Konishi Yasuhiro 小西康裕
(1893–1983)
& The Establishment of the Ryobukan, Ryobukai and Shindō Jinen-ryū
Konishi Yasuhiro the founder of our style Shindō Jinen-ryū is well known amongst Japanese Karate practitioner as one of the leading pioneers and supporting many of the now famous Okinawan Sensei that brought their martial arts to mainland Japan. Konishi Soke (Founder) was already an established Budōka with exceptional skill. He founded the Zen Nihon Karate-dō Renmei (today’s Renbukai).and was the first-generation vice president.
Konishi Soke was born in 1893 and came from Takamatsu City in the Kagawa Prefecture. He was all known by the name Ryōsuke 良助, which he later stopped using.
While he was in elementary school he studied Takenouchi-ryū Koshi-no-mawari 竹内流腰廻. This particular jujutsu style is known for its strong kicks and punches, very similar to karate, under Takeuchi Roku Sensei 竹内緑, Musō-ryū Jūjutsu 無双流柔術 from Matui Sanzō Sensei 松井三蔵, and Jikishinkage-ryū Kenjutsu 直心影流剣術 from Inoue Masahiro Sensei 井上正広.
At the age of 13 he entered junior high school he studied Jūdō with Okano Kōtarō Sensei 岡野好太郎 (10th dan), Takenouchi-ryū 竹内流 from Takenouchi Hyōei Sensei 竹内兵衛, and Kendō from Uehara Sōkurō Sensei 上原宗九郎 and from Ueda Heitarō Sensei 植田平太郎 (1877–1949).
In 1913 he eventually studied at Keiō University (Keiō Gijuku Daigaku 慶應義塾大学). He was an active member of the university Kendō dōjō where he was coached by Shindai Tadaatsu Sensei 真貝忠篤 (1842–1922) in Kubota-ha Tamiya-ryū 窪田派田宮流).
During this time, he also entered the Yūshinkan dōjō under Nakayama Hakudō Sensei 中山博道 (1872–1958), where he studied Shindō Musō-ryū Kenjutsu 神道無念流剣術.
While at the Keiō Kendō dōjō he became the captain of the dōjō team in his second year and while at university, Konishi Soke rented a room in a Jūjutsu dōjō and earned extra income as a bodyguard. While the average tenure at university is four years, Konishi Soke remained at Keio University for eight years because of his love for Kendō and Jūjutsu. He was Keio University's kendo team captain and continued coaching the university's kendo club after his graduation.
He was introduced to a junior Kendō dōjō member called Arakaki Kōmo (Tsuneshige), an Okinawan who was famous for his heavy drinking habits and would like to dance when intoxicated. Konishi Soke witnessed this dance and recognised its martial emphasis. The Okinawan martial arts were virtually unknown on the Japanese mainland, this incident took place long before Funakoshi Gichin Sensei demonstrated Karate at the Kōdōkan, and most certainly before the famous Motobu Chōki Sensei despatched a foreign boxer in Kyōto.
"Kūshankū Odori" (Kūshankū dance)
Without a doubt this was the Kata of Kūshankū (Kūsankū/ Kosukon) performed as a dance.
It is discussed in Gima Shinken Sensei and Fujiwara Ryōzō book "Taidan – Kindai Karate-dō no Rekishi wo Kataru" (Bēsubōru Magajin-sha, Tōkyō 1986)
“Fujiwara; So, next, the person called "Māya Arakaki" (Arakaki the Cat) refers to earlier mentioned Arakaki Seishō (1840-1920), who was a person from Kume Village who served in the position of an interpreter (tsūji). In addition, as a student from Okinawa prefecture enrolled in the Kendō Department of Keiō University around 1920, the person called Arakaki Kōmo, who had great skill in "Kūshankū Odori", I think was a relative of Māya Arakaki and had Kume Village as his birthplace.”
“Gima: Arakaki Kōmo, whom I know, was from the faculty of economy of Keiō University. I think that this story probably came from Konishi Yasuhiro Shihan (Shindō Jinen-ryū). Konishi Yasuhiro, who is two years older than me, served as the captain of Keiō University‘s Kendō Department and after graduation he committed himself to strengthen the Kendō Department as an instructor. I think it was around February of 1923 when Konishi first visited the Meisei-juku [dormitory for Okinawans in Tōkyō] in Koishikawa, which was also when I met him for the first time. At that time, Konishi Yasuhiro told me that he had seen Arakaki Kōmo perform "Kūshankū Odori" [a few years ago] in a drinking room where members of the Keio University Kendō Department had gathered.
Fujiwara: So, Konishi Yasuhiro Shihan, … (omission) … watching "Kūshankū Odori" being performed by Arakaki Kōmo, immediately judged that this was a martial art. (page 66–67)”
It has since been discovered that Arakaki Kōmo was from the Ka-clan and was unlikely to have been a relative of the famous Arakaki Seishō Sensei of the Rin-clan. In Okinawa it was normal for certain families to learn both Koryu-te and Ryūkyū dance as standard part of one’s education.
Without a doubt the meeting of Arakaki Kōmo and Konishi Soke would be the catalyst for Konishi Soke to embrace the beginning of a life changing study of Okinawan martial arts.
