Zenshu Toyama Sensei (From Okinawa Times Feb 3 2019)

Toyama sensei is one of the most senior teachers of Okinawan Goju Ryu today. However there is very little written about him, especially in English. I took some time to translate an article that was written about him from the Okinawa times last year. There were a few terms I hadn't really heard before but otherwise I hope the translation will be useful.

Toyama sensei at the time of the interview

"Karate is a culture. If you have a culture, you can talk with any great power on an equal footing. I hope that Okinawa's proud traditional culture will continue to exist. "  Ryukyu Kokugi Karatedo Goju-ryu Tenmu Shinjikan Hanshi 10th Dan Toyama Zenshu (82) has been on the karate road for 62 years. We take pride in Okinawa Karate, which spreads all over the world, and wish for succession and further expansion.

I was born and raised in Awase, Okinawa City. It is said that karate was popular in addition to kendo and sumo in the area where there are small villages and yadoui formed in various parts of the main island by the return of the samurai. I have had many opportunities to see karate since I was a child, and I naturally admired it.

At the school right after the end of the war, my teacher told me that "you guys will carry Okinawa on your back", and because I was small, I started because I wanted to be stronger.

“I started karate when I was 20 years old”. His teacher, Seikichi Toguchi, was extremely strict about karate, despite his gentle appearance. Under the policy of not giving specific advice, "You can't do it because you are not trained enough,” I spent days thoroughly repeating kihon kata, kokyu ho, and ashi sabaki.

At the same time, he started to run a barber shop in Okinawa city. At that time, it was a turbulent era under US military rule. It was said that there were many difficulties such as the storefront being destroyed by US soldiers. However, "I want to be stronger. Karate is a traditional culture of Okinawa, and I always practiced with aspirations and pride.

In 1973, he opened his own dojo. Judging that it was impossible to balance with the barber shop that was open from morning till night, he set up a jewelry store. He was often robbed while showing jewels. "I was already strong at this time," recalls his experience of repelling robbers.

While teaching at the dojo, he received guidance from Mr. Shunshin Furugen, (who was close to Mr. Toguchi) in Suparinpei and Kururunfa. Furugen would say "In the past, you had to be very strong". "I want to convey traditional karate to the world." With that strong feeling, I was passionate about training and guidance.

The name of the dojo is "Shinjikan". The idea of karate is "to govern the mind. There are still many words in the dojo, saying, "Face yourself." It is the most important thing in the first place, no matter how good you are at learning, no matter how intelligent or talented you are, that is the most important thing in your mind. This is the way people live." This word is based on the song of Ryukyu Iroha, a great man of the Ryukyu Kingdom era who was active from the latter half of the 17th century to the first half of the 18th century.

Even when he collapsed due to a cerebral infarction about 10 years ago, he rehabilitated with karate junbi undo and showed a recovery from the threat.  Since last year, he has been involved in the prefecture's karate promotion project, such as recording videos to pass on traditional karate to future generations.

"I'm really happy to be involved in karate for such a long time, but I'm still immature. I still don't want to lose to young people," he says.

Before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he said with excitement, "It is difficult for a culture born from  small Okinawa to become an Olympic event."  "I want to preserve this traditional culture," he is currently teaching with his son, Toshi, and his daughter, Hideko.

"The martial arts, which are in the midst of a difficult situation, will not be stagnant, but it will be doing your best," he says. With the words that have been often said by his seniors from his childhood, he continues to face himself by training his fists even at the age of 82.

Ryu Ryu Ko, the Mysterious Teacher of Kanryo Higashionna

I was talking with one of my friends about karate history the other day and the topic of Ryu Ryu Ko came up. While some of the ideas were still fresh in my mind I decided I would write a post about him and the things I have been able to learn over the years.

Ryu Ryu Ko is well known as the teacher Kanryo Higashionna studied with while he was in China, but exactly who he was or even what his name means is still the subject of much debate. What little oral history has been passed down about him can be found in Karate Denshinroku by Akio Kinjo. Akio Kinjo was a student of Seko Higa who himself trained directly with Kanryo Higashionna in his youth. Even before his training officially started it was said Higa would often accompany his father Senshu to Kanryo Higashionna’s house and would listen to their stories as they drank sake. Senshu Higa was said to be a relative (possibly cousin) of Kanryo Higashionna. When Seiko Higa was around 13 he formally began training with Higashionna. Overall Seko Higa is said to have gained a rich oral history about many things including Kanryo’s time in China which he later passed down to his own students.

