Category Archives: Terminology

Kobudo kata list – then and now

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Andreas Quast

There has always been some confusion as to why the Taira-Inoue lineage of Kobudo practices more kata than the Taira-Akamine lineage, this even more since a comprehensive kata list written by Akamine Eisuke is found hanging at the Shimbukan that … Continue reading →

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Sagurite. For real.

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Andreas Quast

There was a recent post on the Facebook group “Karate Nerds,” a really good and diverse group with an open approach to communication. The post referred to a photo with a short text description taken from a translation of the … Continue reading →

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Arakaki Ankichi’s Hanging Scroll of a Thunder God

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Andreas Quast

In 1928, at the request of Dr. Iha Magobei, who owned a hospital in Chatan’s Yara Village, Ankichi painted a hanging scroll depicting a god of thunder and composed a poem for it while at a party near Murochi. This … Continue reading →

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Chōun no Kon, or Shōun no Bo?

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Andreas Quast

There was a discussion on social media about the spelling of a kata. In the Taira lineage, the kata is generally known as Chōun no Kon. However, in a bilangual work of 1987, there is the description of “Chōun no … Continue reading →

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Online exhibition: Shihan certificates in Okinawa

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Andreas Quast

Recently, there was a social media discussion about the difference between sensei and shihan. Both sensei and shihan mean teacher, but while sensei is used extensively in general, shihan is an older term used particularly in the world of budō and other traditional arts such as calligraphy, flower arranging, … Continue reading →

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Shingitai – Mind | Technique | Body (1)

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Andreas Quast

Abstract: This article provides an overview of the lexical meaning, subject areas and chronology of usage, as well as the terminological origin of the term shingitai. Research method: For bibliographic queries, I used the National Diet Library of Japan (one … Continue reading →

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High-handed reasoning for one’s own convenience

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Andreas Quast

Today I looked into the consept of Jū yoku gō o seisu, that is, “Skilled softness controls toughness.” It is a concept handed down from old Japanese jūjutsu. It is an expression that means that flexibility can win over firmness, … Continue reading →

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About Ryūkyū / Okinawa Kobudō / Kobujutsu / Bugei / Bujutsu etc.pp., or in short: Have a salad!

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Andreas Quast

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 →

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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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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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