was respected as a talented man, with a good physique and remarkable power. During Makabe’s youth there were other strong young men who challenged him. One young stalwart was a man named Funakoshi. Funakoshi had gained a reputation as a brave strong fellow after pinning a fighting bull to the ground by twisting its head and holding it down by the horns.
The confrontation was held on the grounds of the Makabe residence. In preparation for the bout several shiijakata (referees) and a horde of excited young men had gathered in the courtyard to observe the exhibition. First the contestants were required to demonstrate their strength by lifting a ninety kilogram chikarasaashi (old style stones used in power training, similar to today’s barbells). First Makabe, without much effort, did twenty quick presses over his head before putting the apparatus back down on the ground. The audience remained collected as they knew Makabe trained every day. However, when it came time for Funakoshi to attempt the lift there was a pause. He was unfamiliar with the equipment and the conditions were different from what he was used to, and the audience sensed it too. Yet, in spite of the variations, Funakoshi attacked the chikarasaashi and rattled off the same amount of repetitions as did Makabe. The crowd was astonished by Funakoshi’s power and immediately showed its enthusiasm.
Illustration of the chikarabo bout.
Next came the chikarabo, a game which tested the power, balance, and dexterity of its participants. It required each contestant to brace the end of a bo on a point just below the umbilicus (the tanden) and hold onto it with both hands. Thrusting at each other while keeping the posture in a pliable but authoritative position, victory depends entirely on a keen sense of positioning. Weight and strength are not enough to win. Just like budo, knowing the principles of taisabaki (body movement), and kiaijutsu (the build up, containment, and release of ki) had to be mastered in order to overcome any opponent.
Still intact after about an hour or so, the shiijakata ordered the contestants to change position. Once again they vigorously went at each other but to no avail. Finally the shiijakata declared the bout a draw, it was just too close a game. All but burned out, Makabe and Funakoshi took a rest for a while before starting the next event to settle the contest.
Agreeing to test their tobigeri (jumping kicks), the next event finally got under way. The location was changed from the courtyard into the guest house of the Makabe residence.
The guest house of the Taira residence. Photo from the Ryukyu Kenhoshi.
Committed from youth to a life of budo, Makabe Chaan had more than adequately trained his running and jumping skills. He believed that the essence of combative superiority existed in pliability, not in stationary postures, and Makabe found Mt. Hantan, and Mt. Torazu ideal terrain for strengthening such skills. The Taira family maintained that whenever Makabe returned home late at night, like a ninja, he would jump over the stone gate which surrounded the residence so as not to disturb his family. The umoteyaajou (front gate) was the symbol of an Okinawan kemochi (those with a chronicled lineage; the equivalent of a Japanese samurai family) during the Ryukyu Kingdom period. However, the gate, like so many other treasures of Okinawa, was destroyed during the war.
The gate of the Taira residence. This photo originally appeared in the Ryukyu Ihoshi.
Generally speaking, a big man is usually strong but lacks mobility. However, Makabe Chaan was the exception to the rule. Incidentally, the suffix Chaan is a term which refers to a small, quick, and brave fighting cock. Hence, this nickname has led many to erroneously believe that Makabe was a small person.
In 1944, Makabe Chosho, a sixth generation descendant of Makabe Chaan, visited me at my request. The owner of a tea business in Naha’s Higashi-machi, he was kind enough to provide me with the family genealogy. His assistance was of enormous value to my research. However, my analysis along with his family records were unfortunately destroyed during an air raid on October 10, 1944. I am deeply sorry that I was unable to take better care of the Makabe family records.
Helping to corroborate Makabe Chaan’s actual size, Chosho-san recounted a story which I would like to impart. There was a kimono made from bashofo (bark from the bashoo tree). It was Makabe Chaan’s special keepsake from Amami, a principal island in the Ryukyu Archipelago, and was well cared for and handed down in the family. Although Makabe Chosho was an average size man, the kimono was, however, too long for him, even when he stood on the top of thick chess board. Although a minor point, it does, nonetheless, tells us that Makabe Chaan wasn’t a small man, as some would have us believe, but was more than six feet tall.
Makabe Chotoku, the vice president of the Ryukyu Fire Insurance Company, is a seventh generation descendant of Makabe Chaan. When Chotoku was rebuilding the family grave site after the war, he inspected Makabe’s bones. He said that he was surprised to see that his leg bones were so long. I believe that the information which I received from Taira, Chosho, and Chotoku, would all seem to indicate that Makabe Chaan was indeed of more than just average size.
To continue with the confrontation between Makabe and Funakoshi, there is an abstract poem which I believe characterizes their encounter.
Poem:
Bushi no miya, sura ni
tobu toi no kukuchi,
michimiteinteiniya touiyanaran
Interpretation:
The movements of a real bushi are not unlike those
of a bird in flight: swift, natural, and without
thought. Regardless of one’s physical strength,
catching a bird is virtually impossible.
Although Makabe was big and powerful, he was also unusually agile, no doubt the result of his intense training. Seemingly, Funakoshi dung to the idea that power was enough to overcome an opponent. He had successfully stalemated Makabe in the tests of power, and believed that he was ready to challenge the technique of the great bushi.
Now came the opportunity for Makabe to test the results of his lengthy training in jumping techniques. He took his stance as he prepared to unleash his kick. Looking calmly up at the ceiling of the guest house Makabe wasted no time springing into position before leaping up, and, with an enormous kiai (spirit shout), executing a jump kick as fast, and higher, than anyone in that room had seen before. Landing back on the tatami mat, Makabe finished his kicking demonstration in the meikata posture (an elegant position used in Okinawan folk dancing to music during village festivals). As the spectators stood in awe, the imprint of Makabe’s foot, remaining clearly visible on the ceiling, served to remind everyone of the incredible feat they had just witnessed.
When it came time for Funakoshi to perform, it remained obvious to Makabe that he was flustered. Having never even seen, let alone practiced, a jumping kick, Funakoshi scrambled to learn. Attempting to duplicate that which he had just observed, Funakoshi, in spite of Makabe’s friendly advice, fell flat on the back of his head, unconscious. By the time the fallen Funakoshi finally came to, he realized that he had been outmatched and, as was often the case in those days, asked Makabe to become his teacher.
A HEROIC EPISODE
During the Kingdom period, the ayajou-uugina (tug of war) was always a spectacular event in the old castle town of Shuri. Supported by the people of