Besides Goju Ryu, Ryu Ryu Ko is talked about in one other major style which is Ryuei Ryu. The style’s founder Kenri Nakaima is also said to have trained with Ryu Ryu Ko although much earlier than Kanryo Higashionna. This has led some to speculate that there were actually two different Ryu Ryu Ko, and that the one who taught Nakaima, is not the same one who taught Higashionna. However, I believe they were very much the same person and as we get into things more this will be more clear.

This photo, often used for Ryu Ryu Ko, is actually another man named Xie Zhongxiang

Below is some of the oral history on Ryu Ryu Ko passed down by Seko Higa:

(1) Wai Shin Zan and Ru Ru Ko were famous as two great kung fu masters in Fujian province. 

(2) Wai Shin Zan was a military officer. Ru Ru Ko ran his own kungfu school as a chief instructor.

(3) Ru Ru Ko was not from Fuzhou. He immigrated to Fuzhou from other village or town. His house was near river or sea.

(4) Ru Ru Ko came the Ryukyu islands together with Wai Shin Zan as a military attaché of Sapposhi.

(5) Seko Higa's father and grandfather remembered Wai Shin Zan and Ru Ru Ko as the left and right hands of the Chinese Sapposhi during their visit to the Ryukyu Kingdom.

(6) After arriving in Fuzhou, China, Kanryo Higashionna visited Wai Shin Zan to ask for kungfu training. But Wai Shin Zan did not accept him, because military officers were not allowed to teach martial arts to civilians. So he recommended Higashionna to go to the kungfu school of Master Ru Ru Ko.

(7) Kanryo Higashionna was not taught anything at all by Ru Ru Ko for some period just after joining the kung fu school, but he had to do household chores for the Ru Ru Ko family. He only trained with implements or tools. When the river flooded, Kanryo Higashionna came to the home of Ru Ru Ko by boat and rescued his family. At the risk of his life, Higashionna saved Ru Ru Ko’s daughter from drowning when she was carried away by a heavy flood. He often talked about his memory of this very risky event to his disciples in Okinawa.

(8) When Kanryo Higashionna was getting ready to return to Okinawa, Ru Ru Ko was very old and had poor eyesight.

This last part actually makes perfect sense, as Kanryo Higashionna came to China several decades after Nakaima did. Ryu Ryu Ko would have indeed been quite old when he left. This is a direct contradiction of the idea that he was Xie Zhongxiang who was only one year older than Kanryo Higashionna.

The kanji from Ryuei Ryu provide a little clue as to his name. It is said the first character of the style, was taken from his name. 劉 would be typically read as Liu but if you pronounce it in Japanese it is Ryu.

There has been a lot of speculation about the name. Same have said Ryu Ryu is just a name repeated twice. Others have suggested it was possibly the nickname of Kanryo Higashionna while in China. Finally there is the idea that “ko”means big brother and is how Kanryo would have referred to his teacher. I personally don’t think any of these are true. 

It’s interesting to note the full name has been published by Tadahiko Ohtsuka in the Goju Kensha Kyohan in 1977. It is 劉龍公 and we can immediately see the first character is 劉 as in Ryuei Ryu. When you read this in Japanese the name reads, Ryu Ryu Ko. We can see clearly it is not a name repeated twice. It is merely a strange coincidence the two first characters would actually have the same pronunciation. In Chinese it is Liu Long Gong, who was the teacher of Kanryo Higashionna.

A scan of the lineage chart from the Goju Kensha Kyohan

In Akio Kinjo’s book, the same kanji can be found as well, though he also provides an alternative name of To Ru Ko.

 

Japanese karateka and researcher Takao Nakaya refers to Liu Long Gong as Ryu Ryu Ko in his publication Karate-Do History and Philosophy Sixth Edition.  Unfortunately though at this time, there are not many details available on exactly who Liu Long Gong was or what he taught. 

