Post by fleur on Jan 1, 2012 5:17:51 GMT
Zen in Karate with Shoshin Nagamine
Following on from Mel’s post about spirituality in karate, I have recently been reading a book by Shoshin Nagamine the founder of Matsubayashi Ryu. Shoshin Nagamine was a scholar who studied and researched the culture and history of karate and was recognised as the most senior authority of karate-do at the time his book “ Tales of Okinawa‘a Great Masters“ was written, prior to his death in 1997.
I have come across some interesting reading which in light of Mel’s post on spiritually in karate I thought would be appropriate to write an article to reflect this most prominent masters thoughts on ‘Zen’ in karate. Please note that these are not my opinions, it is my desire to simply pass on the thoughts of Shoshin Nagamine through this post for your consideration. Much of what is written here is quoted directly or summarized from his book.
I’ll first give you a brief history of Shoshin Nagamine for those of you that are not familiar with him. Shoshin Nagamine was born in Okinawa in Naha’s Tomari village in 1907. He began his karate training at the age of 17 under Chojin Kuba of his neighbourhood and by the age of 19 at a School in Shuri under Taro Shimabuku who then introduced him to Ankichi Arakaki(who was a direct student of Chotoku Kyan, Chomo Hanashiro & Chosin Chibana). By his senior year he had become the captain of the school’s karate club. That year his school was to participate in a karate demonstration in Naha and in order to prepare he got to train every evening under the eminent karate man Kodatsu Ida (direct student of Kosaku Matsumora). In 1931 he entered the Police force which we know many prominent karate masters did so they could continue to develop their passion for karate. Nagamine joined the Kandena Police Station and for the next four years trained directly under Chotoku Kyan (some of whose masters included Kosaku Matsumora, Sokon Matsumura & Anko Itosu just to name a few). In 1936 he went on to train under Choki Motobu at the Metropolitan Police in Tokyo.
In 1940 he received his teachers license from Japan’s prestigious Dai Nippon Butokukai.
In 1941 a special karate-do committee of Okinawa asked Nagamine and his good friend Miyagi Chojun (the two current authorites of karate in Okinawa at the time) to develop two new beginner kata’s for the school system of Okinawa . Hence Fukyugata Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ichi were formed. These two kata were then introduced to all schools and across all karate schools in Okinawa no matter what style of karate was practised. Our style to this day still performs Miyagi Chojun’s kata as the second kata of our system to honour this connection.
In 1942 Naganmine opened his first Dojo, however he did not name the style of Matsubayashi Ryu until after the war in 1947. Unfortunately this dojo was destroyed like many in the war and it would not be until 1953 that he has the opportunity to build his new dojo. This dojo remains to this day in Naha city which hosts many visiting students from around the world. His son Takayoshi Nagamine inheritated the title of Soke upon O’sensei’s death and he continues to share his passion with the world.
Shoshin Nagamine survived the devastation of Okinawa in WWII and in 1945 became a prisoner of war. As a prisoner of war one of his appointed duties was to transport wounded soldiers from the field. Quite by chance at this time he found two books lying in the street - Karate-do, Kyohan by Funakoshi Gichin and Shikon by Nakasaki Tatsukuro. During such dire times the reading of these books had a profound impact on the way he came to embrace the martial arts with respect to the underlying moral philosophy. And at this point in time he knew that his life would be dedicated to the continued development of karate.
After the war and complete destruction of Okinawa, with thousands of lives lost, Shoshin Nagamine suffered such profound loss and loneliness that he began to re-evaluate the teaching policy of karate with regard to its philosophy.
He continued his research and reading and discovered ‘The Book of Five Rings” and “Tesshu Proves His True Value”. From these he gained enormous insight and realized how karate should be taught in the future. The authors of these books - Musashi and Yamaoka were both remarkable swordsmen of different era’s however both had balanced their physical training with metaphysical precepts as a single practice. It was through the introspective power cultivated in Zen Buddhism that they came to fully understand the secrets of martial arts. While both possessed enormous physical strength and remarkable technical skills, they recognised that true mastery could only ascend from defeating the greatest adversary of all: the enemy within.
