Ankō Asato

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Ankō Asato
Born 1827
Ryūkyū Kingdom Flag of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
Died 1906
Martial art practiced Shuri-te
Teacher(s) Sokon Matsumura
Notable students Gichin Funakoshi

Anko Asato (安里 安恒 Asato Ankō?, Azato Yasutsune in Japanese, 1827–1906) was an Okinawan master of karate. He and Ankō Itosu were the two main karate masters who taught Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shōtōkan-ryū karate. Funakoshi appears to be the source of most of the information available on Asato. Many articles contain information about Asato,[1][2][3][4][5] but the relevant parts are clearly based on Funakoshi's descriptions of him.[6]

Funakoshi first met Asato when he was a schoolmate of Asato's son; he called Asato "one of Okinawa's greatest experts in the art of karate."[7] According to Funakoshi, Asato's family belonged to the Tonochi class (hereditary town and village chiefs), and held authority in the village of Asato, halfway between Shuri and Naha, and he was not only a master of karate, but also skilled at riding horses, Jigen-ryū kendō (swordsmanship), archery, and an exceptional scholar.[6]

In a 1934 article, Funakoshi noted that Asato and Itosu had studied karate together under Sōkon Matsumura.[8] He also related how Asato and Itosu once overcame a group of 20–30 attackers,[8] and how Asato set a trap for troublemakers in his home village.[9] In his 1956 autobiography, Funakoshi recounted several stories about Asato, including: Asato's political astuteness in following the government order to cut off the traditional men's topknot (pp. 13–14); Asato's defeat of Yōrin Kanna, in which the unarmed Asato prevailed despite Kanna being armed with an unblunted blade (pp. 14–15); Asato's demonstration of a single-point punch (ippon-ken; p. 15); and Asato and Itosu's friendly arm-wrestling matches (p. 16).[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Green, B. D. (1992): Gichin Funakoshi, more than a great master Retrieved on 2 September 2007.
  2. ^ Noble, G. (1988): Masters of the Shorin-Ryu: Part One, by Graham Noble Retrieved on 2 September 2007. Originally published as "Masters of the Shorin-ryu (Part 1)," Fighting Arts International, 9(2):24–28.
  3. ^ Master Yasutsune (Ankoh) Asato (1928–1906) Retrieved on 2 September 2007.
  4. ^ Yasutsune Azato Retrieved on 2 September 2007.
  5. ^ Azato Retrieved on 2 September 2007.
  6. ^ a b c Funakoshi, G. (1956/1975): Karate-dō: My way of life. Tokyo: Kodansha. ISBN 978-0-87011-463-2.
  7. ^ Funakoshi, G. (1956/1975): Karate-dō: My way of life (p. 3). Tokyo: Kodansha. ISBN 978-0-87011-463-2.
  8. ^ a b Funakoshi, G. (1934): Azatoh Ankoh: A short story about my teacher, Part 1 (translated by P. McCarthy and Y. McCarthy). Retrieved on 2 September 2007.
  9. ^ Funakoshi, G. (1934): Azatoh Ankoh: A short story about my teacher, Part 2 (translated by P. McCarthy and Y. McCarthy). Retrieved on 2 September 2007.
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