Category Archives: Postwar Okinawa Karate

What’s in a photo – Uechi Kanei around January 1949

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Andreas Quast

I talked to a friend in the US yesterday about the old dōjō in Okinawa. She told me about this photo where there was obviously a dirt floor, as can be seen in the color photo below that she had. … Continue reading →

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Kaneshima Shinsuke’s Martial Curriculum Vitae

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Andreas Quast

In September 1969, Kaneshima Shinsuke together with Nagamine Shoshin apperad in an Okinawa Times article about the “model demonstrations” to be held at Okinawa Times Hall on September 25th, and in preparation of demonstrations at Nippon Budokan on October 10. … Continue reading →

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Periodization issues in budō

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Andreas Quast

There is a terminological double-issue related to the periodization in Japanese budō. The first and main issue is the ambiguous definition of old vs modern schools using the Meiji restoration of 1868 as the reference point. The second issue is … Continue reading →

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On the Photo of Kinjo Ufuchiku

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Andreas Quast

In 2015 I wrote an article about the photo considered to show Kinjo Ufuchiku. In short, the original photo was taken by Edmund M. H. Simon in Okinawa in 1910. Here I will look at the copies of the photo … Continue reading →

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Original Karate mentioned in 1873. No, wait: 1850!

Posted on June 17, 2023 by Andreas Quast

Ernest Mason Satow (1843–1929) was a British diplomat, scholar, Japanologist and a key figure in Anglo-Japanese relations. He is best known in Japan as Satō Ainosuke (佐藤/薩道愛之助). As many people from Okinawa karate circles might know, Satow published his “Notes on … Continue reading →

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Appropriation of Aphorisms etc.

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Andreas Quast

Japanese calligraphy sometimes uses four-character idiomatic phrases (yojijukugo 四字熟語). These are compound phrases consisting of four kanji used for idiomatic expressions the meaning of which are usually not directly inferred from the individual characters used. A few examples appropriated into … Continue reading →

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Funakoshi and Nagamine

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Andreas Quast

When Nagamine was in third grade, eight elementary schools would jointly hold an autumn athletic meet at Onoyama Park on November 13, 1916. The state of the joint athletic meet was also reported in the Ryūkyū Shinpō newspaper the following day. The karate perfomers … Continue reading →

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Nagamine Shoshin as a Politician

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Andreas Quast

Sometimes you hear the argument spread by some Okinawan guy, saying “I don’t like him. He was a politician.” I often wondered what that was supposed to mean. Obviously, it can be very simple black & white thinking. Here’s an … Continue reading →

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The story of “Maezato no Nunchaku Dai” and “Akamine no Nunchaku”

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Andreas Quast

In connection with Okinawa karate and kobudō, questions often remain answered unsatisfactorily, or unanswered at all. This may have different reasons. For example, people have long since forgotten what exactly happened several years or decades ago, or they were not … Continue reading →

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Form Follows Fiction

Posted on February 11, 2023 by Andreas Quast

“Form follows function,” an old concept borrowed from architecture is the congenial didactic behind karate kata, or so we were told. It can be. However, it can also be that – by and large – what teachers actually use as … Continue reading →

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