Today people like to focus on white crane and Xie’s teachings as some precursor to Goju Ryu when they likely have nothing to do with each other. The kata of his system have little to no resemblance to those of Goju Ryu or even To’on Ryu. Goju Ryu does however share many things with Ryuei Ryu. Ryu Ryu Ko was almost certainly not Xie Zhongxiang but likely a man name Liu Long Gong. 

You can read more about Ryu Ryu Ko and other notable Nahate/Goju Ryu individuals in my book History and Stories of Goju Ryu. 

Article Updated Nov 5 2021 

Keisetsu Yoshimaru talks about his karate training in the 1950s

 Here is a translation of some memoirs of Yoshimaru sensei from the Senbukan. A shorter version of this appeared in my book but here I translated some additional parts. He talks about Kanki Izumikawa, the Senbukan and also a few other prominent karate and kobudo teachers of the time. Enjoy.

I was introduced to Kanki Izumikawa sensei in 1951, director of the Senbukan. It was great luck I was able to learn the Higa-Ha Goju-Ryu which was passed down by Izumikawa sensei. I was eventually graded to Yondan by Izumikawa sensei. Thanks to his teachings I was better able to understand the Daito Ryu of my teacher Yukiyoshi Sagawa. To show my appreciation to Izumikawa sensei I later instructed his son Katsuya, the third soke of Senbukan in Daito-Ryu Aiki Jujutsu.

My lineage of Goju-Ryu is as follows: Kanryo Higashionna—Chojun Miyagi—Seiko Higa—Kanki Izumikawa
After I stopped my job as a seaman after three years I was able to reside with the Izumikawa family. I was also an instructor at the Senbukan honbu dojo.

Izumikawa, Yoshimaru and Arakawa, Senbukan dojo mid 50s

Before the war Izumikawa sensei was the only official teacher of Goju-Ryu karate on the mainland. Kenwa Mabuni sensei was teaching Shito Ryu in the Kansai area at the beginning of the Showa era.

As luck would have it I was able to train the Goju-Ryu of Kyoda sensei. I visited Juhatsu Kyoda who lived in the Oita prefecture in 1957. Since Izumikawa sensei was a former disciple of Kyoda sensei on Okinawa, I was taught the Sanseiru Kata directly by Kyoda sensei. It is because Chojun Miyagi sensei was on military service at the time Sanseiru was taught by Kanryo Higashionna sensei, only Juhatsu Kyoda sensei was able to learn Sanseiru. After this I returned home.

When I first came to Tokyo, I was planning to go to the Kodokan. However, at that time, karate movies such as "Sanshiro Sugata" and " Zanpamisaki no kettō" were popular, so I changed my schedule and immediately moved to Tokyo in 1950 and searched for a karate dojo. Shortly after I came to Tokyo, I was able to join Kanken Toyama sensei in Meguro. However, although there was a Toyama Dojo after the war, the teaching time was irregular. The Toyama dojo shihan dai, Ito sensei arranged for me to practice at the Aoyama University karate club.

Around that time I saw a photo of Sanchin in a magazine. I searched for the teacher who seemed to be in Kawasaki. When I asked at the police box, I was told to go there as it was a great teacher with 8th dan. It was Kanki Izumikawa sensei of the Senbukan. After the war, all the houses were still like barracks, but there was a small dojo. Kawasaki city had many people from Okinawa and had a strong Okinawan culture. At that time, Okinawa was still under the military administration of the United States, and people involved in Okinawa Karate usually visited Senbukan when they came to Tokyo.

While I resided with the Izumikawa family the branch chief list for the Senbukan was as follows:

Keisetsu Yoshimaru Yondan Honbu Shihan Dai
Sosui Ichikawa Godan Taito Branch Chief
Matsuke Akamine Godan Yokohama Branch Chief
Tsutomo Takato Godan Ota Branch Chief
Busen Arakawa Godan Suginami Branch Chief
Toshikazu Sagara Sandan Brazil

At that time, Morio Higaonna (now a world-famous karate teacher) came to Tokyo from Okinawa and entered the university, where he also performed at a university school festival. Shinken Taira sensei, of the ryukyu kobujutsu also came to Senbukan and held many seminars.

