The Ryukyu’s are a string of islands that lie between mainland Japan and China. Okinawa is the largest of the Ryukyu islands. Karate originated in Okinawa, and developed into three major branches by the late 1800’s. Each of the three branches represents a locality in Okinawa, each different in history and form, together forming the base of virtually every karate style practiced today. Naha, Okinawa’s largest city, had its own branch called Naha-te (Naha hand). Tomari, a port region near Naha became the location of Tomari-te. Shuri was the seat of the rulers of the Ryukyu kingdom, where the third branch, Shuri-te developed.
Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands have a long history of feudalism similar to Europe. Power was consolidated into three kingdoms in the 1300’s (Sanzan Period) and then fell under one kingdom in 1429 when King Hashi and his kingdom at Shuri Castle rose to power. This was the beginning to the Sho Dynasty. Functioning as a tributary to China with its ships sailing from the port at Naha, the Sho Dynasty at Shuri Castle was at the centre of a great exchange of culture and trade all over Asia. Shuri’s Sho Dynasty held the martial power to unify the Ryukyus, and maintained an era of trade and peace for hundreds of years.
The centre of the Ryukyu martial way of life was Shuri-te, secretly maintained by the Shuri-te masters within Shuri Castle. In 1609, the Satsuma Clan of Japan took control of the Shuri Kingdom, driving Shuri-te deeper into secrecy. Shuri-te was preserved by the Shuri-te masters through private training, kata, and cultural dances. Shuri-te was first released to the public in the late 1800’s by Shuri-te master and school teacher Anko Itosu (1831-1915), who believed that his teachings could empower the youth of Japan.
Itosu Sensei passed Shuri-te to his top students, Chosin Chibana who named his branch Shorinryu (Kobayashi) Karate, and Chotoku Kyan who named his branch Shorinryu (Matsubayashi) karate. Another of Itosu Sensei’s students, Gichin Funakoshi moved to the Japanese mainland and introduced Shuri-te as Shotokan Karate.
