In comparative analysis of techniques, there are countless similarities between the movements of Okinawan karate kata and the techniques used in historical European martial arts. This example here is just one of a total 130 fighting techniques handed down by Johann Georg Pascha, published in 1663. The description to the illustration is as follows:
“When the opponent grabs you by the upper arms with both his hands, then press your left hand into your left side and push his hands away with your left elbow (see picture). Push his hands away with your right elbow in the same way.”
In Okinawa karate, this technique can be easily recognized as a possible application for techniques from Pinan Sandan and Chinto, and these kata even have follow up techniques. Can you think of any other examples?
While such fighting methods are immortalized in so-called “wrestling books,” they were not “wrestling” in the modern sense (Greco-Roman), but rather fighting books in a broader sense, often in conjunction with weapons. In this context, therefore, “wrestling” refers to “unarmed combat.”
The title of the book, interpreted in modern language, is “Complete book of unarmed combat, instructing how to correctly attack the adversary, how to disengage from grips and holds etc., how to parry blows, and how to train the various techniques and counters.”
In my previous article I presented a chapter from Kinjo Hiroshi’s last book. In it he describes “The Four Outer Forms of Postures Discovered by Matsumura.” These four outer forms of postures simply describe how two opponents can face each other, that is, the “positions of two people relative to each other.”
(1) A: right foot forward / B: right foot forward
(2) A: right foot forward / B: left foot forward
(3) A: left foot forward / B: right foot forward
(4) A: left foot forward / B: left foot forward
In all these scenarios, B can attack – for instance – with a right chūdan-zuki, that is, a total of 4 combinations of posture and attack. Adding a left chūdan-zuki, it becomes a total of 8 combinations of posture and attack. Adding right and left jōdan-zuki, the total becomes 16 combinations of posture and attack. Moreover, if using the same defensive techniques for all these 16 there, there must also be sixteen defensive techniques corresponding to this.
Considering the large amount of attacking and defensive techniques known in karate, it is easy to understand that a myriad of combinations is possible, which makes karate not only extremely versatile, but als inscrutable. In order to calculate the number of possibilities, advanced knowledge of mathematics would be necessary, for example combinatorics. This would also show how futile it would be to try to figure all possible combinations. It would also show that no one entity can know and train all those possible combinations.
In his book, Kinjo mentions that he has heard that “the four outer forms of postures are even found in foreign boxing textbooks, “but that he hasn’t confirmed it himself.” So I asked if there are martial arts that discovered similar concepts. Of course, this is a rethorical question. Here is an example that has the four basic vis-a-vis postures.It is from a book by Johann Georg Pascha, published in 1663, called “Complete book of [unarmed] fighting, instructing how to properly attack the adversary, how to disengage, how to parry blows, and how to perform various exercises and counterattacks.”
While the illustration lack artistic expression, they are examples of how other martial arts used the various combinations in practicing techniques.
(1) A: right posture, B, right foot forward
(2) A: right posture, B, left foot forward
(3) A: left posture, B, right foot forward
(4) A: left posture, B, left foot forward
Let me just add that this is just an example. Any of the old manuals will reveal that this idea was well known and understood long ago. As an example, the Wallerstein Codex of 1464/5 clearly describes not only the different stances taken relative to each to each other, but also that any technique can be done “on both sides,” meaning right and left.
The question remains whether this theory is fully practical, and if it is historical, if it is considered a standalone discovery of Okinawa, or of Shuri, and if it was a keypoint of Matsumura’s old-style Shurite and so on. In any case, Kinjo Sensei’s doubts that the same practical considerations as Matsumura’s were not made in boxing (before or after Queensburry), or in a number of other types of combat under various names around the world, can easily be dispelled by looking at the existing sources.
(Note: The following is a partly abridged translation of a chapter from Kinjo Hiroshi’s last book. It is presented here for discussion und research purposes for those with ties to Okinawa Karate, particularly those of the Shurite genus.)
The Four Outer Forms of Postures Discovered by Matsumura
It seems that the four outer forms of postures are even found in foreign boxing textbooks. This is just what I’ve heard but haven’t confirmed myself. There is no way to know when the four postures became established in boxing. However, it is difficult to imagine they were established before Matsumura.
