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36-469: Kenwa Mabuni (Mabuni Kenwa 摩文仁 賢和) was born in Shuri , Okinawa in 1889. Mabuni was a 17th generation descendant of the warrior Uni Ufugusuku Kenyu . He began his instruction in his home town in the art of Shuri-te ( 首里手 ) at the age of 13, under the tutelage of Ankō Itosu ( 糸州 安恒 , Itosu Ankō ) (1831–1915). He trained diligently for several years, learning many kata . It was Itosu who first developed

72-1001: A National Treasure . A four-year plan was laid out for the restoration of the structure. Other historical monuments came under protection soon afterward. Though the Japanese garrison which had originally occupied Shuri Castle in 1879 withdrew in 1896, the castle, and a series of tunnels and caverns below it, were made to serve as general headquarters for Japanese military forces on Okinawa during World War II . The city first suffered Allied air attack in October 1944. Civilian response preparations and organization were extremely inadequate. Bureaucrats, almost all of them native to other prefectures, and tied up in obligations to military orders, made little effort to protect civilians, their homes, schools, nor historical monuments. Civilians were left to their own devices to rescue and protect themselves, their families, and their family treasures. The official Custodian of

108-466: A strong emphasis on sparring. Shitō-ryū stresses speed and economy of movement, and fighting is generally initiated from a higher, more upright stance than Shotokan employs. On the other hand, because the style has a relatively high number of kata, a significant of time is spent perfecting forms. Many derivative styles of Shitō-ryū developed after the death of Kenwa Mabuni. Notable branches started by his sons and students are: List of techniques , used in

144-620: A way as to show the two lineages. Kenwa Mabuni died on May 23, 1952, and the lineage of the style was disputed between his two sons, Kenzo (1927-2005) and Kenei (1918–2015). Currently, the Shitō-ryū International Karate-dō Kai (also known as Seito Shitō-ryū ) lists Kenzō Mabuni as the second Sōke of Shitō-ryū, while the World Shitō-ryū Karate-dō Federation (also known as Shitō-kai Shitō-ryū ) lists Kenei Mabuni . According to Japanese tradition,

180-408: Is currently the terminus of the monorail line, though there are plans to extend it in the future. 26°13′01″N 127°43′10″E  /  26.217007°N 127.719423°E  / 26.217007; 127.719423 Kenei Mabuni Mabuni Kenei ( 摩文仁 賢榮 , Kenei Mabuni , February 13, 1918 – December 19, 2015) was a Japanese martial arts expert , holder of the 10th Dan . Kenei Mabuni

216-405: Is the 3rd Soke of Seito Shito Ryu, inheriting the title from her father. Her organization is Shito Ryu International Karate Do Kai. Shitō-ryū is a combination style, which attempts to unite the diverse roots of karate. On one hand, Shitō-ryū has the physical strength and long powerful stances of Shuri-te derived styles, such as Shorin-ryū and Shotokan (松涛館); on the other hand, Shitō-ryū also has

252-554: The Pinan kata , which were possibly derived from the Kusanku form. One of his close friends, Chōjun Miyagi ( 宮城 長順 , Miyagi Chōjun ) (founder of Gojū-ryū Karate) introduced Mabuni to another great of that period, Kanryō Higaonna ( 東恩納 寛量 , Higaonna Kanryō ) . Mabuni began to learn Naha-te ( 那覇手 ) under him. While both Itosu and Higaonna taught a "hard-soft" style of Okinawan "Te", their methods and emphases were quite distinct:

288-557: The Ryūkyū Kingdom . A number of famous historical sites are located in Shuri, including Shuri Castle , the Shureimon gate, Sunuhyan-utaki (a sacred space of the native Ryukyuan religion ), and royal mausoleum Tamaudun , all of which are designated World Heritage Sites by UNESCO . Originally established as a castle town surrounding the royal palace, Shuri ceased to be the capital when

324-544: The three kingdoms of Hokuzan , Nanzan , and Chūzan ; nearly two centuries before the unification of those kingdoms and the establishment of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. The island was not yet an organized or unified kingdom, but rather a collection of local chieftains ( anji ) loyal to the chief chieftain in Urasoe. Historian George H. Kerr describes Shuri Castle as "one of the most magnificent castle sites to be found anywhere in

360-675: The Family Treasures of the Okinawan royal family returned to the family's mansions in Shuri in March 1945 and sought to rescue a great number of treasures, ranging from crowns granted to the kings by the Chinese Imperial Court to formal royal portraits. Some of these objects were sealed away in vaults, but others were simply buried in the earth or amongst the greenery here and there around Shuri. The mansions were destroyed by fire on 6 April, and

396-786: The Itosu syllabus included straight and powerful techniques as exemplified in the Naihanchi and Bassai kata; the Higaonna syllabus stressed circular motion and shorter fighting methods as seen in the kata Seipai and Kururunfa . Shitō-ryū focuses on both hard and soft techniques to this day. Although he remained true to the teachings of these two masters, Mabuni sought instruction from a number of other teachers, including Seishō Arakaki , Tawada Shimboku, Sueyoshi Jino and Wu Xiangui (a Chinese white crane kung fu master known as Go-Kenki in Japanese). In fact, Mabuni

