Te
手
Hand in Japanese. As a word element it is in the name karate and in terms such as te-waza or tegatana. In Okinawa it was also the name of the local martial art.
Quick Facts
Word breakdown
Definition
Te (手) means hand, with palm and fingers. In compounds the same character is also read shu, so a chop with the edge of the palm is called shuto (手刀), “hand sword,” and, with the reading te, tegatana. The word is in the name karate (空手), “empty hand.” In Okinawa the local martial art was called te, in Okinawan ti, and in compounds such as Okinawa-te or tode (唐手, “Chinese hand”). The reading karate arose from the characters 唐手 and was rewritten as 空手 in the 20th century. In judo, te-waza are a group of throws in which the arms do the main work.
Relations to other terms
See also
Edge of the open hand on the little-finger side, literally “hand sword”. In karate it is used for the strikes shuto-uchi and the blocks shuto-uke.
Te-waza手技A group of judo throws in which the arms and shoulders mainly carry the throw. The Kodokan lists 16 techniques in it, among them seoi-nage and tai-otoshi.