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Introduction
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The
History of Okinawa and Uechi Ryu Karatedo
Historically the foundations of present
day Uechiryu KarateDo were introduced by an Okinawan named Kanbun Uechi. He, like a few others, studied Chinese boxing
at Foochow in Fukien province, China. Uechiryu KarateDo finds its roots in a Southern
Chinese boxing system known as Pan-gai-nun and relies on in-close fighting and
economy of motion.
However, to truly understand the deeper
roots for the historical foundation of Okinawan Uechiryu KarateDo, one must go
back to the earliest beginnings of the "birth of a united island,"
and then examine how karate became an innate part of the Okinawan culture. Then one will truly understand the roots of Uechiryu
KarateDo.
Oral tradition cites the beginnings of
the 14th century as the period when a karate-like art began to generally be
practiced.[1] Further, it may be concluded that a direct
Chinese influence on Okinawan weaponless combat was a major factor in its
development.
By 1314 A.D. Okinawa was divided into three separate kingdoms; Nanzan to the South, Hokuzan
to the North, and Chuzan in the central part of Okinawa. Although the island was not
united, in 1349, King Satto rose to power in the central kingdom of Chuzan. He established formal relations
with Japan and Korea and trade relations with parts in the southern
seas. But the most significant change
was the establishment of relations with the Chinese Court.[2]
Then, in 1372 under King Satto, the
Ryukyu Dynasty was formally invested by the Chinese Emperor Hungwu-ti, as a
tributary state of China. The tribute
system was based on a relationship with the sovereign nation and a vassal
nation.[3] The vassal nation was expected to make periodic
tribute payments of local goods. In
exchange for the tribute payment. Ryukyu was allowed to engage in trade with China and receive investiture. Investiture was a ceremony which appointed
the King to the Okinawan throne.[4] It was also in 1372 that Chinese Kenpo was
first mentioned in an historical document.
This was the beginnings of a long relationship between Okinawa and China.
When King Satto expressed his allegiance
to the Ming Emperor Hungwu-ti, he not only relegated his domain to tributary
status but also threw open Okinawa's watery doors to greatly intensified
Chinese Cultural influence.[5] After the establishment of trade relations,
the main export goods from Okinawa were goods transshipped through the Okinawan seaport
of Naha. Trade with China was done mostly through the ports of Kwangtung Province and Fukien Province in Central China. The route
between Naha and Foochow in Fukien Province became a route for not only trade but for culture and Martial exchange.[6]
By 1392, Ming Emperor Hungwu-ti, pleased
with the court's relationship with Okinawa, decided to promote
further good relationship by presenting an imperial gift in the form of a large
body of Chinese officials, skilled Chinese merchants, artisans, and monks. Recorded in the year 1392, "thirty-six
families" immigrated from China to Okinawa for a cultural exchange and to help the welfare and
development of Okinawa. This Chinese
immigrant community known as "Kumemura" or "Kume" village
was established near Naha. These
"thirty-six families" came from the Fukien Province on the central coast of China. Kumemura
served as an arrival point for Chinese diplomats and envoys. The people of
the village were made to be responsible for matters of trade and
communication between China and Okinawa. It became a learning
place for the Okinawans. They learned
the language as well as ship building, navigation, techniques of Chinese
administration, and Chinese Kenpo.[7] This intense Chinese cultural influence on Okinawa supports the oral tradition that states that these "thirty-six
families" were largely responsible for the transmission of Martial Arts
throughout the Ryukyu islands.[8]
After the establishment of formal
relations, many Okinawans indeed traveled to China. They
traveled not only for trade but also to study Chinese Kenpo. Therefore, King Satto decided to establish an
Okinawan settlement in Fukien province called RyuKyu-Kan. Its purpose was to house his people and for
visitors to begin their stay when traveling to China. This
settlement was located at the Chinese Capitol of Ch'uan-chou.
In terms of lasting Chinese influence
upon Okinawan karate history, this settlement was extremely important, for not
only did commuting Okinawan citizens bring back to their island artifacts and
customs, but they brought the general belief that all things Chinese were
superior.[9] Over time, the threads of foreign influences
were carefully studied and then woven into the fabric of Okinawan culture. As a result, during the era of King Satto,
Chinese Kenpo was introduced rapidly into Okinawa by the Chinese themselves in the village of Kumemura and also by the Okinawans in the settlement of RyuKyu-Kan who studied
the "art" in China.
