Karate history – Early 20th century

The period from 1900 to the end of the 1950s was a transformative era for karate, marking its transition from a secretive Okinawan fighting art to a publicly taught discipline and a global phenomenon. During this time, karate underwent significant changes in its philosophy, practice, and terminology, influenced heavily by educational reforms, Japanese nationalism, and post-World War II internationalisation.

Early 20th Century: Public Introduction and Educational Reforms (c. 1902-1915)

The early 1900s saw the first steps in bringing karate out of secrecy and into public view, largely due to the efforts of Itosu Ankō (1831–1915).

• Influence: Often referred to as a pivotal figure in modern karate, Itosu is considered the de facto inventor of karate teaching to large groups, as distinct from individual students. Around 1902, he began teaching karate at Shuri Jinjo Shōgakkō (Shuri Public Elementary School). This marked a significant shift from the previous secretive and selective instruction to a more open, class-based approach.
• Simplified Kata: To facilitate instruction to large groups of schoolchildren, Itosu created five simplified kata, known as Pinan (Heian), by extracting techniques from longer kata like Kūsankū and Chang Nian/Channan.  Although, according to Motobu Chōki, the Pinan kata were originally called Channan which possessed slightly different movements. He also reportedly simplified Matsumura’s Naihanchi kata and expanded on existing Naihanchi forms to create Naihanchi Sandan.
• Shift in Purpose: Training during this period began to emphasise general physical, mental, and spiritual fitness, safety, and philosophical aspects over its purely combative uses. Itosu explicitly stated in his “Ten Articles” on karate training that “karate did not descend from Buddhism or Confucianism,” but he still considered karate training for developing general health and fitness as much as for combat.
• Promotion to Ministry of Education: In October 1908, Itosu wrote a letter to the Japanese Ministry of Education, urging the adoption of karate in Japanese schools. His comment in this letter, noting “too many changes” were already occurring, reveals the evolving nature of karate instruction by this time.
• Terminology: In 1905, an Okinawan karate master named Chomo Hanashiro used the “kara” (空) ideograph (meaning “empty”) for his book Karate Soshu Hen, breaking from the traditional writing of “kara” (唐), which meant “Tang” or “Chinese”. This was an early precedent to a significant later change in the art’s name.
• Early “Styles”: During the 19th century and early 20th century, Okinawan tode (karate) was generally referred to by three methods or schools, named after the places they were associated with: Shuri-te, Naha te, and Tomari-te. These were originally separate towns, now part of the same conurbation on Okinawa Island. However, the distinction between Shuri-te and Tomari-te was considered tenuous, arguably meaningless by some historians. Many karate masters of the time studied with teachers from all three cities, indicating much interchange rather than strict separation of styles.

Migration to Mainland Japan and “Japanisation” (c. 1915-1945)

Karate’s introduction to mainland Japan was a crucial step in its global spread and further transformation.