Discovering the inward significance of such a profound practice, Nagamine resolved to not only embrace Zen practise into his daily life but to introduce it into his dojo.
He practiced initially on his own and then received three months special training from the Zen priest - Sakiyama Sogen in 1969. He then went on to study under Okamoto Keisei, a Zen priest at the Reigen Temple in Okinawa’s Itoman district. He then started a Zazen group that enjoyed regular Sunday training.
This bit makes me laugh, he goes onto say - When he first introduced the practice of Zazen to his dojo most of his students complained about it. It took about three years before they finally got use to the practise.
The practice of Zen in the dojo from what I can gather from his writings is simply to sit and meditate (maintain a quiet state of mind) for around 15minutes before the commencement of class. He states - In the practice of Zazen , it is said that “if one sits down a little bit at a time, one will find their Buddha nature a little bit at a time.” Zazen is a quiet but severe practice, a practice through which one finds oneself. Zazen is the training of the kokoro, the mind.
Training the precept known as Shingitai, (mind, technique and body) is the ideal training precept for martial arts, but in the case of the pre-Meiji Okinawans, little emphasis was placed on such spiritual practices (shin) because of the harsh political restrictions. Under the weight of Satsuma’s restrictions on religious practices the tradition failed to properly incorporate and emphasize spiritual principles. To recognize this historical phenomenon is to understand how and why such overemphasis was placed on physical conditioning and practical application. By the time of the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1925) periods, karate training, a discipline void of the spiritual element, came to reflect this physical orientation. Most, if not all, teachers of karate placed more emphasis on kakedameshi (fighting) than they ever did on the inward journey.
Nagamine believed that spiritual training was a lost component of modern day martial arts. After many years of searching for testimony which connected Zen to karate, he finally received a letter from Kuniyoshi Yukie, a highly regarded authority of Ryukyu history. In this letter he learnt that the Gokokuji, a Shingon Buddhist Temple, had been erected in the Naminoue district of Naha’s Kume village in 1368 by a monk named Yorishige. The temple grounds also served as the location on which Okinawa’s “thirty-six Chinese families” later established the Tenson Mausoleum. With Kume village being the window of Chinese culture in Okinawa, the mausoleum housed many valuable documents about politics, economy, religion and military science of the Middle Kingdom. Among the many documents on military science was the: Wu Bei Zhi (Bubishi) an important text which contains the maxims of Sun Tzu and “The Eight Phrases of Chuan Fa (Kenpo). Chapters one through three discuss kokoro (the mind/spirit) whereas chapters four through seven address the gitai (technique & body) phenomenon.
Can you imagine how delighted he was to discover that the first three precepts from “The Eight Phrases of Chuan Fa” as they appear in the ancient Bubishi were identical to the Zen philosophy which maintains that “the human mind is a microcosm of the universal macroscosm.”
1. The human mind is one with heaven and earth.
2. Our blood circulation parallels the solar and lunar cycles of each day.
3. Inhalation represents softness; exhalation characterizes hardness.
With this revelation he felt it safe to conclude that the connection between Zen and martial arts dated far into Chinese history.
Nagamine was passionate about Zen in Martial Arts and continued his practise until his death. He was a great historian and shared his passion and history through his books and with the likes of Patrick McCarthy in the ongoing effort to record Okinawa’s cultural and karate history which he had dedicated his life to discovering.
In 1982 he received the Fifth Class Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan.
In 1996 he accepted a lifetime appointment as a member of the Board of Advisers of the Institute of Zen Studies. Later that year he was recognised by the Daihonzan Chozen-ji/International Zen Dojo for his realisation through “Ken Zen Ichinyo” and given the dharma name Kenzan or “Fist Mountain.”