I believe that the four postures were not just suddenly discovered one day. I believe that reaching the state of the four postures is the result of a lifelong commitment to “achieving wisdom” (kakubutsu chichi, to deepen one’s observation and speculation about specific things). […]
Think of kenpō as a combat sport. In combat sports, winning is the priority. To win, it is necessary to be faster than your opponent, so it is essential to have superiority of speed (hands come before feet). However, speed alone is not enough to win. You must be able to respond to all of your opponent’s postures.
Unless you practice by changing your posture, speed alone will not be effective. After discovering the four postures, Matsumura realized that the four postures were not effective unless they were combined with movement. Training to capture moving objects activates the four postures. This will give you the wit to know how to take the initiative, as well as to formulate logical strategies and tactics.
The Meaning of “Posture” (kamae)
The word “posture” (kamae) has many meanings. Here, I would like you to understand it in the narrower sense of “an offensive or defensive posture.” Generally, it is said that there are various postures (kamae) used for karate. However, I think that the fundamentals lie in the four simple outer forms of postures (kamae) discovered by Matsumura. […]
(Translator’s note: In all photos, A is on the left, and B is on the right.)
Stand a little higher, just as shown in illustration 1. This is the stance of Pinan created by Itosu Ankō. As shown in illustration 1, if the right foot is in front, it becomes “right Pinan-dachi.”
In illustration 2, both A and B are in “right Pinan-dachi with a right two-handed posture.” If you stand in the opposite fashion, it becomes “left Pinan-dachi with a left two-handed posture.”
For a single person, there are only two basic forms of stances, i.e., left, and right. However, if two people team up, the number will double to four.
The traditional old kata often start from the right posture. This is probably to protect the important heart.
For convenience, I will number the four outer forms of postures. The first form of right stance versus right stance will be the First Outer Form of Postures.
1) First Outer Form of Postures
As shown in illustration 2, A is in right Pinan-dachi, with right two-handed posture, and B is also in right Pinan-dachi with right two-handed posture. Both are in the same posture.
Illustration 2: The First Outer Forms of Postures (plus footprints)
2) Second Outer Form of Postures
As shown in illustration 3, A is the same as in the First Outer Form of Postures, i.e., right Pinan-dachi with right two-handed posture. B is in the left Pinan-dachi with left two-handed posture.
Illustration 3: Second Outer Forms of Postures (plus footprints)
3) Third Outer Form of Postures
As shown in illustration 4, A is in left Pinan-dachi, with left two-handed posture. B is in right Pinan-dachi, with right two-handed posture. Note that in this form and the positions of A and B are opposite to each other than in the Second Outer Form of Postures.
Illustration 4: The Third Outer Forms of Postures (plus footprints)
4) Fourth Outer Form of Postures
As shown in illustration 5, A is in left Pinan-dachi, with left two-handed posture. B is also in left Pinan-dachi with left two-handed posture.
The posture is second outer form on the left and right when used alone, and the Fourth Outer Form of Postures when assuming an opponent.
Illustration 5: The Fourth Outer Forms of Postures (plus footprints)
Do you understand? Maybe because it is so straightforward and simple, when I ask people to explain it, I often see them confused and unable to explain it clearly and in an orderly manner, maybe because the four postures are so similar.
The four outer forms of postures are not just four models according to or beyond the kata. From the four postures, the mathematical logic can be derived that one technique is developed into four techniques. For example, if we consider a right-hand thrusting technique, if we apply it to the four outer forms of postures, when viewed from B’s side, four kinds of thrusts are created as follows.
(1) A: right posture / B: right chūdan-zuki, right foot forward
(2) A: right posture / B: right chūdan-zuki, left foot forward
(3) A: left posture / B: right chūdan-zuki, right foot forward
(4) A: left posture / B: right chūdan-zuki, left foot forward
If you add a left chūdan-zuki, it will become a total of eight chūdan-zuki (four with the right, and four with the left fist). If you then add left and right jōdan-zuki, the total number doubles to sixteen. If this is the case, then there must also be sixteen defensive techniques corresponding to this.
If we can understand the trend of development of the four postures as mentioned above, I believe that a new way of teaching methods opens for [karate as] a combat sport.
Translator’s Addendum
I have a few questions in relation to this text.
How did Kinjo Hiroshi know that Matsumura discovered “Four Outer Form of Postures”?
Why were these not handed anywhere else in in Okinawa?
Did Kinjo Hiroshi, who came from a school karate background, change his few on karate over time?
Are there other martial arts that discovered similar concepts?
