The “Karate-do Taikan” was compiled by Nakasone Genwa and puplished in 1938.
It is a comprehensive book with numerous rare photos and drawings as well as text and many descriptions of kata, training equipment and much more. Among the rare records are the only surviving depiction of two sheets of Hanashiro Chomo’s “Karate Kumite” (1905), Itosu Anko’s “Ten Precepts of Karate” (1908), Funakoshi Gichin’s “20 Guiding Princples of Karate,” and a text by Matsumura Sokon showing that he was of Chikudun Pechin status at that time.
Among the techniques and kata shown are: Jion by Hanashiro Chomo, kata and applications by Gusukuma Shinpan, Sochin by Mabuni Kenwa, karate applications by Taira Shinken and Mabuni Kenwa, Passai by Chibana Choshin, Wado-ryu jujutsu by and with Otsuka Horonori.
The work is considered one of the most important documents of early karate.
In 1991, publishers Gajumaru Shoten of Ginowan reprinted and published the “Karate-do Taikan” and it was very well received by karate researchers and afficionados at that time. However, it has been out of stock for a long time so Gajumaru Shoten decided to republish it in a new format in order to revive it as a guideline for the new era.
For this reissue, the annotation was revised and – with the support of Okinawa Prefecture – digital videos were created and recorded on a DVD as an appendix. In it, the basic kata of karate, which were established by Nakasone Genwa as a key to the nationwide spread of karate, were performed and reproduced by active karateka.
Moreover, masters of traditional karate and kobudo generously present their kata, showing an enthusiasm for the spread of karate from a time when schools were not yet established.
Okinawa karate is on the way to return to the origin of karate while at the same time it opens up new perspectives. This book should be read and studied by anyone concerned with Okinawa karate.
The work has 452 pages in A5 size with a luxury binding covered with fine red cloth and it comes with case. The title is made in foil (hot) stamping. There is an appendix with one DVD attached. The DVD includes videos of the kata presented in the book in 1938, performed and reproduced by top karateka from Okinawa Prefecture, as well as Makiwara and other training methods. The performers are Miyagi Tokumasa, Tsuha Kiyoshi, Higaonna Morio, Nakamoto Masahiro, Oshiro Nobuko, Teruya Masahiro, and Matsumon Tadashi.
© 2020, Andreas Quast. All rights reserved.