The Uechi Domicile

[Seizan]

Hi Folks.

Another annoying question for which the answer must be easily found ... somewhere.

When Kanbun Sensei escaped Okinawa, his home was at Motobu Village (Izumi area) No. 1549 (this is recorded in a Japanese Military 1911 search notice for missing and/or dead conscription evaders). However, it is obvious that Kanbun Sensei was living elsewhere by the time of that 1911 notice.

Some time after his return from China, a home was established in Nago, Okinawa. Does anyone know the date or even the year this happened? Was it immediately after he married around mid-1910? Later? Years later?

Any reliable documentation, reference, or source of information on this?

Regards and good health to all,

Seizan

[emattson]

Uechi returned to Okinawa early in 1910. (Graham Noble)
https://forums.uechi-ryu.com/viewtopic.php?t=23024

After he married, he began farming in the northern part of Okinawa near Naha. Nago is in the southern part of Okinawa. (Uechiryu Karate Do by George Mattson) If he lived in Nago, it must've been brief. This is all the information I can find. It goes to show just how much information about Kanbun is lost from history. He should've join Facebook.

[Seizan]

Thanks, Erik. I saw that, and have the source material on which Mr. Noble's history of UechiRyu is so expertly written. I admit is a good read.

(The following is a Zankai point of view only, and does not imply invitation to debate...)

The entirety is a lenghty version of the popular history of Uechi Kanbun Sensei. Over the years so much misinformation and disinformation has been discovered in the "party-line" history that nearly none of it is used in my research or publications.

For example, there are 3 different "official" birthdates for Kanbun Sensei, each from ostensibly reliable sources. One is on record in the Motobu Town Offices (1875), one the the "official story" birthdate given in the popular history (1877), and one is on two Japanese Military Conscription records in my possession (1878 -- one record is from 1898 and the other from 1911). Each of these dates would have different impact on his conscription. Sources and scans will be provided in my next publication.

Exactly how did Kanbun depart from Okinawa for his journey by sea to China? His father arranged passage on a merchant ship, he and some friends used a "dugout" and all arrived safely, he and some friends "appropriated" a small, unseaworthy fishing boat called a sabani which was crushed against the shore near Fuzhou by a typhoon, leaving Kanbun the only survivor (his own words). This is published this already, with strong historical reference and scan provided. The style of boat has been in use around the Okinawan islands for hundreds of years; one is on display in front of the Ie Jima Village Offices (photo in Vol. 2). They are of 2 or 3 sizes, but even the largest is not intended for use on the open sea -- only in the shallow waters around the islands.

"Pangainun" which is thought to not really exist as either a word or a system. It isn't a word, it's an adjective phrase. It and its derivatives are in daily use in many places and occupations in China today (Vol. 3). Cited are at least 23 instances of its usage in industry, advertisements, and classical literature, all commonly known in China today.

Part of the problem is that if you find 1, 2, 3, or several pieces of disparate or mis/dis-information in an "authorized history", how much of the rest is believable? It's helpful to ask on the forums because someone else may have picked up a little piece of information that didn't quite fit with the rest of the popular story, filed it away for future reference, and just needs to be asked.

From Vol. 1:

~~~~~
About “Histories”...

“I am less afraid of heights than I am of an unstable foundation.”
~ Seizan

His story, her story,
My story, missed story,
Myth-story, mystery,
That’s what makes up History.
~ Wilfred E. Breyette
~~~~~

Regards and good health,

Seizan

[Seizan]

By the way, as another example -- Nago is not on the southern part of Okinawa (Naha is). Nago is on the west coast of north-central Okinawa, tucked under the south border of Motobu. Izumi (the area where Kanbun lived through his youth) is the center area of Motobu.

The geographical mistake was not intended, but if left uncorrected, will become canon.

Time to uncover more facts...

Regards,

Seizan

[Glenn]

Robert Garone's English translation of The Untold Story of Kanbun Uechi by Keisuke Fujimoto provides very little information about Kanbun's time in Okinawa between arriving back from China in 1909 and leaving for Wakayama in 1925. It does say that the 1977 Uechi Kyohan (referred to as "Comprehensive Okinawan Karate-Its History and Techniques") provides details about his passage to China (p. 12). Untold Story describes this as "Kanbun began his journey to China from Chatan (now the town of Kadena to the north of Naha) in a Chinese junk or similar type of local vessel known as a "yanbaru" boat" (p. 14). However Untold Story also mentions the dugout story, attributing this to a student of Kanbun's who trained with him at Wakayama and Iejima who said this story "originated from the master himself" (p. 15).

