Nakahara Zenshu: Character and Weapons of the Ryukyu Kingdom (5) part 2

 

 

 

Nakahara Zenshu: Character and Weapons of the Ryukyu Kingdom (5) part 2

 

Concerning the transmission of tōdī (karate) we find a hint for the first time in the Ōshima Hiki (1762), stating that

“some years ago a Chinese person called Kūsankū, who was skillful in Kumiai-jutsu, came (to Okinawa), accompanied by disciples.”

 

Entry on Kusanku in an edition of the Oshima Hikki.

 

And then, fifty years later, Basil Hall’s “Account of a Voyage of Discovery to The West Coast etc.” (1816) contained a similar account.

 

Shinkōsen – i.e. Ryūkyūan ships for paying tribute to China – were equipped with cannons (ishibiya), rifles, spears, long swords, and bows and arrows, and it is questionable that these skills just suddenly have been acquired by the Okinawans. In addition, when it comes to the Chinese investiture envoys (sappōshi) to Ryūkyū: the first of their ships was equipped with 5 big sized cannons, 29 small and medium sized cannons, 30 rifles, 20 bamboo spears, and 60 suits of armor; their second ship was equipped with 3 big sized cannons, 20 small and medium sized cannons, 30 rifles, 20 bamboo spears, 20 swords, 40 suits of armor, 40 shields and others.

 

During the festivities of King Shō Tai’s investiture in 1866, in the program of the school arts festival held by the Kume Village School, among the 47 program items we find 9 items sporting 5 different martial arts. These five are tōdī, tesshaku, bō, tengpai, and kuruma-bō.

 

Apart from tōdī (karate), the tengpai had also been imported from China and was among the weaponry found in the above-mentioned list of the second sappōshi ship. It was a defensive armament like a shield.

 

The kuruma-bō originally was a farming implement for striking wheat or beans and the bō seems to be an original weapon of Okinawa. The Japanese name of the kuruma-bō is karasao, from which one can see an import from Japan.

 

On the tesshaku I don’t know at all what to say.

 

Apart from the bō, the chikusaji and chikudun also used bamboo spears, with the prefix chiku used in their title seems to originally have come from bamboo (take 竹–> chiku).

 

Once again considering the history of arms in Ryūkyū, it should have become sufficiently clear that neither King Shō Shin nor later the house of Shimazu confiscated cut and thrust weapons and other arms, and furthermore, as regards the development of karate and musical entertainment, that there was no direct relation between them of whatever sort.

 

End

 

Translators’ notes

 

Tesshaku 鉄尺 is read as tiechi in Chinese. Tie literally translates as “iron,” it can, however, also be interpreted as “weapon.” Chi translated as “ruler” or “an instrument in the form of a ruler.” This refers to an iron weapon of an elongated form, possibly originally with a rectangular cross section. In fact these are what became called sai in Okinawa.

 

Karasao 唐棹 literally means “Chinese pole”. The prefix tō  / kara 唐 was simply used to designate things or concepts that had been imported from China. It is the same tō  / kara as found in tōdī / karate. In this sense, the term tōdī is nothing special. For further reference, here are some Japanese words using the same prefix:

 

karabutsu 唐物: Goods from China; imported goods.

tō-yaku 唐薬: Chinese medicine

karakoromo 唐衣: Chinese-style apparel

tōhon 唐本: books imported from China or books bound in Chinese fashion

tōshi 唐詩: Chinese poetry of the Tang Dynasty.

karakasa 唐傘: Chinese-style oil paper umbrella

tōshi 唐紙: Chinese paper

tōka 唐画: Picture from the Tang period; ~ from China; ~ in Chinese style

tōmei 唐名: Chinese-style name

tōami 唐網: a casting net

tōgaku 唐楽: Music from Tang China

tōsen 唐船 Chinese or Chinese-style ship

tō-uta 唐歌: Chinese poem

 

The list goes on and on.

 

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