There is a interesting detail to Nagamine Shōshin sensei‘s Naihanchi, which has rarely been adressed, if ever. Namely, each step in this kata is performed with the leg raise referred to as nami-gashi (lit. returning wave). This continuous nami-gashi is performed in each of Naihanchi Shodan, Nidan, and Sandan and seems to be a unique feature of Matsubayashi-ryū when compared to the Kobayashi-ryūNaihanchi of Itosu-Chibana lineage.
There are also other schools who have what they call a Tomari Nahanchi, but I don’t know their technical details and personal traditions. Looking at old videos, though, they also perform a continuous nami-gaeshi, such as seen in the Matsumora-ryū of Yara Chōi. Yara was a disciple of Kuba Chōjin, which happened to be a teacher of Nagamine as well, and this Yara also served as an instructor at the Nagamine dōjō in the 1950s.
Naihanchi Shodan of Matsubayashi-ryū
Nagamine Shōshin sensei wrote about the when and how certain kata of Tomari were handed down (Note 1).
Matsumora Kōsaku, also known as “Bushi Matsumora of Tomari,” was born on March 18, 1829, in the village of Tomari, as the eldest son of Matsumora Kōten of the Yō clan, which descended from the 1st Dynasty of the Royal Shō Clan. His baby birth cry was heard at their mansion at Zuikeizan [maybe an old location that is now lost], which was located to the west of Tomari Village School. His childhood name was Tarukane and his Chinese-style name was Yō Ikan.
Although he was of short height, he had broad shoulders, a large chest, and a sturdy physique. At that time, Tomari Village was an administrative area separated from Shuri, but it was a trading port for the royal government in Shuri, and so it shared the history and fate of the royal government of Ryūkyū. Therefore, people from Tomari were generally conservative, and experts in fields such as Chinese characters, performing arts, music, and martial arts also appeared one after the other.
Naturally, while young boy Tarukane studied the “Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism” at Tomari Village School, as a member of the samurē class, he also devoted himself to the way of martial arts and cultivated the typical ideology of a young conservative man from Tomari.
He received serious karate instruction from masters Uku Karyū and Teruya Kishin, both from Tomari. First, he worked with Master Uku in his garden for three years, where he trained Naihanchi of Tomari-te and thoroughly strengthened his legs and hips.
Next, under Master Teruya, he studied the master’s specialties of Passai and Wanshū for more than three years and was finally able to master the majority of Tomari-te.
Was this the earliest reference to the masters Uku Karyū and Teruya Kishin and to Naihanchi, Passaiand Wanshū as kata handed down in Tomari?
Actually, Nagamine published the same details including about “Naihanchi of Tomari-te” already seven years earlier, in December 1979 (Note 2).
December 1979
Again nine years earlier, Nagamine Shōshin provided a biography of Matsumora Kōsaku for a “Brief Biography of Warrior Matsumora Kōsaku – Ancestor of Tomari-te Karate,” which was published by Matsumora Kōshō, probably a descendant of “Warrior Matsumora.” (Note 3)
Moreover, in his personal notebook, which includes data and records about interviews with famous martial artists and other research, Nagamine collected some of his research on “venerable Matsumora Kōsaku of the Yō-clan.” This is where he probably first wrote down by hand his research that Matsumora Kōsaku was born on 18 March 1829 in Tomari Village as the oldest son of Matsumora Kōten, that his childhood name was Tarugani, and that his Chinese-style name Yō Ikan. From other data such as the names of his three daughters and two sons, as well as the fact that he mentions that “Matsumora Kōsaku’s mortuary tablet was handed over to Matsumora Kōban and further to Matsumora Kōmei of Onna Village,” and that he provides the address of the then-current head of family in Gushikawa Village Agena 203, who ran a taxi company at the time, there can be little doubt that Nagamine spared no effort to deeply research the genealogy of Matsumora and interview the family members. Therefore, information such as the following are most reliable (Note 4):
Matsumora Kōsaku died on November 7, 1898. He was 70 years old. The founder and 1st generation of the Yō-clan from Tomari was Kochinda Pēchin Kōchō, a grandson of King Shō Toku, the 7. King of the 1st Dynasty of the Royal Shō-clan. Kōsaku’s father Kōten was the 11th generation of this family, and Kōsaku himself was the 12th generation.
