 Contrary to some claims, Bushi Matsumura was born
in 1797, and died in 1889. Supposedly, some have found new evidence
that would seem to indicate that Bushi Matsumura was born in 1809.
But this is not the case, because we know he died when he was
92. According to some sources, Bushi's family name was Kiyo. Matsumura
grew up in Yamagawa village of the city of Shuri, Okinawa. He
was partly Chinese. Sakugawa trained Bushi at Akata when he was
14, in 1810. According to tradition, it was at Bushi's father's
request that Sakugawa teach him. Some say that to train Bushi
to block, Sakugawa tied to him to a tree so he could not move.
Then he threw punches at him. Kise's page says, "He was recruited
into the service of the Sho family and was given the title Satunuki,
later rising to Chikutoshi..." This is probably the reason
he had the title of Chikudon. Upon his recruitment, the Sho Ko,
the king of Okinawa at the time, desired to have him change his
last name, as was the custom, and suggested the name Muramatsu,
or "village pine." Sokon requested of the king to let
him change the name to Matsumura, or "pine village."
So the king granted this to him. Sakugawa trained him until his
death, and then Sokon was probably on his own for a while. According
to oral history, he studied “Tode” Sakugawa for 4 years.
Matsumura married a woman by the name of Yonamine
Chiru, who came from a family known for their martial arts skills.
According to tradition, this was when he was 19 years old, which
would make it 1815. Yonamine said she would never marry a man
that could not beat her. The story goes that he faught her and
won, and that is the reason she married him (of course she must
have loved him too). There are many funny stories that have circulated
about these two.
The karate of Shuri was further developed by Bushi
Matsumura . Today there are many different styles descended from
the original Matsumura style of Shorin-Ryu. The Orthodox style
of Hohan Soken was the only style taught to the public that has
stayed the most like the original Matsumura Shorin-Ryu, contrary
to some claims.
Stories about Matsumura
There are two very popular and
often-told stories that demonstrate Matsumura's strategy of defeating
the enemy before you even fight him by intimidation and demoralization.
The first story is when Matsumura fought a bull. Sho Tai had gotten
this bull from the Emperor of Japan. The king decided to put Matsumura
against the bull. Matsumura wasted no time, and went to see the
bull-keeper. He asked to see the bull. So the keeper took him
to it. He was dressed in his armor. He tormented the bull day
after day until it feared him and knew well who he was. Finally
the day came for Matsumura to fight the bull. They let the bull
out into the arena, and then Matsumura went out to fight it. The
bull was terrified and ran away. The story goes that because of
this, the king give him the title of Bushi.
And then there is the old story
about the eyes of Matsumura. A pipe craftsman and martial artist
challenged Matsumura to a fight. This man told Matsumura to meet
him at a certain spot at a certain hour early in the morning.
He decided that he would show up very early to examine the terrain
and come up with a strategy to gain an advantage. To his surprise,
Matsumura was already there waiting. Matsumura had already out-thought
his opponent. So when they got ready to fight, he caught sight
of Matsumura's eyes, which had the "look of death" in
them. The man was immediately struck with fear, and his courage
was destroyed. He just fell to the ground and began to cry. Matsumura
told him that his only thought was to win, and that had defeated
him. Matsumura's attitude was that of the Samurai. It was the
"resolute acceptance of death" as spoken of by Musashi.
Another person Matsumura had an
interchange of martial knowledge with was a man named Chinto,
a pirate from Southern China (according to some, he was not a
pirate at all, but a trader, and he did not plunder). He drifted
ashore to Okinawa. Something must have happened to his ship. When
he got there, he began to loot and plunder because of hunger.
The king received word of this, and sent Bushi to hunt him down
and stop him. So when Bushi found him, they fought each other
but were matched. Some say that it was because Chinto was very
expert at change-body just like Matsumura. When all attempts to
apprehend the pirate failed, strangely enough, Bushi befriended
him and exchanged martial knowledge with him. Thus we have the
kata named Chinto with the techniques in it that Bushi got from
him. It is a mystery as to what Chinese system these techniques
are from.
Bushi Matsumura studied under a
Chinese master for a time by the name of Channan (Chiag Nan) who
was a diplomat sent to Shuri from China. Bushi created two kata
from what he had learned that were known as Channan Sho and Dai.
Later, the names were changed to Pinan (Ping An) Shodan and Nidan.
In the Matsumura system, these two are considered the basic, or
"kihon" kata.
It is said by some that a Chinese
master by the name of Ason taught a Chinese kata by the name of
Naifanchin in the area of Naha. Some say that the kata was taught
in Naha-te for a while (but is no longer had in Naha-te styles.)
Matsumura studied from Ason for a time. Later, Matsumura took
this kata and broke it up into two parts: Naifanchin Shodan and
Nidan. The origin of Naihanchi Sandan is more obscure. It is not
a Matsumura kata at all, but it may have its origin in Ason's
system also.
"Tode"
Sakugawa | Anko
Itosu | Kanryo
Higaonna | Seisho
Aragaki
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