Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Karhand (karate?) Gymnastics & Tī, Tīgwā and Tījikun

 

I have just translated this and it places the introduction of karate into the Okinawan Schools in a different light than I have seen before. Of course the translation is far from the best, but enough meaning comes through to consider what might have been the past.

 

As I read this getting karate into the Okinawan schools involved more than a bit of chicanery to get of past the Japanese School Council rules. And the original intention may not have been what was to be intended in the long run. Things take on a life of their own, and what happens becomes what happened, history. But just perhaps all the ‘school boy karate’ rants are not the whole story of a ploy that worked.

 

I am not a professional Japanese translator; this is a translation I have obtained with the use of the Bing Translator. Such tools are often flawed regarding martial terminology, but personally I would rather use them gaining whatever understanding presents it.

 

We uploaded an article of "Karate Taiso (Gymnastics)".

 

https://ameblo.jp/motoburyu/entry-12457844431.html

 

Karhand (karate?) Gymnastics

2019-04-29

 



 

In 1905, Karhand (karate?) was adopted by the old system of Okinawa Prefecture Junior High School and the Okinawa normal schools. It is not because "Karashina" was able to be said the department of Medicine.

 

It is a meaning of having taught it in the gymnastics department at that time although the class of the physical education was said gymnastics. Well, the word "Tang Hand gymnastics" appears just from that time.

 

For instance, the following sentences are in the memoirs of Tokuda Yasusadada.

 

A sense of Tang My memories are various, but I want to describe the movement mainly. At the beginning of his studies, he had been practicing judo and sumo. The practice of the base Naihan chi, etc. was started in Okinawa Bank site of the Shuri Kururanmanabu ruins at the designers of the Okinawan kunatake, and other students volunteer 20 at the beginning of Karatashiro

The so-called Karohand (karate?) gymnastics that was imposed on the time of gymnastics was born (Hiroshi Kinjo [from Karhand to Karate] 367 pages).

 

Tokuda is a student of old system Junior high school at that time, and the above is talking about circumstances before it is adopted to the school just by Karhand (karate?). The author imagined whether it might be the kind of the flexible gymnastics based on the Tang hand when the character of Karhand (karate?) Gymnastics was first seen. However, it seems not to be very so. However, it seems to call the Tang hand gymnastics. Why did you call it the Tang-hand gymnastics?

 

I have not understood this meaning much, but I can finally understand it recently. Now, as I mentioned last time, the martial arts were deemed inappropriate to teach in the school's Department of Education over twice, "the Gymnastics Report" (1884), "The School Hygiene Advisory Council Report" (1896). At that time, the Ministry of Education regarded the martial arts inferior from the physiological viewpoint compared with the gymnastics by irrational.

 

The person who caters to the policy of the Ministry of education like "halberd gymnastics" of Ozawa Unosuke Shoten and the person who does the political movement, and the martial arts, etc. Now, the big question arises here. At that time, the Ministry of Education had not yet admitted the Department of Martial Arts adoption in the Department of Chinese Medicine (Meiji 38, 1905). A part of the "Ordinance for enforcement of the Junior high School Decree" was granted by the Ministry of Education Ordinance No. 26 of Meiji 44 (1911), "gymnastics ha bashing and gymnastics. In addition, it was revised as "to get the sword and Jiu-Jitsu", and it became possible to adopt the Shoken (later kendo) and Jiu-Jitsu (later judo). However, there is no wording of "karhand" (karate?) there.

 

In a word, it becomes impossible to adopt the Shotoaceae of the hand legally after that

 

At that time, it was impossible for the local government to decide the content of public education independently. The subjects, classes, and textbooks of junior high school and normal schools were established by the country (Minister of Education). Therefore, it is impossible for Okinawa Prefecture to adopt martial arts in the Department of Medicine in opposition to the national policy.

 

Then, why was the Karhand (karate?) adopted? This is the author's guess. Perhaps Dr. Yasuhisa Itoshima, etc., would have contacted the Okinawa Prefectural Academic Affairs Section about the possibility of adopting the shoshu of the Tang hand. At that time, the Academic affairs section, "because there is a national policy, Tang is impossible to employ as a martial art, but it is possible as a gymnastics," I think there was an answer.