Sakagami sensei of the Japan Karatedo Shito-ryu General Headquarters is a teacher who has handed down all the kata of karate, but I stayed with Taira sensei in a small room on the second floor of the Sakagami Dojo in Tsurumi. Sakagami sensei and Nakamura (?) And I learned Ryukyu bojutsu together. At that time, I was still working for a nearby company, and I went to the company from Sakagami Dojo and learned bojutsu at Sakagami Dojo at night. Later Busen Arakawa launched the Sokan Ryu and Motokatsu Inoue launched the Ryukyu Kobudo Preservation Promotion Association.(Translator's note: Busen Arakawa was also a senior student of Shinken Taira in addition to Kanki Izumikawa)

During my time as a teacher at the Senbukan I met Gogen Yamaguchi sensei, the first chairman of the Goju kai together with Kanki Izumikawa sensei a couple times. I was happy to be invited to Yamaguchi sensei’s house at a later date.

So I had a good career in karate. If I lived in Kawasaki as it was, I would have spent my entire life enthusiastic about working in the karate world. However, my destiny has changed since I got a job at Hitachi, and it is my inevitable destiny.

Kanki Izumikawa sensei was in the top class of the karate world. I was getting ready to open a Senbukan branch dojo when I accidently met Mrs. Yukiyoshi Sagawa and my fate would change forever. After leaving the karate world which I spent 10 years training in Goju-Ryu I devoted the next 15 years to learning Sagawa-Ha Daito-Ryu. I was completely away from the karate world for 15 years, and I was taught by Yukiyoshi Sagawa sensei with almost no absence 3-4 days a week. Hitachi Central Research Laboratory is located in Kokubunji, and Sagawa Dojo is about a 20-minute walk, so I only had to go back and forth between the company and the dojo.

Yoshimaru practicing Seienchin kata 

Kanki Izumikawa, Pioneer of Goju-Ryu in Japan

Kanki Izumikawa was a master of Goju-Ryu who established the Senbukan dojo in Kawasaki Japan in 1939. The Senbukan was the first dojo of Okinawan Goju-Ryu on the mainland of Japan. At the time Goju-Ryu was already introduced to the mainland, but Izumikawa sensei was the first Okinawan teacher of Goju-Ryu to move to Japan and establish a permanent dojo. Today it remains the oldest dojo of Goju-Ryu.

Kanki Izumikawa was born on Okinawa in 1908 to an upper-class family. He was introduced to the basics of te by his grandfather who was a student of Sokon Matsumura. Later in his youth he studied Naha-te under Juhatsu Kyoda, a direct senior student of Kanryo Higashionna. Kyoda would later be the founder of the To’on-Ryu style of karate. In 1928 Izumikawa was introduced to Seiko Higa, who would become his main teacher. Seiko Higa was originally also a student of Kanryo Higashionna and the oldest student of Goju-Ryu founder Chojun Miyagi. Kanki Izumikawa and Seiko Higa both traveled to Saipan and taught karate for two years between 1935-1937. Upon their return Izumikawa was presented with Seiko Higa’s bubishi to copy by hand. The transmission of the bubishi from teacher to student was a certificate of mastery of sorts at the time and the tradition continues within Izumikawa’s line today. The following year in 1938 he made the move to Kawasaki.

In 1942 Kanki Izumikawa was recognized by the Dai Nippon Butokukai and awarded the title of Renshi, the same as other notable masters such as Kenwa Mabuni, Gichin Funakoshi. After war knowledge of the Senbukan spread and more students began to join. Some of the most notable students were Sosui Ichikawa, Busen Arakawa, Tsutomu Takato, Hyotaro Harada who would all got to open branch dojo of the Senbukan. Goju Ryu spread from the Senbukan all across the Kanto region of eastern Japan and as far north as Sendai and west to Nagoya. The popularity was such, that during Izumikawa’s lifetime even students of his students were running dojo of their own in the early 60s.

