Chinen Masame (Yamane-ryû), Uechi Kanei (Uechi-ryû), and Kinjo Hiroshi
(Shuri-di).
Taira amassed a considerable knowledge of Ryûkyûan forms, as well
as creating several of his own kata. Taira created the Kungo no kun(Kungo
staff) kata, two nunchaku kata, a sansetsukun (three-sectioned staff) kata,
theMaezato no tekko(“Maezato knuckle duster”) kata based on empty-
hand forms he learned from Funakoshi, and the Jigen no manjisai(sai with
wings shaped like a swastika) kata. Perhaps Taira’s greatest achievement,
apart from the preservation of a unique part of Okinawa’s cultural her-
itage, was his creation of a standardized kobudô curriculum and pedagogy.
Taira’s senior disciple, Akamine Eisuke, assumed the leadership of the
Ryûkyû Kobudô Hozon Shinkô Kai after his teacher’s death.
The practice of Okinawan kobudô gained considerable attention and
international prestige under the influence of Matayoshi Shinkô and Taira
Shinken. Largely due to their efforts of preservation and popularization,
the once obscure weapon arts of Okinawa’s civil combative traditions have
been firmly established as a living Ryûkyûan cultural legacy.
Ron Mottern
See alsoForm/Xing/Kata/Pattern Practice; Karate, Japanese; Karate,
Okinawan; Kenpô; Okinawa
References
Bishop, Mark. 1999. Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret
Techniques.Boston: Tuttle.
———. 1997. “Okinawan Kobudô Weaponry: Hidden Methods, Ancient
Myths.” Bugeisha: Traditional Martial Artist4: 46–49.
———. 1996. Zen Kobudô: Mysteries of Okinawan Weaponry and Te.
Rutland, VT: Tuttle.
Kim, Richard. 1982. The Weaponless Warriors: An Informal History of Ok-
inawan Karate. Burbank, CA: Ohara.
Kobudô. 1999. “Kobudô.” http://www.bushido-online.com/kobudo/
index.htm.
McCarthy, Patrick. 1996. Bubishi: The Bible of Karate.Rutland, VT: Tuttle.
———. 1997. “Taira Shinken, ‘The Funakoshi Gichin of Kobudô.’”
Bugeisha: Traditional Martial Artist3: 21–26.
Sanguinetti, F. 1997. “The Kobudô Legacy of Matayoshi Shinpo.” Bugeisha:
Traditional Martial Artist4: 19–23.
Korea
Korea is a peninsula situated between China and Japan, and its history has
been influenced by both nations. For much of its early history, China was
the single most important influence on Korea. Chinese or Korean immi-
grants settled Japan and eventually, in the nineteenth century, successfully
challenged Chinese influence over the region. In the twentieth century,
Japan formally annexed Korea and imposed Japanese language and culture
Korea 291