Okinawan martial arts refers to the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

, such as

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

, tegumi and kobudō, which originated among the indigenous people of

Okinawa Island , officially , is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five Japanese archipelago, main islands of Japan. The island is ...

. Due to its location (between " Mainland Japan" and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

), Okinawa was influenced by various cultures with a long history of trade and cultural exchange, including

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, that greatly influenced the development of martial arts on Okinawa.

History

In 1429, the three kingdoms on Okinawa unified to form the Kingdom of Ryukyu. When King

Shō Shin was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the third ruler of the second Shō dynasty. Shō Shin's long reign has been described as "the Great Days of Chūzan", a period of great peace and relative prosperity. He was the son of Shō En, the founder of ...

came into power in 1477, he banned the practice of martial arts, due to fears of the widespread teaching of the art of deception. Tō-te and Ryukyu kobudō (deception) continued to be taught in secret.Okinawan Masters
msisshinryu.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-20. The ban was continued in 1609 after Okinawa was invaded by the

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

of Japan. The bans contributed to the development of kobudō which uses common household and farming implements as weaponry. The Okinawans combined Chinese martial arts with the existing local variants to form , sometimes called . By the 18th century, different types of ''te'' had developed in three different villages – Shuri,

Naha is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...

and Tomari. The styles were named Shuri-te, Naha-te, and Tomari-te, respectively. Well into the 20th century, the martial arts of Okinawa were generally referred to as ''te'' and ''tii'' 手 in Japanese and Okinawan for "hand". ''Te'' often varied from one town to another, so to distinguish among the various types of ''te'', the word was often prefaced with its area of origin; for example, Naha-te, Shuri-te, or Tomari-te. Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te belong to a family of martial arts that were collectively defined as ''Tode-jutsu'' or ''To-de.'' Karate (''Okinawa-te'' or ''Karate-jutsu'') was systematically taught in Japan after the Taishō era (after 1926).Donn F. Draeger (1974). ''Modern Bujutsu & Budo''. Weatherhill, New York & Tokyo. Page 125.

Shuri-te

is a pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

term for a type of indigenous

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

to the area around Shuri, the old capital city of the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a Tributary system of China, tributary state of Ming dynasty, imperial Ming China by the King of Ryukyu, Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island t ...

. Important Okinawan masters of Shuri-te: * Sakugawa Kanga * Matsumura Sōkon * Bushi Tachimura * Itosu Ankō * Asato Ankō * Chōyū Motobu *

Motobu Chōki was an Okinawan karate master and founder of Motobu-ryū. He was born into a branch of the Ryukyuan royal family, and at the age of 12, he and his older brother Motobu Chōyū were invited by Ankō Itosu to be taught karate. Motobu also studie ...

* Yabu Kentsū *

Chōmo Hanashiro was an Okinawan martial arts master who is notable for aiding in the evolution of Shōrin-ryū karate. Early in his childhood, he became a student of the renowned master Matsumura Sōkon, of the Okinawan martial arts, Shuri-te style. In additi ...

* Funakoshi Gichin * Kyan Chōtoku * Chibana Chōshin * Mabuni Kenwa * Tōyama Kanken * Tatsuo Shimabuku Important

kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced in Japanese martial arts ...

: * Naihanchi * sanchin (Shuri-te) *

Pinan The Pinan ( Chinese: 平安, Píng'ān; Japanese: ピンアン, Pin'an) ''kata'' are a series of five empty hand forms taught in many karate styles. The Pinan kata originated in Okinawa and were adapted by Anko Itosu from older kata such a ...

* Kūsankū * Passai * Jion * Jitte * Rohai * Chinto * Gojushiho The successor styles to Shuri-te include

Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thro ...

, Shitō-ryū, Shōrin-ryū, Shudokan, Shuri-ryū, Shōrinji-ryū, Isshin-ryū, Gensei-ryu and

Motobu-ryū is a karate school founded in 1922 by Motobu Chōki from Okinawa. Its official name is ''Nihon Denryū Heihō Motobu Kenpō'' ("Japan Traditional Fighting Tactics Motobu Kenpō"), or Motobu Kenpō for short. Motobu-ryū has the characteristics ...

Tomari-te

refers to a tradition of martial arts originating from the village of Tomari, Okinawa. Important Okinawan masters of Tomari-te: * Matsumora Kōsaku * Oyadomari Kokan *

* Kyan Chōtoku * Nakasone Seiyu Important

: * Naihanchi (Koshiki) * Eunibu * Rōhai * Wanduan * Passai (Tomari) * Chintō * Chinsu * Chinpu * Wankan * Wanshū * Seisan * Jumu * Nichin * Juma * Ananku The successor styles to Tomari-te include Wado-ryu,

, Matsubayashi-ryu and Shōrinji-ryū

Naha-te

is a pre-

term for a type of

indigenous to the area around

, the old commercial city of the

and now the capital city of

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

. Important Okinawan masters of Naha-te: * Arakaki Seishō * Higaonna Kanryō * Miyagi Chōjun * Kyoda Jūhatsu * Mabuni Kenwa Important

: * Sanchin * Saifā * Seiunchin * Shisochin * Seipai * Seisan * Sanseru * Tensho * Kururunfa * Suparinpei * Bechurin The successor styles to Naha-te include Shōrei-ryū (earliest school), Gōjū-ryū, Uechi-ryū, Ryūei-ryū, Shito-ryu and Tōon-ryū.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okinawan Martial Arts Ryukyu Kingdom Japanese martial arts

History

Shuri-te

Tomari-te

Naha-te

See also

References