In 1429, under the leadership of Sho
Hashi, Okinawa became a unified kingdom and the capitol was moved
to Shuri. Because of Sho-Hashi's exposure to Chinese government
officials and his knowledge of Okinawa's isolated position, he was able to learn a great
deal about improving economic conditions.
The effect of this was extensive trade.[10] The development of Karate is readily apparent
when one realizes that the Okinawans were suddenly having widespread contact
with Arabs, Malaysians, Indonesians, Thais, Japanese, and Chinese who frequently
visited the centers of commerce.[11] It is easy to understand how in the following
centuries Chinese Kenpo (or Ch'uan-fa) inched its way into the Ryukyu's, thus
aiding the establishment of a regular system of unarmed self-defense based
partly on the indigenous Okinawan form of fighting fists. This blending of cultures was eventually
complete over time with firm cultural ties lasting for hundreds of years.
1477 A.D. was the next turning point in
Okinawa's karate development when a new Sho dynasty was established. The very first pronouncement of the new King,
Sho Shin (who reigned from 1477 - 1526), was to ban the carrying of swords by
everyone, noble or peasant. He then ordered
the confiscation of all weapons which were to be locked-up at his castle in
Shuri and made private ownership of arms in large quantities illegal. King Sho Shin's most significant act was to
put a stop to feudalism and require that all members of the nobility (who were
then disarmed) and their families come and live in the royal capitol.[12] The banning of weapons by Sho Shin definitely
spurred further interest in empty handed fighting techniques. Consequently, after the disarmament of the
people, two schools of combat were born.
One, known as the art of "ti" was developed and practiced by
members of the nobility. The other was known
as Ryukyu Kobudo. This latter school
which was developed and practiced by the farmers and fishermen incorporated the
use of simple fishing and agricultural tools as effective weapons of hand-to-hand
combat. Training in both armed and
unarmed fighting techniques was done in utmost secrecy in remote places of
dark.[13]
This was Okinawa's golden age. The kingdom of RyuKyu expanded and prospered. It would
continue until 1609 and was nourished by trade with China, Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, and other Asian countries. Then, in 1609, the Satsuma Clan of Southern
Japan invaded Okinawa from the North and then marched south to the Royal
Capitol of Shuri. This military
expedition ended Okinawa's independence.
Although remaining effectively a semi-independent trading nation and
keeping close ties with China, Okinawa was economically drained by the Satsuma Clan. The economic base was no longer supported by
a lucrative sea trade but returned to agriculture. Okinawa declined not
only in its wealth, but also in its freedoms.
Okinawa's golden age of prosperity was over.
Now, evidence demonstrates that after
1609, "ti" the martial art of Okinawan Royalty and Nobility was practiced
solely by them for self-defense and self-development. It is believed that "ti" which
antedates "tode" was greatly affected historically by the Chinese
settlement at Kumemura in Naha.[14]
With the invasion of the Satsuma Clan in
1609 came a number of prohibitive ordinances, one of which included a further
ban on the import of bladed weapons. The
bitterness that arose from such total subjugation was difficult and clashes
between the two factions began to occur.
In such battles, the Okinawans were forced to use the only
"weapons" they still possessed, which generally amounted to little more
than their bare hands, feet, and farming tools.[15] Seeing that such a disunited resistance was
gaining them little, the various Okinawan Ch'uan-fa groups and "tode"
societies had a series of secret conferences which resulted in their banning
together in 1629 as a united front.[16] With the presence of this united front, as well
as the influence of Kumemura village and RyuKyu-Kan settlement, Okinawa's "tode" further developed among the "shizoku"
class and their descendants. Remember,
stated prior, Okinawan martial arts were reserved solely for the Royalty and
Nobility who resided in and around the Royal Castle at Shuri.
Ryukyu Kobudo was developed by the farmers and fishermen...and both were
done in secrecy.
NOTE: The hierarchy of Okinawan culture in feudal
times was characterized by a definite class structure. At the top of the social structure was
Okinawan Royalty which consisted of the King and members of the royal
family. Next in line were the
"shizoku" or privileged class.
The "anji" or territorial lords made up the "shizoku"
class. Below the shizoku, a gentry class
also existed which was made up of descendants of the king's soldiers, soldiers
or retainers of the anji and others who had gained gentry standing in recognition
of services rendered. The gentry class
was divided by a system of 3 titles.