• Gichin Funakoshi’s Role: Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957), often called the “father of modern karate,” brought Okinawan karate to Japan. He demonstrated the art before large gatherings, notably at the Butokuden in Kyoto in 1915 and 1922. Initially, he introduced it as Ryukyu Kempo To-te Jutsu.
• Other Pioneers in Japan: Other Okinawan karate instructors, such as Chōjun Miyagi (1888–1953), Motobu Chōki (1870–1944), Kanken Tōyama, and Kenwa Mabuni (1889–1952), also journeyed to mainland Japan to teach and promote their art. Miyagi visited mainland Japan several times between 1928 and 1931 to promote his style, Gōjū-ryū, especially in universities.
• Acceptance and Systematisation: Initially, Okinawan karate was viewed by Japanese people as primitive and barbarian compared to traditional Japanese martial arts like Kendo and Judo. To gain acceptance and respectability, karate teachers adopted Jigoro Kano’s belt system (kyu/dan grades) and judo’s training uniform (gi) in the 1920s.
• Founding of Modern Styles: This period saw the formal naming and registration of distinct karate styles.
  • Gōjū-ryū: Chōjun Miyagi (1888–1953), Higaonna Kanryō’s most prominent student, named his style Gōjū-ryū (“hard-soft style”) in 1929 or 1930, registering it with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai in 1933. Miyagi visited mainland Japan several times to promote his style and secure its acceptance. He received the title kyoshin (honorary ‘senior teacher’) from the Butokukai in 1937, the first time this honour was bestowed upon a karateka, giving karate the same status as judo and kendo. His teachings formed the basis of modern Gōjū-ryū.
  • Shitō-ryū: Kenwa Mabuni (1889–1952), a student of both Itosu and Higaonna, founded Shitō-ryū around 1931 in Osaka. He named it in 1934, deriving the name from the first Kanji characters of his two main teachers’ names, Itosu and Higaonna. Shitō-ryū was officially registered with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai in 1939. It is unique in that it represents all three Okinawa-te factions: Shuri-te, Naha-te, and Tomari-te.
  • Shotokan: While Funakoshi himself did not initially name his style, his students later coined “Shotokan” (meaning “Shoto’s hall” after his pen name) around the mid-1920s.
  • Wadō-ryū: Hironori Ohtsuka (1892–1982) created Wadō-ryū, blending Okinawan karate with techniques from jujitsu and kendo, which contributed to the birth of kumite (sparring) in karate. Wadō-ryū was officially recognised as an independent style in 1934.
• Nationalistic Agenda and Terminology Change:
  • The “Japanisation” of Okinawan karate was deeply tied to Japan’s nationalistic program, kokutai (“national essence”), from the Meiji Restoration (1867 to 1945). This program promoted cultural uniformity and aimed to instil ideals of the old samurai class into all social classes.
  • A critical change occurred in the 1930s when the kanji for karate were officially changed from 唐手 (tōde, “T’ang [Chinese] hand”), where the character 唐 could  tō or kara, was changed to 空手 (karate, “empty hand”). This was done to avoid any reference to China, with whom Japan was at war, and to imply a lofty philosophical goal of self-perfection. This revisionism also sought to portray Okinawan arts as “pure Japanese culture”.
  • The Dai Nippon Butoku Kai insisted on formalised and systematised curricula, including the award of ranking and titles similar to other classical Japanese budō forms.
• Pre-WWII Training: In Okinawa, the Okinawa Karate-jutsu Kenkyu Kai (Okinawa Karate Research Club) was established by Miyagi in 1926 to improve and unify karate. Its members, including Miyagi, Funakoshi, Mabuni, and others, regularly met and openly shared their knowledge, suggesting that the concept of strictly separate styles was not rigidly adhered to among these masters.

Post-World War II Developments (c. 1945-1950s)

World War II profoundly impacted karate, leading to a new direction for the art.

• War’s Aftermath: Several legendary masters died during the war years, and the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai was permanently closed. Karate training was not permitted to resume until 1953, and then only under the condition that it would not involve “militaristic” training.
• Global Spread: American servicemen stationed in Okinawa and Japan after the war learned karate and brought it back to their home countries, significantly contributing to its worldwide proliferation by the 1960s. This led to the establishment of the first documented commercial karate school in the United States by Robert Trias in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1946, who had studied with Motobu Chōki.
• Rise of Sport Karate: In Japan, the post-war era saw karate adopt a more Western sporting attitude, discarding some older martial arts principles. The first rules of sport karate competition were developed in the early 1950s, culminating in the first All Japan Karate-dō Championships in Tokyo in 1957.
• Competitive Adaptations: For safety in competition, many dangerous techniques like eye gouges, joint dislocations, neck-breaking, and strikes to vital targets (groin, throat, spine) were banned. Acceptable scoring techniques were limited to punches to the front/sides of the body and head, and kicks to the body and head. Gogen Yamaguchi (1909-1989), appointed by Chōjun Miyagi to promote Gōjū-ryū in Japan, was instrumental in developing and introducing jiyu-kumite (free sparring) into the karate curriculum, making it comparable to judo and kendo. His organisation, Gōjū-Kai, explicitly encouraged competitive sparring, often performing kata slightly differently from traditional Gōjū-ryū.
• Okinawan Perspective: Many older Okinawan karate masters viewed the Japanese emphasis on sport karate as a mistake, believing it sacrificed the art’s deep content and effectiveness for popularity. They believed karate could remain popular without forsaking its traditional, essential past.
• Succession and Continuation: After Chōjun Miyagi’s death in 1953, Eiichi Miyazato (1922–1999) was accepted by many, including Miyagi’s family, as his successor, opening his own dojo, the Jundokan, in Naha City in 1957. Following Kenwa Mabuni’s death in 1952, his elder son Mabuni Kenei (1918–2015) claimed succession to Shitō-ryū.
• The “Way of Life” (Karate-dō): Throughout these transformations, the concept of karate-dō (“the way of empty hand”) became central, emphasizing the art as a holistic lifestyle for cultivating personal discipline, respect, and character strength, rather than merely a combat system.

By the end of the 1950s, karate had moved from the shadows of Okinawan secrecy into the international spotlight, codified into various styles and increasingly influenced by the demands of sport, while grappling with its diverse historical roots and the philosophical underpinnings of its practice.