Investigations into the history of karate

Before World War II, thousands of people left the Ryūkyū Islands and emigrated overseas. The first wave of emigration was to Hawaii in the early 20th century, followed by a wave to various Pacific islands in the 1920s and several migrations to America. Although these emigration movements are fairly well researched, not much is known about the martial arts knowledge that the emigrants brought with them from Okinawa, despite some individual efforts by Bruce Haines, Charles C. Goodin and more recently Motobu Naoki and Bruno Chagas.

We know only of a few isolated local karate activities, and that from a time even before Yabu Kentsū 屋部憲通 (1866–1937) came to the United States in 1919. For example, there is the story of Nakaza Seijō, who allegedly told many stories about his use of karate in San Francisco around 1902. Or the story of Higa Watoku (1886–1983), who came to Hawaii in 1905 and began training karate in 1894.

Not long ago, researchers discussed the “arrival of karate in Brazil” by Yabiku Mōtoku 屋比久孟徳 (1886–1951), a student of Yabu Kentsū who came to Brazil in 1917. Even pictures and a video clip from the 1950s have been unearthed, from which we can draw conclusions about what karate might have looked like there in the first decade of the 20th century.

Now Motobu Naoki has brought up the name of Chinen Zen’ichi 知念善一 (1903–1979), who emigrated to Argentina in 1931.

Thanks to the help of Augusto Delos Gonzalez and Vilma Giannini from Argentina, we are able to shed light on Chinen’s interesting (karate) life: He was born in the village of Yonabaru near Shuri and began his karate training in Shuri around 1915 with Yabiku Mōden 屋比久猛伝 (1882–1945), Ōshiro Chōjo 大城朝恕 (1887–1935) and Kyan Chōtoku 喜屋武 朝徳 (1870–1945). With Yabiku Sensei he studied the kata Naihanchi and Pin’an. With Ōshiro Sensei he practiced the kata Naihanchi. Due to the Chinen family’s relationship with Kyan Chōtoku, Chinen learned Oyadomari no Passai. Like many Okinawans in Argentina, he worked in dry cleaning and actively practiced karate until his death in 1979. As a child he is even said to have seen Itosu Ankō 糸洲安恒 (1831–1915) when he was already very old.

* The image is of Chinen Zen’ichi and was used with the kind permission of Vilma Giannini. Source: Enciclopedia de la Inmigración Japonesa en Argentina (Volume 1)