Investigations into the history of karate

For my book Ankō Itosu: The Man. The Master. The Myth (2021), I had a medical specialist evaluate the health of Itosu Ankō 糸洲安恒 (1831-1915) in his last 2–3 years. For this task based on my research, I prepared a brief profile and an anamnesis of Itosu.

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Profile:

Name: Itosu Ankō

Gender: male

Born: 1831, Shuri, Ryūkyū Kingdom (now Okinawa Prefecture, Japan)

Family: married, 1 son (already deceased in childhood), 1 adopted son

Occupation: scribe, government official from 1850s to 1883, then administrator of an estate (until about 1905), karate teacher privately since the 1880s, in a school between 1905 and 1912

Environment: island kingdom mainly agricultural, numerous natural disasters, disease epidemics (especially measles), famines; modernization began slowly only after 1879

Medical history:

Weak child in childhood, suffered from digestive problems, was often teased by his friends who called him a weakling. Began karate training around 1845, which made him stronger. Was known in later years for liking to eat a lot. Declining health from about the beginning of 1910. Walked bent over on a cane. Bedridden since late 1912. Observers reported senility. According to his obituary, he suffered from “disease of the stomach with constant pain.” Another obituary speaks of a disease of the kidney. Died after a long illness in March 1915 at age 84. Information about his height and weight vary. Information is given between 1.40 and 1.62 m. Island average. Weight is given as about 84 kg, although he is said to have weighed about 72 kg at the time of his death. Others say around 48 kg, which may have been more likely considering his possible height. Weight loss very likely.

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Picture shows obituary of Itosu Ankō as published in Gakuyūkai (1915) which says that Itosu had a kidney disease.