Matayoshi Kobudo
又吉古武道Okinawan kobudo lineage of the Matayoshi family. Matayoshi Shinko (1888–1947) learned weapons on Okinawa and in China, and his son Shinpo continued the tradition until 1997.
Quick Facts
JapanCharacter & Origin
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Matayoshi Kobudo
About Matayoshi Kobudo
Matayoshi kobudo is a lineage of Okinawan weapons fighting handed down by the Matayoshi family. In the encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (2001), Ron Mottern states that Matayoshi Shinko (1888–1947) learned bo, sai, kama and eku in Chatan and tonfa and nunchaku from another master, traveled in China for thirteen years and in Shanghai acquired knowledge of nunti, tinbei and suruchin. According to Green, his son Shinpo continued the tradition until his death in 1997. Mottern states that Okinawan kobudo gained international attention and prestige mainly through the efforts of Matayoshi Shinko and Taira Shinken. According to the profile on the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai website, the family now performs as Kinko-ryu Karate Okinawa Kobujutsu, and according to the English Wikipedia the name Matayoshi kobudo is a general designation.
History
According to an abstract in a 2021 Japanese scholarly journal on budo, Matayoshi Shinko was born in May 1888 in Naha as the third son, grew up in the area of today's city of Kadena and died in May 1947. According to the same abstract, the Matayoshi family belonged to the Ma clan of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and his father was a master of karate and weapons who tried to preserve the martial arts of the kingdom era.
Read more
According to Green, Shinko learned bo, sai, kama and eku from master Gushikawa no Tigwa in Chatan and tonfa and nunchaku from master Moshigiwa Ire. He traveled in China for thirteen years. In Shanghai he acquired knowledge of nunti, tinbei and suruchin, herbal medicine and Shaolin crane boxing, and in 1934 he studied another Shaolin-derived style in Fuzhou. Green states that in 1915 Shinko demonstrated kobudo in Tokyo together with master Funakoshi Gichin, which Mottern describes as the first performance of Ryukyu kobudo on the Japanese mainland, and in 1921 he performed before Crown Prince Hirohito at Shuri Castle. The 2021 abstract lists a number of his performances, among others in July 1908 at the Butokuden in Kyoto, in 1915 in Tokyo, in 1916 again at the Butokuden, in 1921 before the crown prince on Okinawa, in 1928 at the Meiji Shrine and in 1939 at the opening of the Okinawa branch of the Butokuden. According to Green, his son Shinpo continued the family tradition until his death in 1997. The Japanese Wikipedia states that in 1960 he opened the Kodokan dojo and in 1970 founded the Okinawa Kobudo Renmei, later renamed Zen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei. The English Wikipedia places the opening of the dojo in both the sixties and the seventies of the 20th century and dates the federation to 1970 with a renaming in 1972.
How it differs
The profile of the family school states that the empty-hand Kinko-ryu took shape from southern Shaolin boxing thanks to trade between Ryukyu and Qing China, and that Matayoshi Shinko took over the stick method passed down only to the royal family and the eldest son of the Soeishi family. The Japanese Wikipedia states that the hoe kuwa is passed down in Kinko-ryu.
Technique
Mottern states that the Matayoshi branch may have its own kata for bo, sai, kama, tonfa and nunchaku and kata for a number of other weapons. The profile of the family school on the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai website names, among others, the stick, jo, sickle, oar, hoe, sai, two-, three- and four-section stick, tekko, shuriken, tinbe and tonfa, and states that the school combines Japanese and Chinese methods. An abstract in a 2022 Japanese scholarly journal on budo describes the kata Tsuken no kon, which according to it passed from fishermen of Tsuken island to a master from the end of the shogunate, from him to Matayoshi Shinko, and is still taught in the Matayoshi Shinpo line. It is a solo kata with eight directions, with shoulder strikes, stick thrusts, disarming and a series of five strikes derived from naginata technique. The author links it to Jigen-ryu swordsmanship.
Today
According to the profile on the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai website, the family school is a member of it under the name Kinko-ryu Karate Okinawa Kobujutsu and is led by the seventeenth soke Matayoshi Yasushi, based in Naha. The English Wikipedia writes that after the death of Matayoshi Shinpo in 1997 practitioners split into several organizations, and Zen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei was still led by Miyahira Shoshin, Miyagi Koki and Taira Yoshio. The city of Sakai records a group that aims to practice and pass on the traditional weapons, kata and techniques of Okinawan Matayoshi kobudo.
Did you know
According to Green, during his thirteen years in China Matayoshi Shinko learned mounted archery, lasso and shuriken throwing from a group of Manchurian bandits. The 2021 abstract states that few people know that Shinko was the first to demonstrate the Okinawan art of the tonfa (tunkuwa) in Japan, at the Butokuden in Kyoto, where Funakoshi Gichin demonstrated karate, but only Funakoshi became famous.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Matayoshi kobudo?
The sources differ. Green attributes the weapons knowledge to Matayoshi Shinko (1888–1947), who learned it on Okinawa and in China, and states that his son Shinpo continued the tradition. The English Wikipedia names Shinpo as the creator.
How many weapons does Matayoshi kobudo work with?
The profile of the family school on the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai website names nineteen items and others, among them the stick, jo, sickle, oar, hoe, sai, tekko, shuriken, tinbe and tonfa.
Where is Matayoshi kobudo taught today?
According to the profile on the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai website, the family school is based in Naha and is a member of the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai under the name Kinko-ryu Karate Okinawa Kobujutsu. According to the English Wikipedia, after 1997 the practitioners split into several organizations and Zen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei continued.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.