Investigations into the history of karate

In early 2019, it has been discovered that the image once believed to be Itosu Ankō 糸洲安恒 (1831–1915) actually shows a different person, namely Japanese fencing master Miyake Sango 三宅三五 ( 1847–?). This page from the school magazine Ryūtan 龍潭 No. 9. (1911) photographed by me in Naha in September 2019 are considered evidence to proof that. The picture has been titled 本校職員と四十三年度一部卒業生 (Staff of the school and some graduates of the 43rd year) and is the graduation picture of the Okinawa Normal School in Shuri (Meiji 43 = 1910). Additional evidence that this photograph does not show Itosu Ankō is a photograph showing the person in question, but is dated years after Itosu’s death.

Interestingly, this 1910 picture neither shows Itosu Ankō who was verifiably assigned at this school as an external advisor nor Yabu Kentsū 屋部憲通 (1866–1937), who was supposed to be in charge of the karate lessons. In regard to Yabu, it is presumed that he was curing a severe stomach disease around that time. By the way, the person in question also is not Hanashiro Chōmo 花城長茂 (1869–1945) either, as there is a photo from 1905 that we now know shows both Hanashiro and Miyake.

Unfortunately, despite all these findings, the picture of Miyake Sango is still today wrongly labelled all over the internet.