Higaonna Kanryo
Okinawan master of Naha-te (1853–1915) who studied under Ryu Ryu Ko in Fuzhou, introduced Naha-te into schools in 1905 and trained Chojun Miyagi.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Higaonna Kanryo was an Okinawan martial arts master whose Naha-te developed through his student Chojun Miyagi into Goju-ryu. He was born on 10 March 1853 by the lunar calendar, that is 17 April 1853, in Nishimura in Naha. He died in 1915, and according to the Okinawa Prefectural Library the month is disputed between October and December.
He was the fourth son of a firewood merchant and the family belonged to the lower nobility, the chikudun pechin. From childhood he helped his father on the boat that carried firewood from the north of Okinawa to Naha. According to the portal of the Japanese Cabinet Office on Okinawan karate, he began training with Aragaki at about seventeen, and tradition gives 1867.
According to the same portal, he traveled to Fuzhou in China in 1874 and returned in 1877. There he studied under a master known as Ryu Ryu Ko, whose real identity is disputed. Tradition says that he learned from him the kata Sanchin, Seisan, Sanseru and Bechurin. The international federation IOGKF gives a stay of thirteen to fourteen years and a return in 1891.
After his return he revived the family business and began teaching at home in Nishimura. In 1905 he was the first to teach Naha-te in school instruction, at the commercial school in Naha. In 1902 Chojun Miyagi became his student, and his other students included Kyoda Juhatsu, Kenwa Mabuni, Higa Seiko and Toyama Kanken.
Early life
Higaonna Kanryo was born on the 10th day of the 3rd month of the year Kaei 6, that is 17 April 1853, in Nishimura in Naha as the fourth son of the firewood merchant Higaonna Kanyo. The family belonged to the lower nobility, the chikudun pechin. According to the website Ryukyu Bugei, he was called Moshi as a child.
The family owned a boat of the yamabaru type, which carried firewood from the north of Okinawa and the surrounding islands to Naha, and from childhood Kanryo helped his father with his younger brothers. The portal of the Japanese Cabinet Office on Okinawan karate states that the heavy work on the boat gave him strength and strong legs.
Training and teachers
According to the portal of the Cabinet Office, he began training with Aragaki around the age of seventeen, according to others at twenty, and trained for about three years. The website Ryukyu Bugei points out that the relationship to Aragaki was first stated by Shoshin Nagamine without a source. According to the portal, he traveled to Fuzhou in 1874 and returned in 1877.
In Fuzhou he became a student of the master Ryu Ryu Ko, and according to oral tradition he received full instruction after he helped save the family of the master during a great flood. Tradition says that he learned four kata from him: Sanchin, Seisan, Sanseru and Bechurin, while IOGKF speaks of nine kata.
Contribution and innovations
After his return he devoted himself to rebuilding the family business. According to the portal of the Cabinet Office, after several years he began teaching at home in Nishimura when young people started calling him Tode Higaonna. IOGKF states that he opened the house as a dojo without tuition. According to the website Ryukyu Bugei, the oldest documented student is Yoshimura Chogi, who came to him around 1887 to 1888 according to his autobiography from 1941.
In 1905, at the request of the principal, he was the first to teach Naha-te in school instruction, at the commercial school in Naha. His Naha-te developed through his student Chojun Miyagi into Goju-ryu, which spread around the world.
Philosophy and principles
According to IOGKF, he swore to his teacher that he would follow his principles and never misuse the martial art, and he refused challenges to duels. This is a tradition that the federation passes on without a primary source. We infer that the emphasis on self-control that is associated with his name was also taken over by Goju-ryu.
Legends and documented facts
IOGKF states that he studied in China for thirteen to fourteen years and returned in 1891, while the portal of the Cabinet Office gives a stay from 1874 to 1877 and mentions estimates ranging from one year and four months to fifteen years. According to one tradition he went to China to avenge his father killed in a fight, yet the portal describes him as a firewood merchant.
The identity of the master Ryu Ryu Ko is disputed: the researcher Tokashiki Iken identified him with Xie Zhongxiang, which the Fuzhou Wushu Association rejected in 2010, and according to the website Ryukyu Bugei the name does not match any known Chinese name. Tradition claims that he brought the kata from China, but a ceremonial program from 1867 lists, according to Ryukyu Bugei, Seisan and other kata already in Okinawa. The story of the wooden floor warm from his feet while practicing Sanchin has no documented source. IOGKF also gives 1916 as the year of death.
Legacy
Chojun Miyagi became his student in 1902 at the age of fourteen, and according to IOGKF he was the only one who learned the entire Naha-te system. His other students included Kyoda Juhatsu, Kenwa Mabuni, Higa Seiko, Toyama Kanken and Shiroma Koki. IOGKF lists him as the founder of Naha-te, and according to it he was nicknamed Ashi no Higaonna, Higaonna of the leg.
According to the portal of the Cabinet Office, he died in 1915 of worsened chronic asthma in the presence of his students. The Okinawa Prefectural Library considers the year 1915 settled, the month is disputed between December (Nagamine) and October (Morio Higaonna), and an obituary in the newspaper Ryukyu Shimpo has not been found.