Is Naihanchi performed with continuous nami-gaeshi an antique method of Tomari-te? This question cannot be answered for various reasons. For instance, various versions of Naihanchi were probably used in various regions, and mixed over time. More recently, “Tomari” became sort of a buzzword used inflationary and it is difficult to confirm or refute any of these. This is why it is interesting and important to study seeming tiny details in the kata.
Besides his lifelong practice and teaching efforts, it can be said that Nagamine Shōshin’s study, records, interviews, and genealogical study truly constituted the “whisteling arrow of research” into the study of Okinawa Karate.
Biblio
Note 1: Nagamine Shōshin: Biographies of Okinawa Karate and Sumō Masters – Based on Historical Facts and Oral Traditions (Shijitsu to kuden ni yoru Okinawa karate sumō meijin-den). 1986, pp. 57-58.
Note 2: Nagamine Shōshin: Biographies of Okinawan Martial Artists of Karate – Matsumora Kōsaku (1) (Okinawa no Karate Bujin-den – Matsumora Kōsaku (1))
Note 3: Matsumora Kōshō: Brief Biography of Warrior Matsumora Kōsaku – Ancestor of Tomari-te Karate (Bushi Matsumora Kōsaku Ryakuden: Karate (Tomari-te) Chūkō no So). Naha 1970.
Note 4: Handwritten Records by Nagamine Shōshin. Copy made by the author.
Comparatively recent, on March 29, 2005, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly declared October 25th as “Karate Day.” The date was chosen in reference to October 25, 1936, when several leading karate practitioners of the era officially decided on the notation Karate 空手 (empty hand) to replace the older notation of Karate 唐手 (Chinese martial arts skill).
These two events are the result of the interests of various influential stakeholders from fields such as politics, prefectural administration, business associations, media, lobby groups, education, military, etc., and of course the karate masters themselves. It is the premise of an undifferentiated continuum, a logical fallacy of the kind “If the premise is true, then the conclusion must be true.”
In postwar Okinawan self-historiography, October 25, 1936, is treated like any other date. In fact, “Okinawa” as a whole fails to recognize that the name change coincided with the era of Japan’s military and colonial expansion in Asia and that Okinawa was a proactive part of it since the late 19th century. Whether the karate masters were aware of this or not: Karate 唐手 written by using the character kara 唐 meaning China became untenable due to the situation of the expanding Fifteen Year War, meaning the timeframe from the Mukden Incident in Manchuria in 1931 through the end of World War II in 1945. By changing the name within this situation, the karate masters complied with the wishes of the various, influential stakeholders of the era, without being willing or able to classify their deed contextually or historically.
In the resolution on the declaration of Karate Day in 2005, it is the collective silence of all stakeholders in and outside of the prefecture that allows “Okinawa” to euphemistically define karate as a “martial arts of peace based on the magnificent philosophical principle of ‘no first attack in karate’ and the fundamental ideal of cherishing life as ‘life is the treasure’.” While sympathetic and positive, this is straightforward marketing speech, a selling point using selective, fragmentary indication of ingredients.
Don’t get me wrong, Karate is a great exercise and self-protection, Japan is a great country and Okinawa is a super vibrant and interesting place with great history and culture. My point is simply, to historically, contentually, and contextually position Karate in a larger whole, including its dark ages, the above issue would need to be taken into account as part of the overall considerations. However, when comparing Okinawa Karate’s current popular self-theory as a tripod, since the issue would chop off one of its modern legs (i.e., international dojo business, tourism, UNESCO intangible cultural heritage inclusion etc. pp.), there is little hope that it will ever be discussed and narrated by stakeholders of Okinawa Karate themselves. This is all the more so because Okinawa Karate stakeholders are positioning themselves more and more as an elite group and are deliberately taking a protectionist approach. In other words, the sovereignty of interpretation of Okinawa Karate is placed solely in the hands of its own stakeholders who never fall short of excuses for anything that might contrast their polito-economic interests.
Loosely related to postwar karate in that it shares its dimension as an economic policy measure, October 17, 1978, was designated “Okinawa Soba Day.” Let me tell you this about the importance of regional particularities for Okinawans: My Sensei would ask me, “Do you like Okinawa soba?” If I said yes, he would shake my hand, proudly saying “You are my son!”