[Seizan]

Glenn,

Good morning on Okinawa, good to hear from you!

I have a few comments.

To begin, I do not use any information found in the 1977 Kyohon (the original, not the popular translation), or in Mr. Fujimoto's book (I have in Japanese and English). I will say however that Mr. Garone's translation is excellent.

Robert Garone's English translation of The Untold Story of Kanbun Uechi by Keisuke Fujimoto provides very little information about Kanbun's time in Okinawa between arriving back from China in 1909 and leaving for Wakayama in 1925.

Yes, the untold story is still untold...

In most histories, Kanbun left China in 1910 in the midst of widespread death caused by disease, poverty, and political/social upheaval, and later went to Wakayama in 1924, the year Zhou Zihe died (coincidence?). This is covered extensively in UechiRyu Bunburyodo vols. 1-3. More quite interesting facts and scans of Japanese Government documents, etc. coming in Vol. 4.

There is another equally strong reason why Kanbun left China in 1910, having to do with an 1883 revision to the Statute of Limitations imposed on the Conscription Act.

Gaps in the history are filling up.

It does say that the 1977 Uechi Kyohan (referred to as "Comprehensive Okinawan Karate-Its History and Techniques") provides details about his passage to China (p. 12). Untold Story describes this as "Kanbun began his journey to China from Chatan (now the town of Kadena to the north of Naha) in a Chinese junk or similar type of local vessel known as a "yanbaru" boat" (p. 14).

A somewhat different story is found in the interviews I have with Kanejana Seishin Sensei on Ie Jima (he is the mysterious "Mr. SK" of the "Untold Story" book). The boat was a sabani, and there is one on display in front of the Ie Jima Village Offices (photos in Vol. 2).

The interviews were recorded in audio and video, and transcribed exactly for the books. Some information is temporarily omitted because it is personal to certain families. There are several real surprises in those interviews... Kanejana Sensei's story is consistent each time we interviewed him.

However Untold Story also mentions the dugout story, attributing this to a student of Kanbun's who trained with him at Wakayama and Iejima who said this story "originated from the master himself" (p. 15).

A sabani is not a dugout, it is constructed of planks and boards, looking more like a canoe with a flattened bottom. They have been in use around the Okinawa Islands for hundreds of years. They are not intended for open sea use, but only for the shallow waters around the islands for fishing.

According to Kanejana Sensei, Kanbun left from Motobu with some friends (names unknown) apparently trying to get out of Okinawa ahead of a typhoon (the first of the 1997 season) but misjudged the speed and intensity of the storm. The official report on this storm is included in Vol. 2 (with scan of the original weather chart, and technical description of the storm's development). Their small, unseaworthy craft was smashed against the shores near Fuzhou. Kanbun was the only survivor because, in his words, "My life was saved by a priest who later became my teacher".

Kanejana Sensei took over the Ie Jima Dojo for ten years after Kanbun Sensei's death. In all these years, why didn't we hear more about him? To my mind, he should be renowned as the successor to Kanbun Sensei's last dojo... He lived to age 92 (he was quite healthy until his last year) and was available through the decades, willing to talk about his karate training with Kanbun Sensei both in Wakayama and on Ie Jima, and about teaching afterward. Why has no one mentioned him before?

All the Ie Jima interviews are found in Vol. 2.

As for my original post (exactly when did Kanbun establish his home in Nago), I have a feeling it was almost immediately after being married.

[Glenn]

Hi Seizan, always a pleasure to converse with you. I have a copy of your Volume 1 (first release, before it became Volume 1) and Volume 2, but must admit I have not had a chance to read Volume 2 yet. And I still need to order Volume 3. At any rate, I would not want to repeat back to you your own work so I focused on Garone (Fujimoto). In talking with Steve Jillson in my dojo, who regularly converses and trains with Takashi Kinjo of whom you may be familiar, I am aware that there are reservations about Fujimoto's work. I do wish we knew more about Kanbun's students beyond the few who contributed to the establishment of Uechi Ryu.

[Seizan]

Glenn,

Hello from Okinawa, good to hear from you.

PM in your inbox...

Seizan

[emattson]

"A sabani is not a dugout"

This is what a sabani looks like:


This web page has interesting information about Japanese boat building:
https://www.merchantandmakers.com/the-craft-of-japanese-wooden-boatbuilding-with-douglas-brooks/