Okinawa: The Birthplace of Karate

Entrance to Okinawa Prefecture Museum

In today's post, I want to talk about Okinawa, the place that gave us Karate. I want to talk about the history of the island and how Karate came to be. The Okinawan islands are the most southern part of Japan which is made up of thousands of small islands.

These islands are called Prefectures. The Okinawa prefecture is a hub of tourists. Many of the tourists are there to enjoy the warm climate and the beaches which Okinawa has no shortage of but there is a group of tourists that is there for a deeper purpose and that is to find the roots of any style of Karate they practice. Okinawa is the base for all styles of Karate. It is where it all started.

The headquarters for most of the world's biggest Karate organizations are in Naha, Okinawa. So how did Martial Art come to be? People living on the island were not allowed to carry Katanas( Samurai Swords) so they had to learn how to defend themselves from raiders and thieves. This was purpose Karate was invented by mixing Chinese Martial Arts and local forms of self-defense called Naha-te.

Okinawa was taken over by the Satsuma Samurai clan of Japan and it was forbidden for commoners to carry Samurai weapons. The local people found a very effective way of defending themselves by inventing not only Karate but by also turning everyday utensils into weapons. The practice of weaponry if called Kubodo.

A Chinese Scholar, Chinese Gardens, Naha

Takashiki Island, Okinawa