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Category Archives: Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective
Kobudo, entertainment art, or both?
It is sometimes hard to distinguish if an old photo or a demonstration on film is actually a martial art or something else. Like this, there was a question in social media about a number of sketches from the 19th … Continue reading
Posted in Comparative Analyses, kobudo, kumibo, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective
Tagged hatagashira, Ishigaki, Kumite, naginata, shitaku, spear, staff, tug-of-war, yaeyama
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The costumes of karate – dogi, pants, or khaki
On March 5, 1898, Imperial Decree No. 36 promulgated the Ordinance of the Okinawa Garrison Headquarter. The headquarter functioned solely as a conscription office and no soldiers were deployed on Okinawa itself. On April 12, five officials assumed office under … Continue reading
Posted in Okinawa no Kokoro, Okinawa Peace Theory, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective, UNESCO Karate
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About Ryūkyū / Okinawa Kobudō / Kobujutsu / Bugei / Bujutsu etc.pp., or in short: Have a salad!
Where does the word kobudō in relation to Okinawa or Ryūkyū originate from? Ryūkyū Kobudō is distinguished from Nihon Kobudō, but when was it defined and classified as a composite word and category of Japanese budō? First of all, kobudō … Continue reading
Posted in Comparative Analyses, kobudo, Matayoshi Kobudo, Postwar Okinawa Karate, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Terminology, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective
Tagged Nihon Kobudo, Okinawa Kobudo, Okinawa Kobujutsu, Ryukyu Kobudo, Ryukyu Kobujutsu
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Periodization issues in budō
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
Posted in Okinawa Peace Theory, Postwar Okinawa Karate, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Terminology, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective
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The story of “Maezato no Nunchaku Dai” and “Akamine no Nunchaku”
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
Posted in kobudo, New Developments, Postwar Okinawa Karate, Terminology, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective
Tagged Akamine no Nunchaku, Maezato no Nunchaku, Maezato no Nunchaku Dai
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The karate of the “Pechin Class”
A colleague just argued that “karate” came from the Pēchin class of Okinawa. I think this is a oversimplification, and it is also one of those stories based on guesswork and premature conclusions. According to censuses of 1873 and 1880 … Continue reading
Posted in Okinawa Peace Theory, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective
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Maintaining the Unaltered Technique
In today’s Okinawa Times is an article on Mr. Nakazato Takeshi, 2nd generation Sōke of Shōrinji-ryū and Chairman of Zen Okinawa Shōrinji-ryū Karatedo Kyōkai. I would like to shortly share some parts of it. As for the context, the founder … Continue reading
Posted in New Developments, Postwar Okinawa Karate, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective, Translations
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Jiganemaru @50th anniversary of the return of Okinawa
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the return of Okinawa, the special exhibition “Ryukyu”, which reveals the history and culture of Ryukyu with more than 700 exhibit items, has opened at the Tokyo National Museum. The exhibition runs from May … Continue reading
Posted in Comparative Analyses, Equipment, Okinawa Peace Theory, Terminology, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective
Tagged Jiganemaru
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Sai, Tinbe and the “Expedition to the Southern Islands” 1893
As previously mentioned, in 2021, a list of “100 Footprints of Modern Karate” was published in the Okinawa Times. I have already written about Footprint No. 1 and Footprint No. 2 and today will turn to Footprint No. 3. Footprint … Continue reading
Posted in Comparative Analyses, Equipment, Fundstücke, kobudo, New Developments, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Terminology, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective, Unknown Ryukyu
Tagged Expedition to the Southern Islands, Funakoshi Gichin, Inoue Kaoru, Nanto Tanken, poll tax, Preservation of Old Customs, sai, Saijutsu, Sasamori Gisuke, Tashiro Antei, Tinbe, Yanagita Kunio
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Tode, Karate in the Tafaku 1867
Yesterday I wrote about the written notation of tōde 唐手 as found in the play Nizan Waboku (The Reconciliation of Nanzan and Hokuzan) in 1867 and 1891. While it used the same original notation as karate / tōde, it turned … Continue reading
Posted in Comparative Analyses, kobudo, Misc, New Developments, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Terminology, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective, Unknown Ryukyu
Tagged 10 Items of Bugei, Nizan Waboku, Ochaya Udun, Shimabukuro Zenpatsu, Tāfākū, Tafaku, uchaya udun, 唐手, 打花鼓
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