as well as knowing karate’s place in Okinawan culture.
—Kadekawa Junki
Journalist, Ryukyu Shinpo
[Note: This foreword first appeared in the Ryukyu Shinpo evening edition on July 12th, 1986.]
Translator’s Foreword
It is both an honor and a surprise that I should be associated with Grandmaster Nagamine’s book. First, it is a honor that someone as important as Nagamine Shoshin considered me worthy to undertake the translation of such important research. Second, it is ironic because the very first book on the history of karate-do I ever bought, more than twenty years ago, was Professor Shinzato Katsuhiko’s wonderful English translation of O-Sensei’s first publication, The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do. Having made a big impression on me, I never thought that I would one day befriend such a man, much less be petitioned to translate his research, and then write a foreword for its publication. It just proves that anything is possible.
I first met the great master during my pilgrimage to Okinawa in the summer of 1985. Living in Japan, I have personally enjoyed many training opportunities with O-Sensei in the years which have since past. To learn from a master, who had himself been taught by such legendary figures as Motobu Choki, Kyan Chotoku, and Arakaki Ankichi, has been a privilege which words can hardly describe.
During my lengthy analysis and English translation of Okinawa’s enigmatic book, Bubishi, I was fortunate to obtain the assistance of Grandmaster Nagamine. It was during that time that I really got to know more about Nagamine Shoshin the man, and the principles for which he stands. It is no secret that his guidance has had a profound impact on the way I embrace karate-do, in the way I assess its evolution, its value to society, and my personal philosophy with regard to its future direction.
Every generation produces experts who, in an effort to keep their tradition a living experience for the society it serves, reinterpret the common principles on which it rests. Nagamine Shoshin is one such man, and this book is a testament to his incomparable research, profound knowledge, and commendable dedication. If I have gained any further insight into karate-do, its history, philosophy, and application, then it has been because of men like bushi Nagamine Shoshin. He is the most senior authority of karate-do in the world today. I highly recommend this book to both teacher and student alike.
—Patrick McCarthy
Director, International Ryukyu Karate Research Society
Author’s Preface
It was February of 1975 that my modest book, Okinawan Karate-do: The Preservation of a Traditional Legacy, was first published by Shinjinbutsuorai-sha in Tokyo. Much to my surprise the book met with such popularity that I was asked to have it translated into English, a task completed by Professor Shinzato Katsuhiko. The English version was published and released in October of the same year by the Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company under the new tide The Essence of Okinawan Karate-do. I received many letters of encouragement from karate enthusiasts from all over the world.
Shoshin Nagamine
Many of the letters asked me if I would consider writing about the lives of Okinawa’s old bujin. This, coupled with similar requests I had received over the years from both students and colleagues, prompted me to think seriously about such a project. Most of the historical documentation about such men is believed to be greatly embellished and uncorroborated. Examples of such things include stalwarts able to swing their way across the beams of a ceiling using only the fingertips; men able to, with a single blow, rip the flesh from the body of a living ox; a tiny man able to kick a barrel full of sugar up onto a cart with only his foot; and karate men able to splinter jumbo stalks of green bamboo by simply seizing them by hand.
Tales such as these are, at best, difficult to believe and cast doubt on the art. Moreover, the storytellers are themselves usually old men who either briefly learned karate in their youth, or never learned it at all! Having observed an impressive demonstration a long time ago, the feats tend to gain something each time the story is told. Long-winded old men often recount stories as if they had actually happened. This, unfortunately, has resulted in listeners misunderstanding the true value of karate-do. With this in mind, I believe that my first book has prompted many people, both at home and abroad, to petition me to describe the actual historical events, personalities, and abilities of Okinawa’s old bujin.
From 1969 to 1983 I travelled four times to Canada, the United States, Argentina, and Uruguay to teach and lecture on karate-do, its history, philosophy, and application. By doing so, I was able to strengthen Matsubayashi-ryu karate-do and expand the World Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu) Karate-Do Association. Cradled in our tiny island, haphazardly enhanced by Chinese chuan fa, and then further cultivated before being introduced, and reinterpreted again, on the mainland of Japan, karate-do has enjoyed a fascinating evolution. In spite of the modern karate movement which started a mere half-century ago, karate-do has now found its way to the four corners of the world. When compared with Japan’s other cultural combative disciplines, karate-do has achieved a world-wide popularity which kendo, judo, or ever sumo has yet to realize. In all honesty, even having been a part of the pioneering process, I can hardly believe the magnitude by which karate-do has grown.
When I am asked about Okinawa, I often like to say that it is the island from which karate first surfaced, rather than describing it as the location that was decimated during the Second World War. I feel confident that most foreigners whom I have met are satisfied with my description. Yet, a question which remains unanswered is how karate achieved such international magnitude?
Considering its practical attributes, the ability “to kill with a single blow” or similar “supernatural powers of destruction,” were developed by learning to use the entire body as a weapon. It is not surprising, then, that such a practice spread so rapidly. However, the principal basis for karate’s world-wide popularity has to be the “anytime, anywhere, anyone” principle. Simply put, the practice of karate knows no limitations; there are no time, place, age, or gender restrictions. One can train any time, any place, and with anyone, or even by oneself. Moreover, one can practice for fitness, self-defense, recreation, competition, character development, or spiritual discovery. Especially in such a hectic modern society as ours, karate is an attractive and practical consideration.
In spite of this enormous popularity, we must not lose sight of that which the competitive element and commercial exploitation have generated. Ignorance and misunderstanding have fueled eclecticism in countries whose cultures are unlike that from which karate evolved. As such, karate has been popularized for its utilitarian and competitive elements and, for the most part, monopolized by young people. In so doing, the classical values on which the art rests have been ignored. Karate is a tradition which should be practiced by both young and old, male and female, and kata is the central vehicle of this profound discipline. I believe that without restoration of these values, true classical Okinawan karate will become extinct.
I do not mean to suggest that I have a totally negative opinion of karate’s competitive dimension, it is just that I feel it is too shallow. Regardless of whether it is in Okinawa, the mainland of Japan, or the world in general, jyu-kumite (free-sparring) ignores the principles on which kata is based. Simply put, jyu-kumite should in some way reflect kata, because kata is the origin of karate. If there is no kata, there is no karate, just kicking and punching.
Respecting the fact that kata is karate, one must embrace the dō mu gen proverb, which, simply stated, asserts: “There can be no end to learning.” Hence, karate begins and ends with the study of kata. Kata is the way through which the secrets of karate have been
