Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters. Shosh Nagamine

and Sakiyama Chikudon Peichin (1833-1918).

      YIELDING TO THE WINDS OF ADVERSITY

      I would now like to introduce you to a rather unusual, but nonetheless stirring episode in the life of Bushi Matsumura. After king Shoko-O retired, he was called Boji-Ushu and lived in comfort at his villa in Kowan (present day Urazoe). There was a wild bull kept by a family in his neighborhood which, on occasion, would break free and trample the valuable crops in the village field. When such a thing happened people often got injured before the beast could be recaptured. This caused a lot of trouble and the villagers were very anxious about the situation. However, after Boji learned of the problem he secretly devised a plan to deal with the menace. Believing that Matsumura was a great bujin who could easily defeat the beast, Boji commanded that he be pitted against the bull. Considered a competent ruler, the retired king knew little about such trivial matters, and actually placed Matsumura in considerable danger by ordering such a contest.

      When Shuri officials got wind of the outlandish proposal they were embarrassed. However, in spite of how ridiculous the request was, Matsumura showed no concern and simply said “How can I refuse the former king?” His only request was that he might be permitted a few days to prepare for the contest. Boji agreed and remarked, “Take as much time as you like, as long as I can see you fight the bull firsthand.”

      On the day of the gladiatorial-style match, people from all over packed the neighborhood. When the moment came to face the ferocious beast, Matsumura entered the arena and calmly advanced towards the bull clutching only a short wooden club in his hand. Irritated by the crowd, the bull bucked violently, snorted, and scratched the ground as it prepared to engage its adversary. When the bull charged out into the center of the arena and faced Matsumura, much to everyone’s astonishment, it let out a fervent cry and ran off.

      Dumbfounded, everyone including the king stood holding their breath in disbelief, until finally the king shouted: “Well done, Matsumura. You are indeed the most remarkable bushi in all of the world!” What the king, and the townspeople did not know was the reason why, on seeing Matsumura, the bull ran away. During the time that Matsumura was supposed to be preparing for the bout, he was actually conditioning the bull.

      Under the cover of darkness, Matsumura secretly went to the animal’s pen where, every night for a week, with a konbo (small wooden club) and dressed in the same outfit, he screamed and vigorously beat the head of the bull until even the sight or sound of Matsumura caused the beast to shudder in fear. Naturally, in the arena, when the beast got close enough to smell, hear, and see that it was Matsumura with the konbo, it ran off.

      Following that remarkable incident the young subordinate became known throughout the kingdom as “Bushi” Matsumura, the fearless warrior. This episode really characterizes Matsumura’s exceptional personality. Unlike other powerful but reckless bujin, Matsumura realized that a contest of strength between man and beast was meaningless, but used his wit to prove a point. It is no wonder the fighting tradition he cultivated became so popular; with such a reputation, everyone wanted to be like Bushi Matsumura.

      Despite diligently searching for Matsumura’s actual dates of birth and death, I was unable to locate them. The documents I once had were so badly burned from the air raid they were of no use. However, I was able to establish what his date of birth was by conducting the following analysis: I located Uto Kaiyo, who was a very close relative of Matsumura’s. She was born May 30, 1896, and lived in Shuri. Kaiyo’s mother always told her that in the same year that she was born her family all attended Matsumura’s beiju (eighty-eighth birthday) celebration. Hence, we can be sure that Matsumura Sokon was eighty-eight years old in 1896. Based on the testimony of Uto Kaiyo, it would therefore be safe to conclude that the famous bushi was born in 1809.