Heads Up!

 

to find that he has a poor character and equally poor Karate technique. It would have been better to say nothing at all, and at least to advise the visitor to find out more about the instructor from trusted sources.

 

We have to be careful about what we say and how we say it. And remember that you cannot build yourself up by tearing down others.

 

Photo...Winner of the Okinawa Times daily, 4th All Okinawa athletic award, Chibana Chosin sensei (1964).

 

 

The taking of heads in battle was a custom by which a samurai could distinguish himself. Once an enemy was defeated he was decapitated. The head was then cleaned, perfumed, and mounted for inspection and registration back at the base camp. Powdered rice was used to mop up and stop any blood or other fluids leaking from the head.

 

For lower-ranked samurai, thick washi paper or even dried leaves and dirt would suffice.

 

Women specially trained in the art of arranging the heads were employed for the gruesome task. Unafraid of freshly decapitated heads, and used to the sight and smell of blood, these women would also blacken the teeth of any head upon order.

 

Only the nobility could afford to have their teeth blackened in life, and to increase the value of a head, those with white teeth were sometimes inked to make them appear of higher rank.