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432-510: The Okinawan guards appointed by the Custodian were sent away when the Japanese military occupied the grounds afterward. As Shuri was the center of the Japanese defense, it was the prime target of American assault in the battle of Okinawa which was fought from March to June 1945. Shuri Castle was leveled by the USS Mississippi , and much of the city was burned and destroyed in the course of

468-451: The Osaka area. Mabuni published a number of books on the subject and continued to systematize his instruction method. In his latter years, he developed a number of formal kata , such as Aoyagi, for example, which was designed specifically for women's self-defense. To this day, Shitō-ryū recognizes the influences of Itosu and Higaonna: the kata syllabus of Shitō-ryū is still often listed in such

504-452: The Shitō-ryū style of karate . Blocks, kicks and strikes can be jōdan , chūdan or gedan and related to migi (right) or hidari (left). Source: Shuri, Okinawa Shuri ( 首里 , Okinawan : スイ Sui or Shui , Northern Ryukyuan : しより Shiyori ) is a district of the city of Naha, Okinawa , Japan. Formerly a separate city in and of itself, it was once the royal capital of

540-406: The age of 34 he became the head of Shitō-ryū. In particular, Mabuni Kenei emphasized the importance of the spiritual contents and values of karatedō. Without generally refusing sport-oriented karate he supported a clear distinction between traditional karatedō and sport karate . Among his achievements is the completion of the kata Shimpā that his father had created but not completed. This kata

576-468: The aristocracy at this time, out of a total population of 330,000 royal subjects throughout the Ryūkyū Islands, with most of the aristocracy living in and around Shuri. Over the following years, however, Shuri shrank in both population and importance, as Naha grew. Pressure to restore, conserve, and protect the historical sites of Shuri began in earnest in the 1910s, and in 1928 Shuri Castle was declared

612-510: The battle. The city was rebuilt over the course of the post-war years. The University of the Ryukyus was established on the site of the ruins of Shuri Castle in 1950, though later moved and today has campuses in Ginowan and Nakagusuku . The castle walls were restored shortly after the war's end, and reconstruction of the palace's main hall ( Seiden ) was completed in 1992, on the 20th anniversary of

648-503: The behest of his teacher Itosu, began instruction in the various grammar schools in Shuri and Naha . In an effort to popularize karate in mainland Japan, Mabuni made several trips to Tokyo in 1917 and 1928. Although much that was known as Te (lit. "hand") or karate had been passed down through many generations with jealous secrecy, it was his view that it should be taught to anyone who sought knowledge with honesty and integrity. In fact, many masters of his generation held similar views on

684-503: The castle and presented Prince Nakijin with formal papers expressing Tokyo's decision. King Shō Tai and his court were removed from the castle, which was occupied by a Japanese garrison, and the main gates of which were sealed. The castle, along with the nearby mansions of former court nobles, fell into disrepair and decay over the ensuing years, and the ways of life of the aristocrats of Shuri were shattered. Royal pensions were shrunk or abolished, and income from nobles' nominal domains in

720-457: The castle, to the north. Shō Hashi (r. 1422–1439), first king of the unified Ryūkyū Kingdom, made Shuri his capital, and oversaw expansion of the castle and the city. Shuri would remain the royal capital for roughly 450 years. The castle was burned to the ground during succession disputes in the 1450s, but was rebuilt, and the castle and city were further embellished and expanded during the reign of King Shō Shin (r. 1477–1526). In addition to

756-465: The circular and eight-directional movements, breathing power, and hard and soft characteristics of Naha-te styles such as Uechi-ryū and Gōjū-ryū (剛柔流). Shitō-ryū is extremely fast, but still can be artistic and powerful. In addition, Shitō-ryū formalizes and emphasizes the five rules of defense, developed by Kenwa Mabuni , and known as Uke no go gensoku (受けの五原則), Uke no go genri (受けの五原理), or Uke no go ho (受けの五法): Modern Shitō-ryū styles also place

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792-545: The construction of stone dragon pillars and other embellishments upon the palace itself, the Buddhist temple Enkaku-ji was built on the castle grounds in 1492, the Sōgen temple on the road to Naha was expanded, and in 1501 construction was completed on Tamaudun , which would be used as the royal mausoleum from thence forward. Throughout the medieval and early modern periods, the residents of Shuri were primarily those associated with

828-560: The countryside likewise dried up. Servants were dismissed, and the aristocratic population of the city scattered, seeking employment in Naha, the countryside, or the Japanese archipelago . Census figures from 1875 to 1879 show that roughly half of the population of Okinawa Island were living in the greater Naha-Shuri area. Shuri had fewer households than Naha, but each household consisted of more people. Roughly 95,000 people in 22,500 households were of

