Investigations into the history of karate

Academic works on the historical and cultural background of karate are rare. Many, once submitted as diploma or master’s theses at technical colleges or universities, usually lie dormant unpublished in drawers at home. However, it is an essential part of science that results must be published. Only in this way can they be utilized as a basis for further studies and research.

In 1985, Jon D. Mills presented a thesis on karate at Cornell University in the United States: An Introduction to the Historic, Cultural, and Social Phenomenon of Okinawan Karate. Mills started with Uechi-Ryū karate in 1967. He researched the origins of Okinawan karate in 1984, when he accompanied Uechi Kan’ei 上地完英 (1911–1991) on a study trip to China.

Unfortunately, this work has not been published. As a result, the results did not find their way into the academic community. Even if some of Mills’ findings are, as he himself says today, “inaccurate” or “erroneous”, some passages contain “previously unpublished material”. Above all, however, it is the points mentioned in his conclusion that are still valid today and provide significant impetus for the current scientific discourse on karate.

In 1985, he called for the preparation of a “complete history of karate”, from its origins in the Chinese Zhou dynasty to the present day. Such a work should also contain a genealogy of all karate schools, he said. The historical relationship between the Chinese province of Fujian (Fukien) and Okinawa should also be researched in greater depth. In addition, he lists questions that arise from his research work and which he believes should be answered in the course of further studies (excerpts below).

• To what extent was karate used in Japanese militarization programs in the first half of the 20th century?
• What significance did the American occupation policy have for the development of karate in the post-war period?
• What connections are there between karate organizations and mafia groups in Japan?
• How and in what form was karate spread to the West?

Each of these questions would make a perfect thesis of its own.