Okinawa soba is one of Okinawa’s most representative dishes made from wheat flour, table salt, and brine. Unlike Japanese soba, it does not use buckwheat flour, so in terms of its recipe it is classified as Chinese noodle soup (chūka men, chūka soba, shina soba). In Japan, the Chinese noodle soup was adopted in the 19th century from China and then adapted and further developed and became known as rāmen.
The history of Okinawa soba began only in the earlier 1900s when Chinese noodle soup was served at a restaurant run by a Chinese person (tōjin 唐人) in Uenokura in Tsuji, Naha City. At that time, it was simply called “soba” (buckwheat noodles) or “shina soba” (Chinese buckwheat noodles). In 1916, the Chief of the Naha Police Station at the time instructed the name to be changed to “ryūkyū soba” (Ryūkyū buckwheat noodles), but this change did not take root.
It was only after the war that a noodle soup came to be commonly called “Okinawa soba” (Okinawa buckwheat noodles). While this soup did not use proper buckwheat noodles, modern product marketing drew a continuum to the Chinese noodle soup served at the Tsuji restaurant since the earlier 1900s, and adopted the name “soba.” This resulted in a drawback for the Okinawan noodle soup industry, when in 1976, the Japan Fair Trade Commission ruled that “Okinawa soba” must not be labeled as “soba” since it did not contain 30% or more of buckwheat flour, which was a requirement according to the Fair Competition and Trade Code.
In response, the Okinawa Noodle Association campaigned to preserve “soba” as a local name. As a result, on October 17, 1978, the Japan Fair Trade Commission has officially approved the trademark registration of “Authentic Okinawa Soba” with attributes such as being a local specialty, a famous product, and authentic Okinawan, etc. specified in the attached table of the “Fair Competition Code and Enforcement Regulations Concerning the Labeling of Raw Noodles.”
To commemorate this day, in 1997, the Okinawa Noodle Association designated October 17th as “Okinawa Soba Day.”
As can be seen, just as in case of karate, without considering contentual, contextual, and historical discontinuation and tectonic societal shifts, although it wasn’t soba at all, stakeholders such as the Okinawa Noodle Association succeeded in creating, establishing, and perpetuating their very own kind noodle soup as an authentic Okinawan product in the late 1970s, and established October 17th as “Okinawa Soba Day” in 1997.
It can therefore be said, that “Okinawan Soba” came into being years after Greek immigrant Sam Panopoulos created the Pizza Hawaii in Canada in 1962.
Also, while there was always noodle soup, the story of the Okinawan noodle soup in particular is a mirror of Okinawan society and can be compared to the creation of Japanese as well as Okinawan karate, large chunks of the contents of which were likewise rather recent, postwar inventions based on older recipes, and which include embedding the product in the larger cultural and geographical frame of Japan and Okinawa, respectively.
A new playlist on my channel sports “Kihon created from Kata.” There I present various ideas and suggestions of how to use techniques and combinations from kata as kihon routines.
The second installment features combos from Shiromatsu no Kon, which I first learned first-hand more than 20 years ago. There are some shorties here, and here, but you can watch the longer videos below.
A new playlist on my channel sports “Kihon created from Kata.” There I present various ideas and suggestions of how to use techniques and combinations from kata as kihon routines.
The first installment features combos from Shushi no Kon Sho, Dai, and Koryu. There are some shorties here, here, and here, but you can watch the longer videos below.
When looking at old footage, or if you have practical experience, you know there are several variations in the performance and characteristics of the same movement in different schools. Also, from written descriptions, there are different names used by different schools for the same technique in the same kata. From this it is easy to understand that different schools had a different tactical understanding and practical interpretation of the techniques, and also a different analytical capacity.
The technique in question is well known in every Okinawan kobudo school.
Taira Shinken himself simply called it gedan-uke (deflection on the lower level).
Inoue Motokatsu called it hikkake (hanging block, from left to right), harai-uke (sweep deflection, from right to left), and also sometimes mamori (defense) without further determination and which can be like hikkake, like harai-uke, or straight foward on the center line.
Akamine called it gedan-barai (lower level sweep).
Matayoshi Kobudō – I was told – calles it gedan harai-uke [lower level sweep deflection]).
I actually don’t know the names used in in Kongo-ryu of Sakagami, in Ryōkonkai of Iha, and in Yamanni-ryū, but I guess they might be slightly different as well.
