Although this book is now somewhat old, I recently got a copy of it from a friend and decided to review it based on the strength of the material presented. That said, the first important thing to note is that the title of the book is somewhat deceptive. The sub-title is 'Okinawan Goju Ryu' and that is precisely what is covered in the book. It is less 'The History of Karate' and far more 'The History of Goju Ryu Karate'. That shouldn't dissuade anyone interested in the history of karate or the Okinawan arts in general from reading it, but the book will be far more appealing to Goju ryu practitioners than anyone else.
The contents of the book are a blend of historical facts and collected anecdotes. The facts are far more appealing than the anecdotes as the latter can be somewhat vague in painting an accurate picture and at least one story is clearly made up and this unfortunately casts a shadow of doubt over the rest of the anecdotal evidence. The story in question relates to Chojun Miyagi and the claim that one night during the Battle of Okinawa he was strafed by a single US fighter plane but managed to escape any harm by running in a zig-zag pattern. I would be dubious about the story even if it was claimed to have happened during the day, but the fact that a carrier-based plane was flying around at night is clearly rubbish. I appreciate that in East Asia in particular great reverence is given to elders and teachers and former students are no doubt well-meaning in attempting to portray their sensei as being the bees knees, but it makes it difficult sometimes to distinguish between what is fact and what is not.
Morio Higaonna has done a great job of presenting the information and where he is lacking in conclusive proof he is happy to present all theories. One such instance is his frank admittance that, after research in Fuzhou prefecture, it is impossible to determine which Chinese kung fu / wushu style in particular Goju ryu is descended from.
The History of Karate briefly covers the historical background that led to the formation of various karate styles (most notably the military dominance of Okinawa by the Shimazu clan from 1609 onwards) and then jumps into the Goju ryu history proper with Kanryo Higaonna's trip to Fuzhou to train with Ryu Ryu Ko. Kanryo Higaonna (no relation to the author and famed karate master Morio Higaonna) returned to Okinawa and began teaching. One student in particular stood out, Chojun Miyagi.
Much of the book is devoted to the life of Chojun Miyagi and how he formalized and spread what developed from Naha te and came to be known as Goju Ryu Karate around Okinawa and finally to mainland Japan. A lot of great, insightful information is presented though as mentioned above, I recommend treating at last some of it with a degree of skepticism. There are some gems though, such as details on Chojun Miyagi's trip to Hawaii and his discovery and adoption of the kongo ken training device.
The book also covers the lives of Jin'an Shinzato (Miyagi's top student before Shinzato's death during the Battle of Okinawa) and An'ichi Miyagi (a primary teacher of Morio Higaonna).
This brings me to the most glaring omission in The History of Karate. After the death of Chojun Miyagi in 1953 it was Ei'ichi Miyazato, Miyagi's most senior post-war student, who established the Jundokan dojo in Okinawa to continue the teaching of Goju ryu. Despite this Morio Higaonna barely mentions Miyazato and there is certainly no focus given to this late master aside from a short interview at the back of the book. To be fair to Higaonna, Miyazato admitted in an interview that he had been approached to participate in the book, but still I feel a lot more could have been done to detail the life of head of the Jundokan. Afterall, a tremendous amount of information was presented on Miyagi, Kanryo Higaonna and even Ryu Ryu Ko without interview access. Without going into the politics of it all it seems that Morio Higaonna championed the idea that An'ichi Miyagi - Higaonna's principle teacher through much of his life - was the true inheritor of the legacy left by Chojun Miyagi. Unfortunately this is reflected in the book and to an extent it does read as if Morio Higaonna is attempting to legitimize any claim he may make as being the next in line of direct succession from Ryu Ryu Ko to Kanryo Higaonna to Chojun Miyagi to An'ichi Miyagi and then to the author. In this respect, the latter history of Goju ryu does not appear to be being presented as objectively as the earlier history.
Morio Higaonna
All said though, The History of Karate is a great read and well worth delving into. Various other karate masters are mentioned to a greater or lesser extent and anyone with an interest in the overall shift from karate as a fighting art taught to select students to a more popularized version will find this book of value. Needless to say, for Goju ryu trainees, this should still be considered essential reading despite some bias in the presentation of evidence and opinion.
You can buy The History of Karate from Amazon here
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