 Azato
Ankoh:
A Short Story About
My Teacher
Part 1: Azato's School Days & Martial Arts
By Gichen Funakoshi
Translated & Edited by
Patrick & Yuriko McCarthy
Editor's Note: This article is the first of two excerpts from a new
book, "Karatedo Tanpenshu," a collection and new English translation
of early writings of Funakoshi, historical photos and other materials
compiled and translated by Patrick and Yuriko McCarthy. The orignal Funakoshi
articles were written in 1934 for the Keio Gijuku Taiiku-kia Karate Bu
Kaiho.
School Days
My teacher, Azato Ankoh, held an honorable rank not unlike that of a
lower Daimyo in Japanese society. In spite of his first name being Ankoh,
he use the pen name "Rinkakusai" when signing the plethora of
literary compositions he authored. Since his youth Azato has been referred
to as the "child prodigy" because he excelled in both the fighting
traditions and in literary studies. By the time that the Ryukyu Kingdom
was abolished, Azato had become a well-known politician holding the post
of Minister of State.
A contemporary of Itosu Ankoh, Azato was more than just his esteemed
colleague; they were also very close friends. Responsible for spear-heading
the movement, which introduced the defensive tradition into the public
school system. Itosu had such an enormous impact upon the growth and direction
of karate that even local children knew his reputation. In fact, both
Azato and Itosu were both regarded as brother Bushi and respected as such.
Together, Azato and Itosu had diligently studied the martial arts under
the strict tutelage of Masumura Soken. An advocate of the Chinese ways,
instruction under that taskmaster was always conducted early in the morning
before dawn until the sun came up, without change or observation of holidays.
During these times, Azato Sensei was also studying at the National school
where he was peerless. Particularly, in the study of the Chinese classics,
Azato was an honor student and received financial scholarship amounting
to more than his tuition.
Being very close to his first son, Sensei liked me a lot and was, in
many ways, like a second father. Moreover, he was always very frank with
me. I remember once he told me how hard it was to teach his own son. Citing
a Confucian proverb, describing the difficulties associated with a father
training his own child, Sensei maintained that teaching other children
allowed for more objectivity. "Now, I will teach you," he told
me, "in the future, please impart such learning to your friend, my
son." I was honored, and humbly complied.
The Martial Arts of Azato
During my teacher's youth, few martial arts enthusiasts could ever afford
the supplementary training equipment, which is commonly associated with
the practice these days. However, Azato was an exception and it was because
he was from a family of wealth and position that could afford such things.
In fact, his home virtually looked like one big training facility. Both
standing and hanging makiwara (impact training equipment) were located
in various rooms of the Azato residence, along with other training equipment,
which included wooden cudgels (club) and swords of various configurations,
a wooden-man (a post with wooden arms and sometimes legs often associated
with Chinese Kung Fu), stone weights, iron balls for grip-strength development,
shield and machete, flails (nunchaku), iron truncheons (probably sais),
and even a wooden horse for mounting practice and archery spotting. Master
Azato had created a living environment where he could train at anytime
and anywhere he liked.
Excelling in various martial arts, Sensei was particularly fond of horsemanship,
which he studied under Megata Sensei, the trainer who groomed the Meiji
Emperor himself. Sensei apparently decided to pursue Megata's tutelage
because his horsemanship was the trendy style being introduced from the
West, which really appealed to a stalwart like Azato. Master Azato first
observed Megata giving a lesson to a few students on the grounds next
to the Hirakawa Emperor's gate. Mr. Megata could tell that Sensei wanted
to give the new saddle a try but was too modest to ask, so the trainer
asked him instead. With some coaxing, Sensei finally accepted and was
applauded by Megata for his brilliant performance and command over the
reins. I think that Azato was a perfect example of the expression, "A
person who excels in one thing can excel at everything."
Sensei also loved archery and diligently studied under Master Sekiguchi,
and like his teacher (Matsumura Sokon) before him, so did Azato study
Jigenryu swordsmanship directly under the noted Japanese instructor Ishuin
Yashichiro. However, among all the combative disciplines, it was the swordsmanship
of Jigenryu that Sensei most favored. I remember that whenever Senseii
got excited he used to say to me, "I'm ready to compete anytime if
the opponent is serious." In my opinion, Sensei was peerless in karate
but judging by his preoccupation with Jigenryu, swordsmanship was his
real passion.
At the risk of seeming presumptuous, I would, nevertheless, like to introduce
a couple of anecdotes about Master Azato's karate which I am personally
familiar with. One night a burglar broke into Sensei's residence, apparently
not being aware of whose house it was. Had the burglar known that it was
the home of Azato he would have never entered. Being awoken by noises
in the house, Sensei knew that someone had broken into the house and jumped
out of bed in an effort to apprehend the intruder. Coming face-to-face
with the perpetrator in the living room it only took a moment to recognize
that, in spite of dwarfing the man in size, Sensei was unable to capture
the man. Moving with the agility of a gymnast, the man virtually bounced
off the furniture, out the window, onto the wall surrounding the house
and onto the roof of the house next door. Sensei gave chase but to no
avail, as the man escaped without a trace. Later Sensei came to learn
that a man well known for testing the skills of those considered masterful
staged the incident. Such things often happened during Okinawa's old Ryukyu
kingdom.
One day Sensei and his good friend, Itosu Ankoh, were confronted by a
small throng of 20 or 30 young men. Seriously mismatched, and in a less
than accommodating location, the two decided to bolt taking refuge in
a nearby house. At least there they could wait until the throng decided
to disperse and leave, or fight them on more equal terms. Wound up an
set upon fighting, the young men swarmed over the house like bees to a
hive. During their assault on the house Azato leaped out from the window
and surprised the hoodlums when he began to dispatch them. Engaging the
gang on the other side of the house, Master Itosu was able to quickly
discourage anyone else from continuing to act foolishly.
In spite of using only a single blow to dispatch each of the hoodlums
that he confronted, Azato's defense was brutally effective, leaving some
of the young offenders seriously injured. In contrast to Azato's confrontation,
Itosu left more victims lying around the back of the house, but seriously
injured no one. Judging by this anecdote one might be able to better understand
the varying ways in which two experts might handle the same dangerous
situation.
Mister Azato was well known for his incredible strength. When he was
just 17 years old he walked to his home from Kyozuka, a distance of 4
km, carrying two large stones weighing more than 30 kg each on his shoulders.
Such tests of strength often took place on the moonlit footpaths of old
Okinawa when young men sought to establish reputations for themselves
performing various feats of strength and bravery. Sensei was one such
man and his awesome reputation for strength and technique earned him so
much respect that he was referred to as Bushi Azato.
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