To
understand the evolution of Shito-Ryu, we must look to the masters
of Okinawa that helped shape the style. The record concerning the
evolution of Shito-Ryu is, fortunately, very well defined. One of
the first great masters of Okinawa was Tode Sakugawa.
Tode Sakugawa
Tode Sakugawa was born in Shuri in 1733 and died in 1815. At the
age 17, Tode Sakugawa began his martial arts training under an Okinawan
monk named Peichin Takahara. At age 23, Sakugawa was advised by
Takahara to leave and train under Kusanku, a Chinese master in Kung
Fu. For the next six years, Sakugawa learned all that he could from
Kusanku. Sakugawa learned valuable lessons from Kung Fu and went
on to become a great master himself. Tode Sakagawa was an important
factor in the development of "Te" on the Okinawan Islands.
Sakugawa was credited with forming several "Bo" kata,
which are still practiced today. In addition, Sakugawa also created
"Dojo Kun" which has become a tradition with many styles,
including our own. When Tode Sakugawa was 78, he taught his greatest
student, Sokon Matsumura the art of "Te".
Sokon Matsumura
Sokon Matsumura was born on Okinawa in 1796 and lived until 1893.
During this time, Matsumura had learned karate well and went on
to become chief of the military for the King of the Ryukyu Islands(Okinawa).
Matsumura also was credited with the formation of Shuri-Te. Among
the many students Matsumura taught, Yasutsune Itosu was one of his
greatest students. Yasutsune Itosu, is also read as "Anko"
in Japanese kanji.
Anko Itosu
Itosu was born in 1830 in Shuri and died in 1915. It is Itosu's
style of Shuri-Te which was used to create Shito-Ryu in 1930 by
Kenwa Mabuni. Itosu was a large individual, well known for his strength
and power. He was the first Okinawan master to teach karate in the
public school system. Itosu's hard dynamic style was influential
to many others including Kenwa Mabuni, Gichin Funakoshi, and other
important Okinawan master.
Another master who's style was influential to the creation of Shito-Ryu
was Kanyro Higashionna.
Kanyro Higashionna
Higashionna was born in Naha in 1845 and died in 1915. Higashionna
is credited with creating Naha-Te in 1890. As a young boy, he traveled
to China and learned Kung Fu from a Chinese master. Higashionna
was instrumental in the introduction of the Sanchin stance and kata.
Naha-Te eventually became Gojo-Ryu. The hard style of Shuri-Te and
the slower more circular moves of Naha-Te were critical to the formation
of Shito-Ryu. The founder of Shito-Ryu was Kenwa Mabuni.
Kenwa Mabuni
Kenwa mabuni was born on Okinawa in 1890 and died in 1957. Mabuni
took the benefits of both styles and created Shito-Ryu in 1930.
Even until today, Shito-Ryu has become one of the largest practiced
styles of karate. Shito-Ryu is also considered one of the four major
styles of karate still practiced in Japan today. Along with karate,
Mabuni also incorporated "Kobu-do" or weapons in his system,
learning from a weapons master named "Aragaki". Upon Mabuni's
death, some of his students formed several sub styles of Shito-Ryu.
The person responsible for creating Itosu-Kai Shito Ryu was Ryusho
Sakagami.
The Formation of the Shito-Ryu Karate
The origin of today's four major Japanese karate-do systems can
be traced to a group of islands known as the Ryukyu Island chain
during the 18th century. Located between Japan (North-East), mainland
China (West), and Taiwan (South-West), Okinawa, the largest of the
islands had an indigenous martial art form that was being secretly
practiced called 'TE' or 'HANDS'. This ideal location allowed Okinawa
to be heavily influenced by an open cultural exchange with Asia,
especially China. During this era, the secret method of 'TE' was
combined with various Chinese martial arts fighting styles that
evolved into a system referred to simply as 'TO-DE' or 'CHINESE-HAND'.
