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.