Shoshin Nagamine died 2nd November 1997.
Following on from Mel’s post about spirituality in karate, I have recently been reading a book by Shoshin Nagamine the founder of Matsubayashi Ryu. Shoshin Nagamine was a scholar who studied and researched the culture and history of karate and was recognised as the most senior authority of karate-do at the time his book “ Tales of Okinawa‘a Great Masters“ was written, prior to his death in 1997.
I have come across some interesting reading which in light of Mel’s post on spiritually in karate I thought would be appropriate to write an article to reflect this most prominent masters thoughts on ‘Zen’ in karate. Please note that these are not my opinions, it is my desire to simply pass on the thoughts of Shoshin Nagamine through this post for your consideration. Much of what is written here is quoted directly or summarized from his book.
I’ll first give you a brief history of Shoshin Nagamine for those of you that are not familiar with him. Shoshin Nagamine was born in Okinawa in Naha’s Tomari village in 1907. He began his karate training at the age of 17 under Chojin Kuba of his neighbourhood and by the age of 19 at a School in Shuri under Taro Shimabuku who then introduced him to Ankichi Arakaki(who was a direct student of Chotoku Kyan, Chomo Hanashiro & Chosin Chibana). By his senior year he had become the captain of the school’s karate club. That year his school was to participate in a karate demonstration in Naha and in order to prepare he got to train every evening under the eminent karate man Kodatsu Ida (direct student of Kosaku Matsumora). In 1931 he entered the Police force which we know many prominent karate masters did so they could continue to develop their passion for karate. Nagamine joined the Kandena Police Station and for the next four years trained directly under Chotoku Kyan (some of whose masters included Kosaku Matsumora, Sokon Matsumura & Anko Itosu just to name a few). In 1936 he went on to train under Choki Motobu at the Metropolitan Police in Tokyo.
In 1940 he received his teachers license from Japan’s prestigious Dai Nippon Butokukai.
In 1941 a special karate-do committee of Okinawa asked Nagamine and his good friend Miyagi Chojun (the two current authorites of karate in Okinawa at the time) to develop two new beginner kata’s for the school system of Okinawa . Hence Fukyugata Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ichi were formed. These two kata were then introduced to all schools and across all karate schools in Okinawa no matter what style of karate was practised. Our style to this day still performs Miyagi Chojun’s kata as the second kata of our system to honour this connection.
In 1942 Naganmine opened his first Dojo, however he did not name the style of Matsubayashi Ryu until after the war in 1947. Unfortunately this dojo was destroyed like many in the war and it would not be until 1953 that he has the opportunity to build his new dojo. This dojo remains to this day in Naha city which hosts many visiting students from around the world. His son Takayoshi Nagamine inheritated the title of Soke upon O’sensei’s death and he continues to share his passion with the world.
Shoshin Nagamine survived the devastation of Okinawa in WWII and in 1945 became a prisoner of war. As a prisoner of war one of his appointed duties was to transport wounded soldiers from the field. Quite by chance at this time he found two books lying in the street - Karate-do, Kyohan by Funakoshi Gichin and Shikon by Nakasaki Tatsukuro. During such dire times the reading of these books had a profound impact on the way he came to embrace the martial arts with respect to the underlying moral philosophy. And at this point in time he knew that his life would be dedicated to the continued development of karate.
After the war and complete destruction of Okinawa, with thousands of lives lost, Shoshin Nagamine suffered such profound loss and loneliness that he began to re-evaluate the teaching policy of karate with regard to its philosophy.
He continued his research and reading and discovered ‘The Book of Five Rings” and “Tesshu Proves His True Value”. From these he gained enormous insight and realized how karate should be taught in the future. The authors of these books - Musashi and Yamaoka were both remarkable swordsmen of different era’s however both had balanced their physical training with metaphysical precepts as a single practice. It was through the introspective power cultivated in Zen Buddhism that they came to fully understand the secrets of martial arts. While both possessed enormous physical strength and remarkable technical skills, they recognised that true mastery could only ascend from defeating the greatest adversary of all: the enemy within.
