| Higaonna Kanryo | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 10, 1853 Nishimura, Naha, Ryūkyū Kingdom |
| Died | December 1916 Naha, Okinawa |
| Other names | Higashionna Kanryo, "Higashionna West" |
| Style | Naha-te |
| Teacher(s) | Arakaki Seishō, Kojo Taitei,[1] Xie Zhongxiang, Wai Xinxian, possibly also Kojo Tatei, Iwah |
| Rank | Kensei, Founder of Naha-te |
| Notable students | Chōjun Miyagi, Kenwa Mabuni, Kyoda Juhatsu, Koki Shiroma, Higa Seiko, Shiroma Shinpan (Gusukuma) |
Higaonna (Higashionna) Kanryo (東恩納 寛量 Higaonna Kanryō, March 10, 1853 - December 1916), also known as "Higashionna West",[1] was a native of Nishi-shin-machi, Naha, Okinawa. He was born in Nishimura, Naha[1] to a merchant family, whose business was selling firewood, an expensive commodity in the Ryukyu Islands. He founded the fighting style later to be known as Gōjū ryū karate.
Contents |
The characters of his family name are pronounced "Higaonna" in Okinawan, and "Higashionna" in Japanese. In Western articles the two spellings are often used interchangeably. He had an older relative, 5 years older, called Higaonna Kanryu who lived in Higashimura and was known as "Higashionna East".[1]
In 1867 he began to study Monk Fist Boxing (Luohan Quan) from Aragaki Tsuji Pechin Seisho who was a fluent Chinese speaker and interpreter for the Ryukyu court.[1] At that time the word karate was not in common use, and the martial arts were often referred to simply as Te ("hand"), sometimes prefaced by the area of origin, as Naha-te, Shuri-te, or simply Okinawa-te.
In September 1870, Higaonna was petitioned to go to Beijing as a translator for Okinawan officials. In March 1873 he sailed to Fuzhou in the Fukien province of China.[1]
Aragaki had given Higaonna an introduction to the martial arts master Kojo Taitei whose dojo was in Fuzhou.[1] Higaonna spent his time studying with various teachers of the Chinese martial arts, the first four years he probably studied with Wai Xinxian, Kojo Tatai and or Iwah at the Kojo Dojo. Kanryo then trained under Ru Ru Ko (a.k.a. Ruru Ko, Ryu Ryu Ko, To Ru Ko, or Lu Lu Ko, his name was never recorded as Kanryo Higaonna was illiterate. His real name was probably Xie Zhongxiang founder of Whooping Crane gongfu). According to oral account,[2] Kanryo spent years doing household chores for master Ru Ru Ko, until he saved his daughter from drowning during a heavy flood and begged the master to teach Kung-fu as a reward.
In the 1880s Kanryo returned to Okinawa and continued the family business. He also began to teach the martial arts in and around Naha. His style was distinguished by its integration of both go-no (hard) and ju-no (soft) techniques in one system. He became so prominent that the name "Naha-te" became identified with Higaonna Kanryo's system.
Kanryo was noted for his powerful Sanchin kata, or form. Students reported that the wooden floor would be hot from the gripping of his feet.
Several of Kanryo's students went on to become influential masters of what came to be called karate, amongst them Chōjun Miyagi, Kenwa Mabuni, Kyoda Shigehatsu, Koki Shiroma, Higa Seiko, and Shiroma Shinpan (Gusukuma).