The History of Shito-Kai
The Footsteps of “Ryuso” (Founder) Kenwa Mabuni
1.Brief Sketch of His Career
Soke Kenwa Mabuni was born in Shuri City, Okinawa, on November 14, 1889. The origin of the Mabuni family comes from the name lord of the ancient Ryukyu Kingodom in Okinawa. There was a warlord called “0ni- Ohgushiku” in the old times. Sensei Kenwa Mabuni is one of his descendants, presumably the 17th generation grandson of this name warlord. Kenwa was a weak boy in his early childhood. Strangely he started feeling that he should be much stronger with sound and muscled body. Then he was allowed to enter the school of training when he was around 13 years old. He became one of the students of Master Anko Itosu who was living and teaching the martial art in Shuri City, Okinawa.
Graduating from his junior high school and the school of fisheries, he started teaching as an assistant teacher at Naha Elementary School for a while. He got acquainted with Sensei Chojun Miyagi, master of martial art and this acquaintance led him to Master Kanryo Higaonna who was versed in “Naha-Te” (Naha Karate).
After finishing his military service in 1914, he was recruited by the Naha Police Department and worked at the detective section for about 10 years. He had many opportunities of visiting local areas on job. It is how he met with the opportunities of learning Karate of “Arakaki” style, “boh-jutsu” (art of fighting with a cudgel), and “sai-jutsu” (art of fighting with metal truncheons) of “Tawata” style. They are parts of the old martial arts in Okinawa.
In May 1918, Kenwa Mabuni founded his “Karate Learning Group” and many trained practitioners of Karate gathered under him. In April 1921 he had the honor of demonstrating his art of Karate to the members for the Imperial Family of Japan when Princes (Kuni-nomiya and Kacho-no-miya) visited Okinawa. In 1924, he was asked to work as the teacher of Karate at Prefectural School of Fisheries and the training school for policemen. In the same year, he had another honor of demonstrating his art of Karate for the members of the Imperial Family of Japan when Princes (Chichibu-no-miya and Takamatsu-no-miya) visited Okinawa.
In April 1925, he established his Dojo at his house and founded the “Karate Learning Club”. Many leaders of Karate were there. You can name Chojun Miyagi, Juhatsu Kyoda, Choyu Motobu, Chomo Hanashiro, Chosho Ohgusuku, Choshin Chibana, and Go Kenki (Wu Xian Gui). In October 1926, Kenwa Mabuni had an extraordinary opportunity of meeting with Jigoro Kano, founder of modern Judo when he visited Okinawa. This founder of “Kodokan” Judo came and visited Okinawa for official speeches and for establishing the organization of Danholders of Judo in Okinawa. Sensei Mabuni and Sensei iyagi had the luxury of demonstrating and explaining about their art of Karate to this founder of Judo.
In 1929, Kenwa Mabuni moved to Osaka in the mainland Japan and he tried to popularize Karate (or Karatedo) among many universities in the western district of Japan. In 1931, he had the opportunity of demonstrating the art of Karate in the precinct of Sumiyoshi Shrine. In 1934, he established the “Yoshukan Karate Dojo”.
By then, many people knew and accepted the depth and the breadth of the knowledge and skills of Kenwa Mabuni. He was amazingly enthusiastic about accepting good elements of skills and techniques of Karate and studying the whole of its art by taking every new finding as part of good nourishment of his Karate style. In 1939, the “Shitoryu Karatedo” was founded. Kenwa Mabuni combined the features of Shuri Karate of Master Itosu and Naha Karate of Master Higaon-na. The name “Shito-ryu” (now Shitoryu) was formed from the first hieroglyphs of these Masters names (“ito” is “shi” and “higashi” is “to” in old Chinese hieroglyphs). In the same year, Kenwa Mabuni was awarded the honor of “Renshi” (the highest rank) of Karatedo from Dai Nippon Butoku- Kai.
Founder Kenwa Mabuni inherited the spirit of the Itosu style of Karate as its mainstream and tried to develop and popularize his “Shitoryu Karatedo” throughout his life.
He left his “tanka” (traditional Japanese poem) facing his death. It goes as follows:
“I have forgotten everything. It has been so pleasant to row a boat straight all along heading for the island of martial art” He passed away at his own house on May 23, 1952 at the age of 62. His posthumous Buddhist name is “Yoshuin-Ken-Oh-Dogi-Kyoshi”.
