It
is thought that the earliest inhabitants of Okinawa came not only
from China, but from the northern Japanese islands and from South
Asia. Archaeology has shown that cultural penetration of China has
continued since at least 300 BC.
In these times, the people of Okinawa lived a simple life supported
mainly by a crude agriculture, sea fishing and the gathering of
shellfish. However, successive military invasions by the Japanese
from the sixth to the ninth centuries AD evidently stimulated the
native people to organise themselves into village groupings presided
over by chieftains.
Okinawa had become divided into 3 rival kingdoms by 1340, and a
decade later the largest of these kingdoms entered into a formal,
tributary relationship with China, which was confirmed by the Chinese
Emperor in 1372. Under the terms of this relationship, the Okinawans,
like almost all of China's neighbours except for Japan, sent annual
delegations to the mainland bearing tribute for the Emperor. A few
nobles from these delegations were permitted to travel on from the
coast to the Imperial Court. Some younger princes even enrolled
in the schools set up for foreigners in Peking, where they would
study Chinese culture, arts and sciences before returning home.
In this way, many important Okinawans became familiar with the city
and court life of China, as well as its traditions and learning.
By 1429, after some internal skirmishing, Okinawa was united under
one king and the first (Sho) dynasty was established. This set the
stage for the golden era of Okinawan history. The people took to
trading, and steadily established a network of trade links that
stretched not only to Japan and China, but as far afield as Indo-China,
Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia and the Philippines. Okinawa
became a Venice or Genoa of the East, a great centre for the distribution
of rare woods, spices, incense, rhinoceros horn, ivory, tin and
sugar from the south of Asia. These were exchanged for the fine
ceramics, textiles, medicinal herbs and precious metals of Japan,
Korea and China.
Okinawan
sailors and merchants visited not just China and Japan, but all
the great ports of East Asia, a factor that Okinawans of today consider
highly important in the history of their martial arts.
The
Banning of Weapons
Something else of crucial importance also took place about this
time. Around 1470, the collapse of the Sho Dynasty gave rise to
a period of political turbulence that was ended only by the establishment
of a new (also Sho) dynasty in 1477. The new king, Sho Shin, had
to deal with the rebellious war lords who were firmly entrenched
in their castles throughout the island. One of his first moves was
to ban the carrying of swords by anyone, noble or peasant. His next
move was to order the collection of all weapons, which were to be
placed under royal control at his castle in Shuri. Finally, he charged
that all nobles, now unarmed, should come and live next to him in
the royal capital.
It
is interesting to note that this policy of first disarming, then
'de-casting', rebellious lords in Okinawa predates the same actions
on mainland Japan. These were carried out in the sword edicts of
Toyotomi in 1586 and in the Tokugawa Shogun's orders for the daimios
or warlords to assemble in his capital in 1634.
It
is typical of the convoluted nature of relations between China and
Japan that the Shogun did not, however, force the Okinawans to give
up their tributary relationship with the Chinese. On the contrary,
he forced the Okinawans to maintain a facade of loyalty to the Chinese.
Whenever diplomats came from the mainland, the Japanese rulers hid
themselves and anything that would betray their presence. Indirect
contacts with China, which the Japanese both wanted and needed,
were maintained through Okinawa, but the Okinawans' economic wealth
and political independence were really annexed to Japan in 1609.
Of
vital importance to the following discussion was the fact that after
1609 the Japanese maintained the ban on the carrying of weapons
and kept the nobility bottled up in Shuri city. Japanese samurai
were, however, allowed to carry their weapons there. The ban on
the natives' carrying of weapons evidently remained in force throughout
Okinawa's subsequent history; Napoleon, in 1816, on hearing of a
small nation state called Okinawa where people carried no weapons
remarked: "I cannot understand a people not interested in war".
In
Okinawa today, most Karate masters believe that the banning of weapons
by one of their first kings was an act of sublime wisdom, not one
of oppression.
The
Art of the Hand
This brief historical sketch sets the scene for a discussion of
the great Okinawan tradition of te, the martial art of the hand,
in which the human body is trained to become all the weapons a man
or woman may need for self-defence.