Discovering the inward significance of such a profound practice, Nagamine resolved to not only embrace Zen practise into his daily life but to introduce it into his dojo.
He practiced initially on his own and then received three months special training from the Zen priest - Sakiyama Sogen in 1969. He then went on to study under Okamoto Keisei, a Zen priest at the Reigen Temple in Okinawa’s Itoman district. He then started a Zazen group that enjoyed regular Sunday training.
This bit makes me laugh, he goes onto say - When he first introduced the practice of Zazen to his dojo most of his students complained about it. It took about three years before they finally got use to the practise.
The practice of Zen in the dojo from what I can gather from his writings is simply to sit and meditate (maintain a quiet state of mind) for around 15minutes before the commencement of class. He states - In the practice of Zazen , it is said that “if one sits down a little bit at a time, one will find their Buddha nature a little bit at a time.” Zazen is a quiet but severe practice, a practice through which one finds oneself. Zazen is the training of the kokoro, the mind.
Training the precept known as Shingitai, (mind, technique and body) is the ideal training precept for martial arts, but in the case of the pre-Meiji Okinawans, little emphasis was placed on such spiritual practices (shin) because of the harsh political restrictions. Under the weight of Satsuma’s restrictions on religious practices the tradition failed to properly incorporate and emphasize spiritual principles. To recognize this historical phenomenon is to understand how and why such overemphasis was placed on physical conditioning and practical application. By the time of the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1925) periods, karate training, a discipline void of the spiritual element, came to reflect this physical orientation. Most, if not all, teachers of karate placed more emphasis on kakedameshi (fighting) than they ever did on the inward journey.
Nagamine believed that spiritual training was a lost component of modern day martial arts. After many years of searching for testimony which connected Zen to karate, he finally received a letter from Kuniyoshi Yukie, a highly regarded authority of Ryukyu history. In this letter he learnt that the Gokokuji, a Shingon Buddhist Temple, had been erected in the Naminoue district of Naha’s Kume village in 1368 by a monk named Yorishige. The temple grounds also served as the location on which Okinawa’s “thirty-six Chinese families” later established the Tenson Mausoleum. With Kume village being the window of Chinese culture in Okinawa, the mausoleum housed many valuable documents about politics, economy, religion and military science of the Middle Kingdom. Among the many documents on military science was the: Wu Bei Zhi (Bubishi) an important text which contains the maxims of Sun Tzu and “The Eight Phrases of Chuan Fa (Kenpo). Chapters one through three discuss kokoro (the mind/spirit) whereas chapters four through seven address the gitai (technique & body) phenomenon.
Can you imagine how delighted he was to discover that the first three precepts from “The Eight Phrases of Chuan Fa” as they appear in the ancient Bubishi were identical to the Zen philosophy which maintains that “the human mind is a microcosm of the universal macroscosm.”
1. The human mind is one with heaven and earth.
2. Our blood circulation parallels the solar and lunar cycles of each day.
3. Inhalation represents softness; exhalation characterizes hardness.
With this revelation he felt it safe to conclude that the connection between Zen and martial arts dated far into Chinese history.
Nagamine was passionate about Zen in Martial Arts and continued his practise until his death. He was a great historian and shared his passion and history through his books and with the likes of Patrick McCarthy in the ongoing effort to record Okinawa’s cultural and karate history which he had dedicated his life to discovering.
In 1982 he received the Fifth Class Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan.
In 1996 he accepted a lifetime appointment as a member of the Board of Advisers of the Institute of Zen Studies. Later that year he was recognised by the Daihonzan Chozen-ji/International Zen Dojo for his realisation through “Ken Zen Ichinyo” and given the dharma name Kenzan or “Fist Mountain.”
Shoshin Nagamine died 2nd November 1997.