There has been some uncertainty as regards Nagamine Sensei’s exact school years. According to this photo here (and also this), Nagamine Shōshin graduated from Tomari Elementary School in 1920. At that time, 6 years was the regular term for elementary school. In other words, Nagamine Shōshin has entered Tomari Elementary School in 1914.
Accordingly, Nagamine was in third grade when 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, so there is no doubt. The karate perfomers were boys from Tomari Elementary School, among them young Nagamine Shōshin, who reminisced:
“When I was in the third grade of Tomari Elementary School, the Naha Ward Elementary Schools Joint Athletic Meet was held at Onoyama Park. At that time, Gichin Sensei was teaching at Tomari Elementary School and we schoolboys of 3rd grade and up were taught “Naihanchi” and “Pinan” and had a martial arts group performance with more than 200 people. I remember it as if it was yesterday.
Of course, “Gichin Sensei” refers to no less than Funakoshi Gichin, who served as an elementary school teacher for many years.
Nagamine Shoshin 1979 
- Photo: Graduation from Tomari Elementary School in 1920
- Nagamine Shoshin (front row, third from left)
- Date of photo: November 28, 1979
- At Oto Hime Restaurant in Sakurazaka
- Commemorative photo of the award winner
- Recorded: Andreas Quast, May 12, 2009.
- Recorded at Location: Kōdōkan Nagamine Dōjō, headquarter of Sekai Matsubayashi-ryū Karate-dō Renmei. Naha-shi Kumoji, Okinawa Prefecture.
© 2022, Andreas Quast. All rights reserved.