These titles were Peichin, Satonushi, and Chikudan. Each title had a senior and junior rank. Initially, the commoner or Heimin made up the
lowest social class of Okinawan society.
The heimin were mostly farmers and fishermen.[17]
Now, by 1724, the Okinawan upper (or
privileged) class, "the shizoku" in Shuri had grown so, that they were
permitted to trade, be craftsmen, or farm in the countryside and outlying
islands, taking with them their martial art.
The overworked peasants however, remained in a permanent state of near
serfdom until the RyuKyu
Islands were annexed by the
Post-Restoration government of Japan in 1879, and the RyuKyan King, Sho Tai, was exiled
to Tokyo.[18]
By the 1800's Naha was a comparatively large business center with many
Chinese and Okinawans involved in the Naha-Foochow trade. Such close social and business ties produced
Okinawans like Kanryo Higaonna, Chojun Miyagi, Matsuda Tokusaburo, Kugushiku
Isei, Kinjo Matsu, and Kanbun Uechi who studied in China; Chinese military
attaches like WanShu, Kusanku, and Iwah Anson; Chinese merchants like Gokenki
who lived and taught on Okinawa; as well as Chinese-Okinawans from the village
of Kumemura who studied or taught in China like Kaho Kojo, and Norisato Nakaima.
According to Kanei Uechi, grandmaster
Kanbun Uechi's eldest son: Kanbun's father and mother (Kantoku and Tsuru) were
descendants of Satsuma Samurai[19]
and therefore born into the "shizoku" class. Their ancestors were among those who had been
disenfranchised by the invading Satsuma clan and the Bureaucracy that
followed. Like many others, the Uechi
family was forced to leave the Samurai society close to the castle in
Shuri. Eventually they moved from Shuri
to Izumi on the Motobu peninsula to begin a life as pioneer farmers. They had two boys -- Kanbun and Kanso Uechi.
Being the first son to his parents and
being of the "shizoku" class, his birth was a celebrated event. Kanbun Uechi was born May 5, 1877 in the Ryukyu Domain, Motobu Division, Izumi Village on the Daikon Ridge (Okinawa-Ken, Kunigami-gun,
Motobu-cho, Aza Izumi, Daikon Ridge).
This was a small mountain farming village on the Motobu peninsula in
northern Okinawa.
It was said that he took his intelligence
from his father and his strong body and good nature from his mother. Throughout his childhood he built up his
physique by working in the fields and on the farm at Izumi. His character was one of frugality, hard work
and perseverance, and of social conscience and responsibility.
He
studied some of the martial arts forms available at the time, becoming
proficient with the bo staff. According
to local tradition, the history of the bo staff katas on the Motobu peninsula
is traced back to sometime after the Satsuma invasion of 1609, when for reasons
unknown, many Okinawans of "Shizoku" descent fled from the area to
the Shaolin Temple at Foochow where they stayed for about 10 years, before returning
to Motobu to take up farming. Upon
returning they made up katas and Kumi dances based on the Shaolin techniques
for display at the village festivals.[20] Kanbun Uechi often participated in these demonstrations
for the local festivals. While in his
teens, he saw many skilled instructors of the martial arts in his village (cho)
where they regularly came to perform at the festivals. At these festivals it was common to see
Okinawan traditional dance (Kachashi), Kobudo (weapons), Kon-Jutsu (stick),
Karate (tode), and Kama-no-te (sickles), demonstrated. As presented earlier, Okinawa had long
benefited by rich cultural exchange over the centuries with China.
Kanbun Uechi knew that "tode"
(tote or tuti, literally "Chinese Hand") was becoming increasingly
popular in the middle and south of the island and that many of the renowned
teachers of that art had been to Southern China. These displays aroused Kanbun's interest in
the art of Kenpo and he soon decided that his future lay over seas -- in China. He
deliberated for almost two years with his father before departing to China in March 1897 at the age of nineteen. There was, however, a second reason why Kanbun
wanted to leave Okinawa. This second
reason concerned his desire to avoid being drafted into the Japanese army. By 1896 the Japanese had already been
inducting Okinawan youths into Military service against their will for almost
nineteen years. This was one way Japan attempted to ensure the subservience of the next generation
of these troublesome, headstrong Okinawan people.
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