864-496: The eldest son is deemed the successor and inheritor of everything his father owned, including the title of Soke. Kenei Mabuni was succeeded by his son, Kenyu Mabuni, as the third Soke of Shito-Ryu. Kenyu was anointed the next Soke (successor) of the system in an inauguration ceremony held on February 28, 2016, in Osaka, continuing his father's and his grandfather's work which is the spread of the original Shito ryu Karate do worldwide. Additionally, Tsukasa Mabuni, daughter of Kenzo Mabuni,

900-683: The end of the American Occupation in Okinawa. Shuri was one of the sites, alongside Nago , used by the US Army to test biological weapons in the 60's. The tests involved seeing how effective rice blast fungus was at destroying rice crops, and were aimed at possible use in China or Southeast Asia. Similar tests were also carried out on the US mainland, and it is not known whether the tests in Okinawa occurred inside

936-470: The future of Karate: Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan ), another contemporary, had moved to Tokyo in the 1920s to promote his art on the mainland as well. By 1929, Mabuni had moved to Osaka on the mainland, to become a full-time karate instructor of a style he originally called Hanko-ryū, or "half-hard style". The name of the style changed to Shitō-ryū , in honor of its main influences. Mabuni derived

972-456: The kingdom was abolished and incorporated into Japan as Okinawa prefecture . In 1896, Shuri was made a ward ( 区 , ku ) of the new prefectural capital, Naha , though it was made a separate city again in 1921. In 1954, it was merged again into Naha. Shuri Castle was first built during the reign of Shunbajunki (r. 1237–1248), who ruled from nearby Urasoe Castle . This was nearly a century before Okinawa Island would become divided into

1008-416: The kingdom was now a vassal state under Satsuma's suzerainty and would remain so for roughly 250 years. The American Commodore Perry , when he came to Okinawa in the 1850s, forced his way into Shuri Castle on two separate occasions, but was denied an audience with the king both times. The kingdom was formally abolished when, on 27 March 1879, Japanese Imperial forces led by Matsuda Michiyuki proceeded to

1044-522: The name for his new style from the first kanji character from the names of his two primary teachers, Itosu and Higaonna (also called Higashionna). With the support of Ryusho Sakagami (1915–1993), he opened a number of Shitō-ryū dojo in the Osaka area, including one at Kansai University and the Japan Karatedō-kai dojo. To this day, the largest contingent of Shitō-ryū practitioners in Japan is centered in

1080-456: The premises of US military bases there. A number of primary, middle, and secondary schools are located in Shuri, along with one university. The Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts is located just outside the grounds of Shuri Castle. One of the university's buildings sits on the site of the former Office of the Magistrate of Mother of Pearl ( 貝摺奉行所 , kaizuri bugyōsho ) , an office of

1116-559: The royal administration which oversaw the kingdom's official craftsmen, chiefly lacquerers . The village of Tobari in Shuri was the home of Masami Chinen , who founded and taught the martial art Yamani ryu specialising in Bōjutsu . Gibo and Shuri Stations on the Okinawa Urban Monorail lay within the boundaries of Shuri. Shuri Castle Park, Tamaudun, and other major sites are within easy walking distance of Shuri Station, which

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1152-451: The royal court in some way. While Naha was the economic center of the kingdom, Shuri was the political center. Residence at Shuri was prestigious into the 20th century. Samurai forces from the Japanese feudal domain of Satsuma seized Shuri Castle on 5 April 1609. The samurai withdrew soon afterwards, returning King Shō Nei to his throne, and the castle and city to the Okinawans, though

1188-399: The world, for it commands the countryside below for miles around and looks toward distant sea horizons on every side. " By 1266, Okinawa was collecting tribute from the communities of the nearby islands of Iheya , Kumejima , and Kerama , as well as the more distant Amami Islands ; new governmental offices to manage this tribute were established at the port of Tomari , which lay just below

1224-521: Was born in Shuri , Okinawa . As the son of Kenwa Mabuni , the founder of the Shitō-ryū and one of the most important karate experts in the history of the martial arts, he was in touch with karate and some of its greatest masters such as Miyagi Chojun , Funakoshi Gichin , and Motobu Chōki from childhood. Besides his karate practice he also studied several other martial arts such as aikidō , kendō , Okinawan kobudō , jujutsu , jûdô , and ninjutsu . At

1260-556: Was inspired by the Uechi-ryū . He was the author of several books about the Shitō-ryū techniques and of one book about the historical roots and the spiritual basics of karate as budō art. On December 19, 2015, he died at the age of 97. Kenei Mabuni was succeeded by his son, Kenyu Mabuni, as the third Soke of Shito-Ryu. Kenyu was anointed the next Soke (successor) of the system in an inauguration ceremony held on February 28, 2016, in Osaka, continuing his father's and his grandfather's work which

1296-428: Was legendary for his encyclopaedic knowledge of kata and their bunkai applications. By the 1920s, he was regarded as the foremost authority on Okinawan kata and their history and was much sought after as a teacher by his contemporaries. There is even some evidence that his expertise was sought out in China, as well as in Okinawa and mainland Japan. As a police officer, he taught local law enforcement officers and at

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