victoria, who visited okinawa in 1850 .The bishop arrived on bord the british ship HMS reynard, and he makes reference toa high degree of animosity towards his party he goes on to describe how they were constantly followed by official Japanese spies who ,as well as keeping an eye on them,sought to restict their movements. He gose on to describe how the locals were clearly intimidated b these spies, who exhibited the same animosity towards anything chinese.This Is Interesting because it is known that the satsuma developed a network of informers referred to as ‘ metsuke ‘ who were permitted to carry wepons.

A further description of japanese oppression is recorded by Dr. Bettlehiem, a missionary on the island Between 1850 -1852 . Quotting from a manuscript written by Dr. Bettlehiem, He states : a chinaman is hunted and spied after, pelted and insulted like an Englishman or American.The chinaman I had with me for nearly three years trembled whenever I sent him on official message to suri, the capital.

The period of japanese oppression referred to by the bishop of victoria and dr bettlehiem occurred ata time when renowned Okinawan karate masters such as bushi matsumura,anko Itosu and anko azato were at the prime of there lives and this could be significant when looking at the development of the ‘ te ‘ during this period.

Of these three hypotheses- the thirty-six families, Kushanku or the banning of wepons- it is difficult to select any particular oneas the most accurate or probable. following the satsuma subjugation of 1609, Japanese customs and culture must have had some bearing on the way the armed and unarmed combat systems developed on the island , but to what extent is now only open to guesswork and speculation over the years there certainly appears to have been an overt merging of the japanese inflience with that of the chinese,and this is succinctly described in a letter eritten on 23 december 1614 by richard wickham, british representaive at naha,to captain richard cocks

6.The Influenc Of Neighbouring Countries.

Leaving the Japanese connection to one side,perhaps what is more important in the quest for the origins of modern-day karate are the relationsship that developed between okinawqa and it is other neighbours. From correspondence betwwen the king of chuzan ( The central Okinawan island ) and the king of siam , dated 1425, It is apparent that Okinawa had established extensive trade links for some in south -east asia, and in particular with mainland china. research suggests that it is the links with towns located along china’s eastern coast that have had most impact on the develompent of the okinawan martial arts.

As already discussed, the thirty-six families of Fukien are said to have introduced ch’uan fa to the naha region and kusanku was also a key Figure in this exchange.Further chinese influence is evidenced in the original names of some of the kata. for example, the kata chinte when translated means ‘ chinese hands ‘ and is belived to have deep chibese originas. Furthermore , the kata jion , jitte and ji’ in all begin with a chinese salutation, namely jiai no kamae.

It is Known that reloations between okinawa and china have been strong for hundreds of years for some 500 years there has been a continual flow of Okinawan students travelling to beijing, where the chinese authorities supported them both financially and with housing, and with their everyday needs such as food and clothing.

In addition to the chinese mission at kume on the outskirts of naha ( established by the thirty six families,see above, page 17 ) in 1439 a special ‘ reciprocal ‘ okinawan trading depot was established at ch’uang -chou in the fukien provience. the purpose of this was to promote and simplity trade between china and okinawa.

It wasn’t just the traders and students who made the journey to china.It is known that prominent okinawan martial artists travelled to china to develop and hone their own martial knowledge and skills most notably were kanryo HIgaonna ( 1851–1916 ) ,who trained in fujian and bushi matsumura ( 1809–1901 ) who trained in both fuzhou and beijing. subsequently Matsumura was the teacher of anko itosu ( 1832–1915) who in turn taught the founder of shotokan, gichin funakoshi ( 1868- 1957) . Already mentioned is sakugawa,who trained with kushanku and chatan yara ( see page 18 ).

7.Boddhidarama and Buddhism

Boddhidarama is recorded as travelling by boat in ad527 from his home town india to the chinese city of kuang,having been invited to china to preach by the emperor , liang wu.How ever, after a short period the emperor decided he did not like boddhidarma’s buddhist theroy and dispensed with his services .Boddhidarna then travelled across country to the northern shaolin temple.It is said when he arrived at the temple he was astounded by the poor helth of the monks and their emaciated bodies.In order to con template problem ,legend states that he retreated to a cave where he remained for nine years in meditation, when he emerged he taught the monks breathing exercises and fighting skills.

Following his period of isolation, boddhidarama is said to have written two classical text ,treasured by monks at the shaolin Temple ever sinc . These text are the xi sui jing ( marrow / brain washing classic ) and the Yi Jin Jing taught the shaolin monks how to develop their energy and improve their all-round helth .The Xi sui Jing was aimed at a more advanced level, and taught the monks how to channel their energy to cleanse their bone marrow and strengthen their immune systems.

Boddhidarm is said to have died at the shaolin temple ,and was buried some where in the surrounding mountains.That he taught breathing and physical exercies is not surprising as one of the tents of Buddhism from the very beginning is the importance of good health and well-being. A great deal of attention was given to the prevention and tratment of ailments, and among the earl buddhist monks there were a number noted for their Knowledge and proficiency in medicine. Buddhissm is also belived to have made a significant contribution to medical science.The martial art systems coming out of the shaolin temple have had a significant impact on the development of karate generally.Today these martial arts universally known by the name kung fu , popularized by the bruce lee flim of the 1970s. Within china ,the term ‘chaun ‘ fa’ or ‘ quan-fas is also used.

Interstingly, the martial arts originally taught to the monks at the shaolin temple were kept secret for many years , and only taught within buddhist circles. It is said that it was only after some 300 years after the arrival of boddhidarma that the fighting skills started to reach the Taoist Monasteries.