Kanki Izumikawa sensei with several students in the Senbukan dojo (~1951)

In 1957 Izumikawa was honoured with the highest title of Hanshi by the Dai Nippon Butokai. He was instrumental in the founding of the Nihon Karate do Rengokai and served as an advisor. He was also advisor of the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinkokai of Shinken Taira sensei and was a shihan of Ryukyu Kobudo which he learned from his older brother. He traveled twice to Hawaii to teach Goju-Ryu karate and took his senior students Busen Arakawa and Ryoichi Yanase with him. The Hawaii Senbukan was established by Kenneth Murakami and George Miyasaki who trained with Kanki Izumikawa at the Senbukan honbu during the 1950s.

In 1967 Izumikawa sensei passed away at the age of 59. The Senbukan dojo was inherited by his oldest son Kanbun Izumikawa who succeeded his father. After Izumikawa’s death virtually all the senior students went independent and founded their own organisations. The two main ones that stayed within the Senbukai were Hyotaro Harada and Satoru Suzuki. In 1982 Kanbun Izumikawa also passed away and the dojo was inherited by Kanki Izumikawa’s second son Katsuya Izumikawa. To this day he continues to teach and preserve his father’s Goju-Ryu which was inherited from Seiko Higa. In addition, Katsuya Izumikawa is a master of Daito-Ryu Aiki Jutsu which he learned from Keisetsu Yoshimaru and a shihan of Ryukyu Kobudo. Yoshimaru was originally a student of Kanki Izumikawa and ranked 4th dan in Goju-Ryu before he trained Daito-Ryu under Sagawa.

Kanki Izumikawa on Hawaii in 1964, with Busen Arakawa (back far left) and Ryoichi Yanase (far right)

Kanki Izumikawa’s influence on Goju-Ryu on the mainland was very strong and today there are many dojo in Japan which can trace their lineage back to the Senbukan. During his lifetime Kanki Izumikawa did not give in to the growing sports karate and stuck with the traditional Goju-Ryu methods he learned on Okinawa. Despite being very well known and respected in his time, today sadly his name is rarely spoken in Goju-Ryu circles outside Japan.

Kanzaki sensei talks about Pechurin/Suparinpei

Here is a short translation I did about Suparinpei/Pechurin from an article on Tou'on-Ryu that was featured in a special edition of Gekkan Karate Do.

Kanzaki Shigekazu sensei speaks about Pechurin/Suparinpei (Gekkan Karate Do)

Around 1965 (showa 40), it was when I was invited to visit the commemorative demonstration held by Satoshi Mori sensei, who opened the karate dojo Jinbukan (Goju Ryu) in Oita City, Oita Prefecture. At that time, there was a Suparinpei in the enbu.

I thought that Suparinpei and Pechurin of Tou'on-Ryu were the same kata. However, from the commemorative demonstration, when I reported to Kyoda sensei that “this was different from our Pechurin”, Kyoda sensei's face changed. Kanzaki-kun! Higashionna no tanme instructed as Pechurin. The Goju-Ryu Suparinpei is Suparinpei and Pechurin is Pechurin. Kyoda sensei never called it Suparinpei, it was only instructed as Pechurin.

This raises a question. Why did Miyagi Chojun sensei change the name of Pechurin, which he learned from Higashionna Kanryo sensei, to “Suparinpei”? Or do you think of Suparinpei as a completely different kata? In that case, Goju Ryu does not have a Pechurin.

Senbukan History from Hiden Budo Jan 2020

Here is a translation of the history section of the article on the Senbukan which was recently published in Hiden budo. If you end up posting it or sharing it elsewhere please give me credit for the translation.

Hidden budo January 2020

Translated by Filip Konjokrad

"Ju" part of Goju Ryu karate

In general, it is called Goju Ryu karate, the element of Go is exposed, and it has a strong image. However, as the name of the ryuha is “Goju” The technique is based on Go and Ju. At Karate Do Goju Ryu Senbukai, he focused his research on the technique of Ju, which tends to be hidden behind Go and tends to be left behind. The original technique system is fully built. Kanki Izumikawa shihan, the founder of Senbukai, was born in 1908 in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture. He learned the basics of karate from his grandfather and brother from the age of eight. As a high school student, he studied under the influence of Juhatsu Kyoda, one of Kanryo Higashionna's senior students. After graduating from high school, he practiced Goju Ryu in earnest under Higa Seko, student of Higashionna Kanryo. At the end of about 12 years of training, the transcription of the Hakutsuru Ken "Okinawa Den bubishi", which is regarded as the transmission of Goju Ryu, was permitted. It is recognized as an orthodox tradition of Goju-Ryu.