This does not violate the policy of the Ministry of Education. There is a form to practice by one person named "type" Fortunately, and it is a kind of Deconstructo law act. If it is "gymnastics", it is possible to make excuses even if it is found in the country if it is strong. However, there is an excuse that it is not truly a martial art when there are a lot of attack techniques such as thrust kick. It is also difficult for students to be used to fight outside the school by promoting their struggle. If it becomes a newspaper, the head of the Student Affairs Section staff might fly.

 

So, in accordance with the request of the Academic Affairs section, I think that Mr. Iteshima did the creation modification of Pinann and existing type so as to dilute the aggression as much as possible.

 

If such a change was temporary, and the Chinese hand was formally adopted as a martial art, Mr. Iteshima might have intended to return it to the original type. The reason is that "it is not necessary to save as it is and to add the moist color" to "Itasu ten lesson" because there is a wording.

 

However, before the policy of the Ministry of Education changed, Mr. Iteshima lay on the sickbed, and died before long. On the other hand, it did not teach these types in the normal school after Mr. Iteshima was deceased because it was not interested in Pinann and the alteration type from the beginning. It might have been thought that it was likely to disappear naturally before long even if it left it. However, students who were taught the modified type from Mr. Iteshima, without knowing the circumstances that have been modified, and then spread the modified type, largely replaced by the existing type, the circumstances that have been altered before long I have forgotten.

 

And, it was not left in the record the circumstances that it had been adopted by the Department as a gymnastics (Karhand (karate?) gymnastics) not as a martial art hand. The author had not read the document which made a convincing explanation up to now about the Karhand (karate?) gymnastics.

 

The above is a guess to the end, and the record at that time of the communication of the Academic affairs section with teachers of Itasu is not understood, and I understand that it might have been so. 

 

Note: Takuto Ikeda "an attempt to make judo teaching materials by Jigoro Kano: focusing on" gymnastics form "," Bulletin of the Graduate School of Education, Hokkaido University "No. 101, page 80.

 

https://ameblo.jp/motoburyu/entry-12589067554.html

 

Tī, Tīgwā and Tījikun

by Motobu Naoki

 



 

Yamada Tatsuo (1905-1967) was a disciple of Motobu Choki. After the war, he established a school called Nippon Kempo Karate-do. He wrote an article entitled "Karate as a Martial Art" (1955), in which he wrote the following passage
 

On names of karate and this martial art.


We learned [karate] by calling it tējikun (thrusting with hand), or tē-gwā, in the Okinawan dialect. Gwā in tē-gwā is a word meaning loveliness. For example, in Japanese, you can add "o (
)" to "te ()" and say "ote (御手)" or "ote (御技)" in the same way. In this case, te stands for technique. In the same way, we use te in the sense of technique when we say "that te (あの手)" or "this te (この手)" or "good te (得意手)". In Okinawa, it was used like "Let me learn te-gwā of Unjū (you)". In the past, Funakoshi Sensei used to call it karate (唐手, China hand) in his old books, but now it is called karate (空手, empty hand) (Note).

 

It is well known that te or tī in the Okinawan dialect is an ancient name for karate, but according to the above passage, in the old days tī was also called tējikun or tē-gwā. A more dialectal notation would be written as tījikun or tī-gwā.

Tījikun also means fist in the Okinawan dialect. Mr. Yamada, however, explains that tījikun means "thrusting with hand". He must have heard about this from Motobu Choki.

In fact, Majikina Anko (1875-1933), a profound scholar of Okinawan studies, also writes that the etymology of tījikun is "
手突くん(tē tsukun) in the Okinawan dialect," or "手で突く (te de tsuku)" (thrusting with hand) in Japanese.

 

In other words, tījikun originally meant "thrusting with hand". The meaning of "thrusting with hand" may have changed to "fist" over time.

By the way, there is a book called "Satsuyu Ki
o" (1801) written by a samurai from Kumamoto. In the book, it is written that Ryukyuans practice swordsmanship and jujutsu, but "tenuruki mononari (not much skill)". However, Ryukyuans are excellent at thrusting. He notes that the martial art is called "手ツクミ (tetsukumi)". The samurai heard these stories when he went on a trip to Satsuma.

This travelogue was reprinted in recent years. I'm not sure what "mi" means, but it may be some kind of suffix. In any case, karate may have been called tetsukumi in Satsuma at the time and tījikun in Okinawa.

Note: "Motobu Choki and Yamada Tatsuo", edited by Konuma Tamotsu, Sojinsha, 1994


 


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