The History Behind Matsumura Shaolin Kenpo
The information contained on this site has been extracted from many sources and every effort has been made to ensure it’s accuracy and to credit the source of these facts.
To learn about the origins of our Karate-do (empty hand way) you must
first obtain a better understanding about the history of the people of
Okinawa and the environment in which they lived.
Okinawa is the main island of the Ryukyu (Rhee-you-cue) Archipelago.
This chain of over one hundred islands extends from southern Japan to
Taiwan. Okinawa, the birthplace of modern karate, is the largest and
most culturally influential of these islands.
It is difficult to be precise about the origin of the Ryukyu.
The first documentation to specifically mention the name Ryukyu
occurs in Chinese records during the Sui Dynasty (581-618 A.D.)1.
There are also records to indicate that Japan made contact with the
Ryukyu in 698 A.D. and as a result it is reported that men from these
islands presented tribute at the Japanese court.
There are no further records available, outside of archaeological evidence, to describe the activities of the Ryukyu until the Thirteenth Century. It is during this time that, under the rule of the first king of Ryukyu, King Shunten, the island bustled with lords struggling for power. It was in the fourteenth century that Okinawa was divided into three kingdoms: Nanzan to the South; Hokuzan to the North; and Chuzan in the Center. It is a direct result of this division that Okinawan Martial Arts development changed. The most influential change was the establishment of relations with China. As a result of this relationship, Okinawan trade flourished with many countries including China, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaya, Siam and Champa (Siam).
The three kingdoms were reunited under the rule of King Hashi by 1429. As a result, the Chinese emperor bestowed upon Hashi the name of Sho and created the title of King of Ryukyu. Thus, King Sho Hashi was the beginning of the Sho Dynasty. It is during the reign of King Sho Shin that the first ban of private ownership and use of arms for the distinct purpose of eliminating the possibility of revolt of his authority and prevent armed conflict from disputes in the Shuri Court.
The turn of the Seventeenth Century marked the last recorded time of
independence for Okinawa. On April
5, 1609, after a battle with Lord Shimazu of the Satsuma Clan and his samari
from Japan, Okinawa suffered a swift defeat.
The Okinawan Government surrendered
and the samurai warriors of the
Satsuma occupied Shuri castle. It
wasn’t until 1879 all the Ryukyu islands were completely annexed to Japan.
Under Japans rule, the Ryukyu were forced to maintain their
relationship with China so that their trading would continue.
To secure their domination, Japan expanded the ban on arms to include
the Shuri Government swordsmith and the importation of any type of weapon.
As a result of these restriction, and their strict enforcement, the
development of Okinawa empty hand martial arts and the incorporation of farm
implements as weapons was forced into secrecy.
Training was performed at odd hours and in remote locations to avoid
detection.
Japan controlled Okinawa until 1945, when, during WWII, Okinawan Martial Arts suffered a devastating loss. It is reported that during the Naval bombing and Marine invasion of Okinawa, in an effort to overthrow Japan and gain control of this strategic island, a staggering number of karate masters and over 42,000 civilians died. It is due to the U.S. soldiers exposure to the surviving karate masters in the years following the War that Okinawan Karate came to the United States and found a new and eager following.
The original form of Okinawan martial arts is called te, which in
it’s literal translation means hand.
This fighting form was altered to incorporate Chinese Kempo (“Way of
the Fist”) and other forms of martial arts from Asian Countries they traded
with. The Shaolin
Kempo fighting
style of China, introduced to Okinawa during the early Fifteenth century
according to Chinese records, has had the greatest influence on the
development of Okinawan martial arts.2
The introduction of Chinese kempo was made possible by Chinese
immigration to Okinawan settlements in the fourteenth century to help
further develop Okinawa. It was also
introduced by techniques learned by Okinawan traders during their trading
missions with China which allows dissemination of these techniques to lower
classes of society. This theory also
proves true for other Asian Countries Okinawa traded with.
An icon in the history of Okinawan martial arts is Sakugawa, Teruya Kanga (1733-1815), also known as Tode Sakugawa and Karate Sakugawa, which suggests that he was an instructor of Chinese kempo. He is credited with being the first to use the term karate (tode: “Chinese hand”).3 It is believed that te, being the indigenous form of martial arts, was blended with tode, the Chinese form of martial arts, to create Okinawan karate.
By the ninteenth century, two major divisions of karate remained. They were named based on their geographical origins and differed slightly from each other. They were Naha-Te, from the city of Naha and was characterized by its forceful, defensive movements, and Shuri-Te, from the city of Shuri was delivered in a swift, defensive style. Naha was a trade based city and was comprised of lower class society whereas Shuri is where the King and his nobility lived. A third discipline, Tomari-Te, a spin off of Shuri-Te was practiced in Tomari Village near the capital of Shuri. It was spread mostly by commoners, farmers and fishermen.
Matsumura,
Soken's father had been a political leader in Okinawa and had
befriended Sakugawa. As the elder Matsumura
was on his death bed, he asked Sakugawa to raise his three year old son.
So, at a young age, Matsumura (born Kiyo, Soken - as was traditionally
done after important or notable events, he later changed his name to
Matsumura, Soken) joined residence and began to train
with Sakugawa. Like his teacher before him, Matsumura developed a love for
martial arts knowledge. Matsumura also trained with
Matsumura, Kusanku
and, like his teacher, traveled to China for further study. Because of his
skill, he was
appointed to the position of head bodyguard for the Okinawan
royal family through three generations of kings. It was during this
time that King Sho Tai officially gave Matsumura the title of "Bushi".
Matsumura is credited with
contributing three main kata- Seisan, Passai (Dai), and Naihanchi Shodan. There is controversy as to whether Matsumura is the true
founder of Shorin-Ryu. Although
Matsumura is credited with structuring the Shuri-Te some believe that
Itosu, Anko was the first to use organize Shorin-Ryu.
Matsumura, Sokon (Shuri-Te) and Matsumura, Kosanku (Tomari-Te) are the founding fathers for all forms of present day Shorin Ryu. Naha-Te branched off into two separate styles, Goju Ryu, founded by Miyagi, Chojun (1888-1953), and Uechi Ryu, founded by Uechi, Kanbun (1877-1948).
Legend says that Kusanku was attacked by the young Sakugawa (a bully) one night on a bridge. Kusanku foiled the attack and scolded Sakugawa, telling him to have respect for his elders and not to misuse the martial arts. Later Sakugawa trained under Kusanku. Legend also says that "Bushi" Matsumura's wife, Yonamine Chiru, was a martial artist and would not marry him until he was able to defeat her so he would not underestimate women.
Although there are no styles left in Okinawa that practice a pure form of Shuri-Te or Tomari-Te, all modern forms of Shorin Ryu can be traced back to Karate Sakugawa and Matsumura, Sokon. The Okinawan word Shorin and Japanese word Shaolin are similar in that they both mean young forest and both refer to the Shaolin Temple in China. The style instructed at Tolson's Okinawan Karate can be traced all the way back to Matsumura, Soken. (View our lineage.) The most recent influence to Shorin-Ryu came from Kyoshi Roy Canter.