What is karate? (karate)

side kick

                                      KARATE

what is karate? 

Karate is popularly held to be a form of unarmed combat that coalesced in Okinawa, (known then as the Ryukyu kingdom,) from influences of Chinese and Japanese origin, which were combined with the Okinawan indigenous art of te, or “hand”.  This amalgam developed through a “sustained cultural cross-pollination with Japan and China... throughout Ryukyu history” (Mottern 2001: 240) due, in large part, to Okinawa's geographical positioning between China and Japan, and its mercantile trade network that stretched as far as Java (Kerr 2000).  Though the finer points of karate's origin are disputed, this encompassing description is the framework that will be employed in examining the history of the art before it became the object of historical record.  

In the early part of the 20th-century, karate began to establish itself in mainland Japan, (meaning in this case the islands in the Japanese archipelago aside from the Ryukyu Islands and Hokkaido).  It has since that time come to be understood by many outside of Japan as a Japanese martial art, rather than one that is specifically Okinawan.  This paper takes up the contested nature of karate among its practitioners, who may variously describe karate as: 1) an Okinawan martial art, 2) a Japanese martial art or 3) a Japanese martial art differentiated by its Okinawan origin.  The broad spectrum of interpretations ascribed to karate derives from the art's intersection with the ways that Okinawa and the people of Okinawa are viewed in relation to the Japanese mainland. The following work will seek to untangle some of the historical antecedents for the varied perspectives given to the practice of karate.  

Japan is known for its martial arts throughout the world and, as Chan states, “apart from electronics, cars and cuisine, [martial] arts represent the greatest export of Japan and are seen by their practitioners worldwide as not merely emblematic of a culture, but derived directly from that culture's history and spiritual philosophy” (2000: 69).  Karate may be positioned within the constellation of Japanese martial arts, but can be represented as such only through the flattening of any difference between Okinawan and Japanese culture or through the modification of the practice itself.  In order for karate to be considered a Japanese martial art, a shift of framing from the Okinawan culture and its traditions to those of mainland Japan- a cultural translation of the practice- was required.  The introduction of elements from the Japanese martial tradition, and a contraction of the perceived difference between the two cultures and their respective populaces, combined to allow karate to establish itself in mainland Japan.  

This process was not merely the appropriation of a cultural tradition by an invading and dominating foreign presence in the form of the Japanese government.  In fact, this translation was also facilitated through acts of individual agency by Okinawans who willingly adopted Japanese martial traditions and identified themselves as Japanese as well as Okinawan.  The interesting dynamic of this negotiation in translating the Okinawan art of karate to Japan, a culture with its own rich martial traditions, can be described as either wildly successful or disquietingly effective. 

While some maintain the autonomy and cultural rooting of karate as an  indigenous art of Okinawa, those in the Japanese government view karate as a Japanese cultural tradition, as is consistent with their view of Okinawa as part of Japan both legally and culturally.  The Japanese government includes karate within the constellation of activities covered under the “cultural visa”, which affords visitors an extended stay in Japan if they are there for cultural studies (Ko & Yang 2008).  In doing so, the Japanese government sends the clear signal that karate is Japanese, and can be employed as an entrance for visitors into what it views as quintessential Japanese culture, or as an ambassadorial practice when exported abroad. 

rnment of Japan, it follows that either Japanese culture would have to have shifted to align with karate's traditions and ideals (informed by its setting in Okinawan culture), or vice versa.  Through an examination of the historical relationship between Okinawa and Japan, and specifically that of karate in the early part of the 20th-century, we can elaborate on the practices adapted, removed or adopted in the translation of karate from Okinawa to Japan.  Furthermore, we can ask what the ramifications of such changes would be upon the cultural practice itself and how such ramifications may affect the placement of karate within a cultural context.