2. The Way Kenwa Mabuni Learned Karate and How His Karate Paved Its Way
-Learning Karate from Sensei Anko Itosu, Kanryo Higaon-na and Yasukichi Arakaki
Kenwa Mabuni heard that a famous master of Karate was living in Shuri, Okinawa when he was about 13 years old. It was Sensei Anko Itosu. Through the introduction of his friend, he was allowed to learn under this master.
When Kenwa Mabuni was 20 years old, he started learning Karate under Sensei Kanryo Higaon-na through the introduction of Sensei Chojun Miyagi, his senior of Karate-learning. Under Sensei Higaon-na, Kenwa started learning “Shuri-Te” (Shuri Karate). Kenwa Mabuni and Chojun Miyagi were admired as two major and outstanding students of the school under Master Higaon-na.
When Sensei Mabuni was still working at the Police Station, he had many opportunities of visiting many places, and he learned many Kata and techniques other than “Shuri-Te” and “Naha-Te” under various Masters in local areas. At the same time, he learned “Saijutu” (the art of fighting with metal truncheon) under Sensei Shinpachi Tawada, and learned “Bojutsu of Soeishi style” under Sensei Soeishi, He also learned Karate and the traditional martial art such as “Bojutsu” (the art of fighting with a cudgel) under Sensei Arakaki ,
- Founder Kenwa Mabuni Established His Karate Learning Group
In 1918, Kenwa Mabuni established his Karate Learning Group. He had the honor of demonstrating the art of Karate in front of the Imperial Family of Japan (Princes Kuni-nomiya and Kacho-no-miya) when they visited Okinawa. In October 1925, his titanic effort to popularize Karate led him to the establishment of the “Okinawa Karate Learning Club”. It was the first Karate Dojo in Okinawa.
The leaders of this first Karate Dojo were Juhatsu Kyoda, Chojun Miyagi, Choyu Motobu, Chomo Hanashiro, Chosho Oshiro, Choshin Chibana, and Go Kenki (Wu Xian Gui), master of the Chinese-Kenpo (old martial art). In this Dojo, chief instructors were fairly young at age. They were Kenwa Mabuni and Chojun Miyagi.
-Kenwa Mabuni Demonstrated the Art of Karate to Jigoro Kano,Founder of Modern Judo in Japan, and then to the Mainland Japan
In 1927, Kenwa Mabuni and Chojun Miyagi had the opportunity of demonstrating the art of Karate for Jigoro Kano, founder of modern Kodokan Judo, when he visited Okinawa. Looking at this demonstration, Sensei Kano, who was obviously astonished by the fine way of demonstration, this. “This is good for both offense and defense. Why don’t you popularize it throughout Japan?” Hearing it, Kenwa Mabuni decided to move to the mainland Japan. It was in 1929.
- The Way Kenwa Mabuni Named His Style as “Shitoryu”
After moving to Osaka from Okinawa, Kenwa Mabuni established the Karate Learning Group in Kansai region (West Japan) . At the beginning, he named his style as “Gojuryu” and he was busy trying to popularize it. In 1934, however, he decided to rename his style of Karate as “Shitoryu”. This name was formed from the first hieroglyphs of two of his seniors --- Sensei Itosu and Sensei Higaon-na. It is how the name “Shitoryu” was born. In 1931, the Karate Learning Group in Kansai region was renamed as “Dai Nippon Karatedo Kai” (All Japan Karatedo Organization).
Then the art of Shitoryu began spreading among students of Karate all around Japan. -The Only Martial Art that Survived the Prohibition Law of the Martial Arts in Japan Imposed by the Occupied US Army General Headquarters after the 2nd World War
When Japan surrendered to the United States in August 1945, everything changed. The US Army headquarters that occupied Japan then under the leadership of General MacArthur banned the practice of most of the old Japanese martial arts. The only one that survived is Karate. It was the only martial art that stayed as part of education in Japan. Then many Karate Clubs started activating among universities. Those who mastered the martial arts in Japan, including Judo and Kendo, came and joined the practice of Karate. Thus Karate became the source of their mentality.
In 1934, Kenwa Mabuni renamed his Dojo in Osaka as “Yoshukan” after the name of the junior high school he graduated from. In 1950, US Army’s prohibition law of the Japanese martial arts was lifted and all these martial arts in Japan were reshaped and reorganized as modern sports.