Kanki Shihan was in Tinian in the 1930s while under Japanese rule and Saipan. After traveling to the South Sea islands such as Palau and teaching karate. In 1938 he moved to Kawasaki, where many people from Okinawa lived, and began teaching karate. At that time, the Goju Ryu had already been transmitted to the mainland, but Kanki Shihan was the first official Goju Ryu teacher to move from Okinawa. Karate Do Goju Ryu Senbukan was founded in 1939 and is now known as Karate Do Goju Ryu Senbukai. It has been inherited by the third generation Katsuya Izumikawa Shihan.

Shotei Kumite devised by Senbukai

According to Katsuya Shihan's story, the prototype of the “Senbukai Shotei Giho” to be introduced this time seems to have already been performed by the first generation/founder Kanki Shihan. It is said that during the training of Kumite, Kanki Shihan applied black ink or some kind of white powder on his palms. They attacked each other with palms, and they were competing for victory or defeat with the amount of powder that was on their body. It seems that shotei giho was born from the techniques of shotei kumite cultivated through these lessons. However, it was his son, Kanbun Shihan, who later became the second kancho, Katsuya Shihan, his younger brother who succeeded the third generation and Keisetsu Yoshimaru shihan who had inherited the techniques.

Kanki Shihan passed away at the age of 59 in 1967. Kanbun Shihan, the second generation who could not learn all the Goju-Ryu from his father, studied for 10 years under Juei Tamaki shihan, his father's brother disciple. By learning from his older brother, Katsuya Shihan finally came to know the whole picture of Goju Ryu. However, with regard to the Shotei Giho, Kanki Shihan passed away while it was unfinished, and the second generation Kanbun Shihan passed away at a young age of 39. The research was taken over by the third generation Katsuya Shihan.

A wide variety of Goju Ryu original techniques

The shotei giho mentioned here is not limited to shotei tsuki but is a generic term for open hand techniques. It was said that the original Goju Ryu, which was passed down to the mainland from Okinawa, was unorganized and somewhat unusual. After that, the elements of “go” became more prominent as the kumite competition centered on hitting progressed. The soft techniques inherent in karate in Okinawa hid in the shadows.
The competition of kumite played a very important role in spreading karate, but at the same time, the techniques of “kumite” developed in accordance with the rules of competition kumite.

On the other hand, Kanki Shihan, the Senbukan Shodai soke, said that he had been teaching nage waza, gyaku waza, and how to open a hand when approaching since he began teaching on the mainland. These are all applied techniques of the movement included in the Goju Ryu kata and seem to have fallen into the category of techniques originally transmitted to Goju Ryu. At that time, Senbukan did not do any training like Jiyu Kumite, but emphasis was placed on kata training and Yakusoku Kumite, and they trained their skills through these.

When Katsuya Shihan assumed the role of the third-generation soke, he was enthusiastic about the competition kumite because he was still young, and the dojo was also focused on nurturing athletes with a sports orientation. However, while interacting with Yoshimaru Shihan, who had already turned to Daito-ryu Aiki Budo by Sagawa Shihan at the time, and Kinjo Hiroshi shihan, Nihon karate do kenshū-kai sōke, he turned to the idea that we had to study karate as a martial art (budo). In revisiting the karate inherited from his father and brother from a martial arts point of view, the presence of Yoshimaru shihan who had been taught by Kanki shihan and Sagawa shihan, was significant.

Yoshimaru shihan who had inherited karate from Katsuya's father once again collapsed from heart failure and wandered between life and death. On this occasion he decided to teach his teacher's son, Katsuya Shihan, the Daito Ryu secrets he had gained. While receiving a private lesson once a week from Yoshimaru shihan, Katsuya shihan studied Daito Ryu techniques while studying the techniques of Ju hidden in the Goju Ryu kata.