TALES OF
OKINAWA’S
GREAT
MASTERS
BY
SHOSHIN NAGAMINE
TRANSLATED BY
PATRICK MCCARTHY
Tuttle Publishing
Boston • Rutland, Vermont • Tokyo
First published in 2000 by Tuttle Publishing,
an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 U.S.A.
Copyright © 2000 by the Estate of Shoshin Nagamine
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from Tuttle Publishing.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data in process
ISBN: 0-8048-2089-9; ISBN 978-1-4629-1819-5 (ebook)
Distributed by
USA
Tuttle Publishing USA
364 Innovation Drive
North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
Tel 1 (802) 773 8930
Fax 1 (802) 773 6993
Email: [email protected] Web site: www.tuttlepublishing.com
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12
Singapore 534167
Tel: (65) 6280 1330
Fax: (65) 6280 6290
Email: [email protected] Web site: www.periplus.com
JAPAN
Tuttle Publishing Japan
Yaekari Building 3rd Floor, 5-4-12
Osaki Shinagawa-ku,
Tokyo 141-0032
Tel 81 (03) 5437 017
Fax 81 (03) 5437 0755
CANADA
Raincoast Books
8680 Cambie Street
Vancouver, Canada V6P 6M9
Tel: (604) 323-7100
Fax: (604) 323-2600
First edition
05 04 03 02 01 00 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
Commemorative photograph of Shoshin Nagamine taken in 1982 upon his receipt of the Fifth Class Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan. Nagamine was 75 at the time.
Acknowledgments
I deeply appreciate the many people who have assisted me with the research for this modest publication: Kikuzato Kyobun of Kumejima; Kinjo Setsu of Motobu village; Nakasone Seishin of the Toguchi Police Department; Tamashiro Rinzo and Nagahama Zansho of the Heian-za; Ishizuka Itoku and Tomoyose Eigen of Naha. I am grateful to Patrick and Yuriko McCarthy who spent nearly one year translating this book into English. Charles C. Goodin of Hawaii proofread and provided technical assistance with the English text. I am also indebted to the many other people whose important contributions helped make this book a great success.
Table of Contents
PART ONE: BIOGRAPHIES OF OKINAWAN KARATE EXPERTS
1. Makabe Choken Okina: A Man of Great Strength
The Divine Jumping Techniques of Tobitori
A Heroic Episode
Law and Order in the Castle Town of Old Shuri
2. To-Te Sakugawa Kanga: The General of Great Learning, Wisdom, and Courage
Travel to China, Detention in Beijing
The Progenitor of Shuri-Te
3. Bushi Matsumura Sokon Okina: Shuri’s Bujin
A Master of Jigen-Ryu Kenjutsu
The Pen and the Sword
Yielding to the Winds of Adversity
4. Matsumora Kosaku Okina: The Bujin Who Emphasized Morality
Knocking Down a Stalwart With Only a Wet Towel
Becoming an Expert in Bojutsu in Spite of Losing a Finger
Protector of the Neewagumuchi
5. Itosu Anko Okina: A Prominent Model of Chivalry
The Model of Chivalry
Revealing the Truth of Karate-Do
The Ten Lessons of To-Te
6. Higaonna Kanryo Okina: The Iron-Fist Warrior
A Determined Decade in China
Naha’s Well-Known “Secret Bushi”
The Restorer of Naha-Te
Higaonna’s Advice for Using Supplementary Equipment in Karate-Do
7. Funakoshi Gichin Sensei: First Propagator of Karate-Do
Refusing to Remove His Topknot
Tokyo: The Foundation Upon Which Japanese Karate-Do was Built
Spending His Life Propagating Karate-Do
Funakoshi Sensei’s Twenty Principles of Karate-Do
8. Kyan Chotoku Sensei: A Tiny Man With a Self-Trained Fighting Spirit
The Lesson of a Strict Father
Karate Enlightenment
The Taiwan Incident
The Motto of Karate-Do
Highlights of Three Classical Kata
9. Motobu Choki Sensei: The Master Fighter
Motobu “The Monkey”
The Bout Against a Foreigner