Karate,
or Karate-do (the art itself) as we know it today, is largely the
product of a synthesis that took place in the eighteenth century
between the native Okinawan art of te and the Chinese arts of Shaolin
Temple boxing, and other southern styles that were practised at
that time in Fukien Province. In the last 70 years, Japanese martial
arts have influenced Karate as is practised there, although little
of this influence has filtered back to Okinawa.
|
|
Te
is thought to be at least 1000 years old. The Okinawans of 1000
years ago were not rich, and weapons were in short supply. The land
was not unified, and a knowledge of self-defence must have been
an important asset and would have provided the necessary impetus
to the emergence of an indigenous martial art. Later, in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries when the Okinawans began to travel extensively,
they were sure to have encountered many of the great fighting systems
of South Asia and these would have influenced their indigenous art.
Certain techniques in today's karate seem to have originated from
that part of the world. Okinawa's own style however is unique, and
foreign influences have always been modified to conform with the
Okinawan fighting principles. Chief among them is the use of the
hand (te), and especially the closed fist.
The
Divergence of the Okinawan Arts
When the king, Sho Shin, disarmed the nobles and gathered them into
Shuri city, is believed that 2 movements were born in Okinawa. On
the one hand, the nobles sought out, learned and developed the unarmed
combat art of te. On the other hand, farmers and fishermen began
to develop weapons systems based on the combative use of tools and
agricultural implements. Flails (hand threshing tools), grindstone
handles, sickles, horse bridles and even boat paddles became lethal
weapons.
Both
the unarmed and armed traditions were practices in utmost secrecy,
and largely confined to their respective social classes. Te was
practised by the nobles of the Royal court and Ryukyu bujutsu (Ryukyu
weapon arts) grew up among the people. Even in the twentieth century,
several of the greatest karate masters, notably Chotoku Kyan, were
and are descendants of the royal and noble families of the city
of Shuri.
The
first recorded performance of Chinese martial arts in Okinawa took
place in 1761. There are also several personal histories of the
masters of te at that time. Some of these masters, including Chatan
Yara, are known to have travelled to Fukien Province in China and
studied there. One great Chinese master, Kusanku, spent 6 years
in Okinawa. During the nineteenth century the Okinawan art began
to be known by the name of T'ang-te or 'Chinese hand'.
Even
though the art was practised in great secrecy, in remote places,
and largely at night or before dawn, 3 separate styles began to
emerge from the 3 urban centres around the capital. Shuri-te, the
art that developed in Shuri, was practised by the Samurai of the
court, while in the nearby port town of Naha, and in Tomari, the
gate-town of Shuri, the people developed their own independent styles
of te.
The
differences between them probably arise from their having been influenced
by different Chinese traditions. There is some evidence to suggest
that Shuri-te derives from Shaolin Temple boxing, while Naha-te
incorporates more of the soft, Taoist techniques, involving breathing
and the control of Ki, the life force, called chi in Chinese. Tomari-te
evidently drew from both traditions.
It
is important to note, however, that the towns of Shuri, Naha and
Tomari are only a few miles apart, and that the differences between
their arts were essentially ones of emphasis and not of kind. Beneath
these surface differences, both the methods and aims of all Okinawan
karate are one and the same.
By
the end of the nineteenth century, the names of the styles had changed
again. The arts of Shuri and Tomari were subsumed under one name,
shorin-ryu, meaning the 'flexible pine school'. Naha-te became known
as goju-ryu, the 'hard and soft school', and it was developed by
the great master Higaonna Kanryo. Shorin-ryu is subdivided into
several slightly different styles, but goju-ryu has remained largely
unified stylistically. There has also grown up a tradition in Okinawa
and Japan where both styles are fused together and taught as one.
The largest school which does this is the Japanese shito-ryu, headed
by Mabuni.
Traditionally,
it is said that the shorin-ryu style is lighter and faster than
goju-ryu, and that the stances are generally higher. The kata of
the 2 styles are slightly different: in goju-ryu the arm and leg
motions are more bent and circular, and greater emphasis is laid
on breathing.
In
1935, a multi-style committee of masters sat down together to decide
on a single name for their art. They called it karate, which means
'empty-handed' or 'weaponless' defence art. Some masters feel that
the Japanese appendage of -do, 'the way', should also be added to
the name.
Today,
karate still flourishes in Okinawa. The destruction of the island's
historic buildings, archives and much of its unique heritage during
the horrifying battle between the Japanese and the United States'
allies in 1945, has led the people to prize even more highly their
immaterial cultural assets in the form of dance, music and karate.
Following
ancient precedents, karate masters are amongst the most honoured
dignitaries of Okinawan society, and dojos or training-halls abound
in the built-up areas of Naha and Shuri. Even though there are no
overall masters of each style, there is much friendship and little
competition between today's leaders of the art. |
