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Remembering Miyagi Chōjun: A conversation with his grandson on the Chōjunkan project
Okinawa is the island of karate. It may sound like a marketing slogan, but it is simply true. The island is home to hundreds of karate dōjō; every year, countless visitors travel to Japan’s southernmost prefecture to explore the birthplace of karate and kobudō, to train, and to immerse themselves in the history of the Continue reading
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Bringing Funakoshi Gigō’s thoughts to English readers for the first time
Eric Shahan, a highly accomplished translator known for his numerous English editions of classic Japanese martial arts texts—from ninjutsu and jūjutsu treatises to seminal karate works by masters such as Mabuni Kenwa and Motobu Chōki—once again delivers a remarkable contribution to the study of traditional martial arts. With The Fleeting Karate Master: Funakoshi Gigō, his Continue reading
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A remarkable yearbook find: New light on an old photograph
When Yabu Kentsū 屋部 憲通 (1866–1937) returned from his time in North America (1919–1927) in the late 1920s, he was again employed at the Okinawa Shihan Gakkō (Okinawa Normal School) in Shuri, located not far from his home. At that time, he was one of the most senior karate masters in Okinawa and as a Continue reading
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A previously overlooked manuscript (1936)
Handwritten historical sources on karate are exceedingly rare. Whenever one surfaces, it electrifies the karate world—especially the small circle of karate historians. One need only recall the unique book by Kyan Chōtoku (1870–1945), discovered some time ago, translated by Patrick McCarthy, and later made accessible as part of an anthology on the master in 2023. Continue reading
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The physics of karate: A chapter in modern karate history
The study of karate is multifaceted. In addition to its history, sports science, pedagogy, psychology, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, religious studies, media and film studies, researchers have also explored the physics of karate. First studies Scholarly interest in this subject in the Western Hemishpere likely began around the mid-1960s. On July 2, 1966, J. A. Vos Continue reading
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Yamakawa – Ancestral home of karate masters
Yamakawa, a district in Shuri (Okinawa) just a few minutes’ walk from Shuri Castle, was once home to many aristocratic families—the scholar-officials of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. The neighborhood looked much like a traditional Ryūkyūan village, with both small and large houses that reflected the social status of their residents. The homes were wooden and single-storied, Continue reading
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New study explores connections between Korean and Ryūkyūan martial arts
A new study in Martial Arts Studies—a peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to high-quality research on the sociocultural dimensions of martial arts and combat sports—examines historical links between Korea and the Ryūkyū Islands in the development of karate. The study opens by critiquing the traditionalist historiography of taekwondo, grounded in the view positing that Korean martial Continue reading
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The Graham Noble Collection
For martial arts research, private collections are of inestimable value alongside libraries and archives. One such collection is that of Graham Noble. Graham Noble was born in 1949 and became interested in karate and its history in the mid-1960s. Seeing that reliable information on the martial arts, especially karate, was scarce, Graham set about gathering Continue reading
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Kosugi Hōan diary (1922)
The artist Kosugi Hōan 小杉放庵 (born Kosugi Kunitarō, 1881–1964) was one of the first students of Funakoshi Gichin (1868–1957) on the mainland after the latter’s arrival in Tōkyō in 1922. We owe to him the cover design of Funakoshi’s first book, published in November 1922. Kosugi also left us an important account in the June 1930 issue Continue reading
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Correcting a case of mistaken identity
One of the key challenges in research is that one can sometimes follow the wrong path and arrive at incorrect conclusions. In karate historiography, prominent examples include the once-common theory that a weapons ban in Ryūkyū was the reason for the development of karate, and a group photo in which Itosu Ankō 糸洲安恒 (1831–1915) was Continue reading
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Investigations into the history of karate 