Three main areas eventually came into prominence on Okinawa as the
centres for the practice of 'TO-DE'. They were, SHURI, the ancient
capital city of Okinawa where the king and noble families lived,
NAHA, a port town of business and commercial enterprise, and TOMARI,
a village populated mostly by farmers, fisherman, and country people.
Each location had developed a unique style of 'TO-DE'.
TOMARI
In Tomari, two great masters became important historical figures
in the development TOMARI-TE. They were, Kokan Oyadomari (1831-1905)
who taught Chotoku Kyan (1870-1945) and Kosaku Matsumora (1797-1898),
who taught Ankoh Itosu (1830-1915).
NAHA
Naha's most famous master in the development of 'NAHA-TE' was Kanryo
Higashionna (Higaonna, 1853-1915). He received instruction from
master Arakaki (1840-1918). Master Higashionna taught many students
including Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953), the founder of 'GOJU-RYU',and
Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952), the founder of 'SHITO-RYU'.
Kanryo Higashionna (Higaonna)
(1853-1915)
SHURI
Pechin
Sakugawa
(1733-1815) Shuri's main teacher in the development of 'SHURI-TE'
was master Sakugawa (1733-1815), who was widely known by the nickname
of 'TO-DE SAKUGAWA'. He is believed to have received his instuction
from Peichin Takahara and from a Chinese military attache? known
as 'KU-SAN-KU', who was an expert in the art of 'Chinese-Boxing'
and living in Okinawa around 1761. Tode Sakugawa's most prominent
student was Sokon Matsumura (1809-1894) who was also Yasutsune 'Ankoh'
Itosu's teacher.
The
system of the Tomari region became absorbed into
the Shuri and Naha systems because of lack of development in Tomari.
This gradually left only two main systems, Shuri-te and Naha-te.
Eventually, they were referred to as 'SHORIN' and 'SHOREI' respectively.
Ankoh Itosu was born in Shuri and became one of
the most respected martial artists in Okinawa during the 19th century.
Master Itosu was the first person to introduce 'TO-DE' into the
Okinawa Dai Ichi Jr. High School and the Okinawa Teachers Jr. College
school system. One of his great contributions to the art of 'TO-DE',
was the firm belief of the importance of the development of person's
character through the concentration on 'KATA' (form patterns) and
'BUNKAI' application practice.
Master
Itosu also organized and systemized 'TO-DE' into a standard method
of practice. When he first began teaching in the school system,
the introduction of the kata Naihanchin was his preferred way to
teach. He soon realized that this kata was far too advanced for
the beginner, which lead to master Itosu creating a group of new
kata, the PINAN's. The creation of 5 Pinan (alternate reading as
HEIAN) kata was based on the kata called Kusanku and some other
significant techniques. Master Itosu trained a great number of eminent
karatemen, including Kentsu Yabu (1863-1937), Chomo Hanashiro (1869-1945),
Gichin Funakoshi (1867-1957), Moden Yabiku (1880-1941), Kanken Toyama
(1888-1966),Chotoku Kyan (1870-1945), Shinpan Shiroma (1890-1954),
Anbun Tokuda (1886-1945) and Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952).
Kanryo Higashionna (alternate reading as HIGAONNA)
was born in Naha in 1853. He began training in the martial arts
with a Chinese Kempo stylist when he was around 16 years old. His
fascination for this Chinese fighting-art form lead him to train
in Foochow, China for approximately 15 years.
After
returning to Okinawa, he was eventually convinced to teach his system
of martial arts. It was during this period that he introduced the
'HARD' and 'SOFT' methods of training. Master Higashionna was renown
for his great physical strength and his performance of the 'SANCHIN'
kata. Kanryo Higashionna was also considered to be one of the most
highly respected martial artists in Okinawa during the 19th century.
Master Higashionna had many disciples among whom were his most dedicated,
Chojun Miyagi (founder of GOJU-RYU), Juhatsu Kiyoda (founder of
TOON-RYU), Kanken Toyama, and Kenwa Mabuni (founder of SHITO-RYU).
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