Also, in the practical interpretation, in Okinawa, you often see a straight confrontation, that is, it almost all happens on one straight line back and forth. This is reminiscent of the kumibo of the various theatrical village bojutsu. Did you know that the very term “kumibo” comes from theatrical village bojutsu? Even though kobudo dojo interpret things in a “martial sense,” this old characteristical performance on one-line coming from village bojutsu was obviously adopted by kobudo dojo. Before the war, it must have been almost the only way ever practiced. In short, and while everybody takes great care to talk about it a lot, there is little to no real tai-sabaki, tenshin, etc, but simple attack, block (!!!), counter etc. This of course shows the limits of the tactical analysis of the kata. It seems it maintains and continues the old interpretation of uke as a “block,” instead of a “deflection.”
In the bōjutsu tradition of Taira Shinken, we find a rarely seen pole weapon: the Kushaku-bō or 9-foot-staff. I have laid out all primary sources known to me before, here and here.
To finalize the matter, and as another instance of proof that “personal tradition” is not always “exact personal tradition,” today I present a video of Taira performing the 9-foot-staff. Taira was a great inventor of kobudo in the tradition of the 1950s and 60s and rooted his creations by referencing them to Okinawan history, culture, and regional characteristics.
I would like to state clearly that none of Taira’s successors or their repesentatives were involved in or added anything to this 3 article series.
Okinawan peace theory is a difficult topic, most of all for Okinawans themselves. Often, the era of the 15 Years War and Okinawan participation in “the system” is categorically marginalized, denied, and not addressed. The reasons for this are varied, and the attempted UNESCO inclusion is one of these reason. However, since I am not Okinawan, I can give you a tiny glimpse of this difficult topic.
When looking at how and why Okinawa karate and kobudo was spread to the masses, we might get an idea from school teacher Chibana Koreaki from Kunigami Village, who said as follows in 1930:
“From the viewpoint of improving the efficiency during war and in daily life, the citizens of Okinawa Prefecture are a race born with the serious mission to rise to the first line of battle of national defense.”
Among the concrete incentives to achieve this objective, Chibana proposed to
“Promote private karate and bōjutsu.”
“Private karate and bōjutsu” means outside of the school system. Looking at the state of public physical education since the early 1930s, the purpose of sports promotion in Okinawa was to improve the physical strength of the citizens of the prefecture, which was linked to national defense in the event of war.
The era of war with China without declaration began with the Manchurian Incident (1931) and until 1945, sports became a means for national defense. In July 1937, the battlefield expanded to the Second Sino-Japanese War, continuing into the Pacific War (1941-1945). The year 1937 was also the time of the “National Spiritual General Mobilization Movement,” which turned sports into a training for national defense and the battlefield. In December 1937, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture issued a notice to all local governments, schools, and physical education groups, about “Matters concerning the implementation of the physical education movement on occasion of the National Spiritual General Mobilization Movement.” In the preamble it says,
“The physical education movement aims to improve the citizens’ ambitions by a holistic toughening (tanren) of mind and body, to cultivate the spirit of the people, and to equip them with a healthy and capable disposition that satisfies the nation’s mission.
The ideology of tanren might be a survival of the spiritualistic total war system that survived until today, although in a different context. Such ideas were established much earlier, namely in the 1910s by Tanaka Gichi, who designed “physical and spiritual education” for the young men’s corps (seinenkai) all over Japan, which thrived under member of the Imperial Reserve all over rural Okinawa. This mind and body concept can be likened to tanren kata (toughening kata), to shingitai (mind, technique, and physical strength), shintai (mind and body), spirit (seishin), etc. These things as seen in today’s Okinawa karate kobudō might well be “unpurged survivals of an Imperial ideology.”
Everyone in Okinawa was affected, and karate masters willingly participated in the preparation of the youngsters, many of which were send to Southeast Asia and elsewhere as “colonizers.” In his “Memories of Karate,” which was hidden from the public for a long time, Okinawan karate master Kyan Chotoku wrote as follows.
“Meanwhile, unfolding from the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) to the Greater East Asian War (1941–1945), the divine spiritual powers of officers and men of the Imperial Japanese Army suddenly appear in the sky and at sea and scatter our huge Caucasian enemies like one unified body. The fruits of battle are based on the glorious virtues of the Emperor, and our officers and men have enhanced the deepest secrets of Bushidō – the Way of the Warrior. Meanwhile, it is unbearable for this old man, to sit here, like an old tree, comfortably next to a charcoal brazier.”
