Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters

by Shoshin Nagamine

2000

Description

"Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters corrects historical inaccuracies surrounding Okinawan martial arts and brings alive the greatest of the great masters. In this seminal work, Nagamine-sensei presents the martial legacy of the Okinawan people and, to complement and emphasize what is of greatest importance in these tales and life histories, concludes with detailed instructions for the practice of zazen (sitting meditation)."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Library's review

from dust jacket

Now available for the first time in English, Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters, the late Shoshin Nagamine's groundbreaking work, recounts the legacy and life histories of Okinawa's greatest martial artists. In addition to profiles of the legendary tegumi wrestlers, Namine-sensei
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features many of the world's great karate masters, including the founders of the core styles from which modern karate sprang.

Read about Choken Makabe-the aristocratic, legendary 'giant' whose incredible feats have spurred generations to train with diligence; Kosaku Matsumora-the first great master to emphasize morality above all else; Sokon Matsumura-the consummate sythesizer who combined the native traditions of Okinawa with principles and techniques of Japan's Jigen-ryu and Chinese boxing form Fuzhou; and the great To-Te Sakugawa-who made a mark in weapons and empty hand arts that remains vibrant to this day.

Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters corrects historical inaccuracies surrounding Okinawan martial arts and brings alive the greatest of the great masters. In this seminal work, Nagamine-sensei presents the martial legacy of the Okinawan people and, to complement and emphasize what is of greatest importance in these tales and life histories, concludes with detailed insturctions for the practice of zazen (sitting meditation). Already a classic in the Japanese edition, Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters ins a must-read for all karate and tegumi enthusiasts, practitioners and researchers alike.

Shoshin Nagamine (1907-1997) was a practitioner and master of Okinawan karate-do for more than 70 years and, after years of intense study, the founder of Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do. Nagamine-sensei held the rank of 10th dan black belt and hanshi, the highest title in the art of karate, from the Okinawan Karate-Do Association. For his service in the cause of world peace, he was awarded the Fifth Class Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan. Nagamne-sensei held black belts in judo, kendo, and sumo. He served ass police chief and as an insturctor of police judo teams, and concluded his career as president of the Okinawan Police Station. He next served as vice-chairman of the Naha City Assembly. After his retirement, he dedicated himself to the teaching and promotion of karate-do as a means to enhance world peace and to his studies in Zen Buddhism. He was a member of the Board of Advisors for the Daihonzan Chozen-ji/International Zen Dojo, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was the head of Chozen-ji/International Zen Dojo of Okinawa. In addition to this volume, he wrote The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do, published by Tuttle.

Patrick McCarthy is the author of The Bible of Karate: Bubishi, and the two-volume Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts: Kouyu Uchinadi, all published by Tuttle. He lives in Brisbane, Australia.

Contents

Foreword by Funakoshi Gisho
Forword by Kadekawa Junki
Translator's Foreword
Author's Preface
Part one: Biographies of Okinawan Karate Experts
1. Makabe Choken Okina: A Man of Great Strength--The Divine Jumping Techniques of Tobitori; A Heroic Episode; Law and Order in the Castle Town of Old Shuri
2. To-Te Sakugawa Kanga: The General of Great Leaning, Wisdom, and Cokurage--Travel to China, Detention in Beijing; The Progenitor of Shuri-Te
3. Bushi Matsumura Sokon Okina: Shuri's Bujin--A Master of Jigen-Ryu Kenjutsu; The Pen and the Sword; Yielding to the Winds of Adversity
4. Matsumora Kosaku Okina: The Baujin Who Emphasized Morality--Knocking Down a Stalwart With Only a Wet Towel; Becoming an Expert in Bojutsu in Spite of Losing a Finger; Protector of the Neewagumuchi
5. Itosu Anko Okina: A Prominent Model of Chivalry--The Model of Chivalry; Revealing the Truth of Karate-Do; The Ten Lessons of To-Te
6. Higaonna Kanryo Okina: The Iron-Fist Warrior--A determined Decade in China; Naha's Well-Known 'Secret Bushi'; The Restorer of Naha-Te; Higaonna's Advice for Using Supplementary; Equipment in Karate-Do
7. Funakoshi Gichin Sensei: First Propagator of Karate-Do--Refusing to Remove His Topknot; Tokko: The Foundation Upon Which Japanese Karate-Do was built; Spending His Life Propagating Karate-Do; Funakoshi Sensei's Twenty Principles of Karate-Do
8. Kyan Chotoku Sensei: A Tiny Man With a Self-Trained Fightng Spirit--The Lesson of a Strict Father; Karate Enlightenment; The Taiwan Incident; The Motto of Karate-Do; Highlights of Three Classical Kata
9. Motobu Ckhoki Sensei: The Master Fighter--Motobu 'The Monkey'; The Bout Against a Foreigner; The Enormous Power of the Keikoken
10. Arakaki Ankichi: The Young and Multi-Talented Bushi--Toe-Kicker Extraordinaire; A Profound Knowledge of Music, Folk Dance, and Classical Drama; Powerful Enough to Seize the First Bolt of Lightning
Part Two: My Philosophy of Karate-Do
11. The Power of Myth
12. Ken Zen Ichinyo (Karate and Zen are One)--Through True Karate Only, Can Inner Peace Be Found; Musashi and Teshu Both Taught the Significance of Zen; Awakening One's Inner Self Through Zen; Dedicated to Seeking Ken Zen Ichinyo
13. Basic Instruction for Zazen--Placement of Cushion; Positions of the Hands; The Lotus Positions; Stabilizing the Body; Adjusting the Vision; Initial Deep Breathing; Breathing in Meditation
Part Three: Tegumi and Master Grapplers of Okinawa
14. Okinawan Tegumi--Introduction; Tegumi and the Origins of Okinawan Sumo; Gatherings, Venues, and the Sumo Ring; Differences Between Okinawan and Japanese Sumo; Master Directors, Referees, and Announcers of Okinawan Sumo; Principal Techniques of Okinawan Sumo
15. Biographies of Okinawan Tegumi Meijin--Akarie Matsuzo; Hawaii's Kawasaki vs Okinawa's Kinjo: The Confrontation (Kawasaki Kitatsu, Kinjo Masayuki, The Kawasaki and Kinjo Match); Uezu and Ishikawa: A Confrontation of Small wrestlers (Uezu Jiryo, Ishikawa Seijin, The Match); Okinawan Sumo in Postwar Japan (c. 1946-1956); Kushi Jokei: Sumo Critic; Makishiugan: The Big Venue; The future of Okinawan Sumo
Trahslator's Notes
Apendix: Okinwan Karate and World Peace
About the Autho
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ISBN

804820899

Publication

Tuttle Publishing Boston Rutland, Vermont Tokyo
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