Shimabukuro or Shimabuku? Controversy over the pronunciation of Okinawan surnames

By Motobu Naoki

I recently read an article by a foreigner who claimed that Shimabukuro Tatsuo (founder of Isshin-ryū) is incorrect and must be Shimabuku Tatsuo, which struck me as odd.

Shimabukuro is the standard Japanese pronunciation of the kanji 島袋, while Shimabuku is the Okinawan dialect pronunciation.

Currently, surnames in Okinawa are commonly pronounced in standard Japanese. This is due to the influence of Japanese language education since the Meiji era (1868–1912). This standard Japanese language education has been applied not only in Okinawa but also in all prefectures in Japan. This is because the Japanese government of the time adopted the national language education in Western countries as a model.

Most Japanese probably cannot understand the Okinawan dialect. At the time, the continued use of the Okinawan dialect was considered detrimental to the economic development and improvement of life in Okinawa. Therefore, local newspapers such as the Ryukyu Shimpo at the time supported and encouraged this policy.

Okinawa was not the only prefecture where the pronunciation of standard Japanese and dialects differed markedly. As a native of Osaka, I traveled to Akita Prefecture in northern Japan in the 1990s and could barely understand the Akita dialect of the older generation.

Of course, since the disappearance of dialects is related to the disappearance of local indigenous cultures, this issue must be considered in depth. However, we will do this subject again in due course.

Now, most people in mainland Japan would not know that the kanji for 島袋 is pronounced Shimabuku. Therefore, even in karate writing, it is usually written as Shimabukuro. For example, Shimabukuro Tatsuo’s entry in the “Okinawa Karate Kobudo Encyclopedia” (2008) also introduces “Shimabukuro” in standard Japanese.

The surnames of other famous Okinawan karate masters are also usually written with the standard Japanese pronunciation. What would their surnames look like if they were written with the Okinawan dialect pronunciation?

Motobu becomes Mutubu, Kyan becomes Chan, and Funakoshi becomes Funakushi. Did you know these? These are…