It was in July 1922 he received the rank of Godan (5th Dan) in Jūdō from Takahashi Kazuyoshi Sensei 高橋数良. After graduating from the University, he became a salary man. However, he was not completely satisfied with his occupation. With encouragement from his wife, he left his job in 1923 and in January 1924 he opened the Ryōbukan Konishi Dōjō 良武館小西道場 (The House of Martial Arts Excellence) to the public. In its formulative years The Ryōbukan taught mainly Kendō, Jūjutsu and Jūdō. It was soon to become the in place-to-be for all serious budo-ka in Tokyo.
1924 also saw the awarding of the title Seirensho to Konishi Soke for Kendō from the Dai Nippon Butokukai 大日本武徳会, established on April 17, 1895, with the Imperial Prince Komatsunomiya Akihito (1846–1903) as its president. The award was to signify an important part of the establishment of Okinawan-te on the Japanese mainland.
Dai Nippon Butokukai
During October 26 to 28, 1895, it held the first Butokusai Dai-Enbukai 武徳祭大演武会.
Nearly a thousand martial artists from all over Japan attended. During this gathering, a select group of talented martial artists from different disciplines were awarded the title of Seirensho. At this first convention fifteen people from Kenjutsu, Seventeen people from Kyūjutsu, six people from Jūjutsu, and three people from Sōjutsu.
This tradition and the event testing carried on until 1933 at each year’s Butokusai Dai-Enbukai. However, the titles did change in 1902 with the enactment of the titles Hanshi 範士 and Kyōshi 教士, until that date the title Seirensho was the highest award issued by the Dai Nippon Butokukai . In 1934 the title of Renshi 錬士 was established and the Seirensho was abolished.
Konishi Soke was one of the first group of students who received Dan ranks from Gichin Funakoshi Sensei. However, Konishi Soke knew that if karate were to be respected by the budo community, it had to be a part of the Dai Nippon Butokukai.
Konishi Soke used his political influence, as well as the fact that he was already a senior member through kendō, so that the Butokukai would recognise karate as a legitimate Japanese budo and would issue official ranking certifications.
The Dai Nippon Butokukai, was thee Japanese governing body for budo at the time, it was politically very strong and set the standards for ranking individual martial artists and signed all certificates of membership. Konishi Soke felt that karate would be effective in the education of the Japanese people, and so he applied to the Dai Nippon Butokukai for recognition of karate. Through 1934, however, the government continued to award titles in jujitsu and judo, but not in karate.
This became reality in 1935, when the Butokukai awarded Konishi Soke the title ("shogo") of Karate-do Kyōshi for the first time for his karate. By 1941, the Butokukai had awarded the Kyōshi title to Yasuhiro Konishi, Chojun Miyagi, and Sannosuke Uejima (Kushin Ryu); and the Renshi title to Gichin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni, Ōtsuka Hironori, Takeshi Shimoda, Gigo Funakoshi, and 18 others. Konishi Soke being awarded this title did infuriate certain students of the various Okinawan/Japanese Sensei from whom Konishi Soke had been learning for so long. Nonetheless, most of these masters were naturally deeply thankful of Konishi’s support, like Miyagi Chojun Sensei (Goju-ryu) for instance, who presented Konishi with an original manuscript, (“An Outline of Karate-Do”, March 23, 1934) which to date remains one of the most valued documents on Karate’s true history, aims and original values.
The Dai Nippon Butokukai also insisted that all budo have style names, and Konishi Soke encouraged the prominent karate instructors of that time to name their individual styles. Because of his diligent efforts to advance karate in Japan, as well as his high level of skill in karate, Konishi Soke was assigned in 1938 as the chairman of the screening committee of the Dai Nippon Butokukai that reviewed all licensing applications in karate-jutsu.
The Naming of Shindō Jinen-ryū
Konishi Soke believed that if you walk a morally correct path in this life, then you are naturally following the divine way. If you train in karate in a natural way and master your body, you will expand your knowledge and experience, and establish a solid foundation for naturally living a morally correct life. And so, his style in 1933, on the recommendation of Morihei Ueshiba Sensei and Shinto scholar Danjo Yamaguchi came to be Shindō Jinen-ryū Karate-Jutsu ("godly, natural style, complete empty-handed way").
Konishi Soke used this prefix to indicate that his karate properly succeeded the heritage of traditional Japanese budo. "Jinen" (also pronounced "shizen" meaning "natural") indicates his natural approach to the art. Because Konishi studied under many renowned karate masters of the time, his Shindō Jinen-ryū Karate-jutsu included cross-sections of kata and basics from many different styles. However, the most influential styles were Motobu-ryu, Shito-ryu, and Shoto-kai.
Miyagi Sensei named his style Goju-Ryu, as it blended hard and soft techniques. Mabuni Sensei studied under both Yasutsune Itosu and Kanryo Higashionna (Okinawan masters of To-te), and named his style Shito-Ryu, combining the first kanji from each of their names. For Hironishi Ōtsuka, the study of budo places one in harmony ("wa") with the universe; his style became known as Wado-Ryu. Ueshima Sensei based Kushin-Ryu ("Sky-Heart") on the idea of the universe and person as centre and in harmony. And students convinced Funakoshi Sensei to name his style Shotokan: Shoto, meaning "Pine Waves", was Funakoshi's pen name.
It was back in 1924, Funakoshi Sensei, accompanied by his senior student Ōtsuka Hironori Sensei 大塚博紀 (1892–1982, founder of Wadō-ryū Karate-dō and Jūjutsu Kenpō), approached Konishi Soke at the Keio University dōjō with a letter of introduction from Professor Sadahiro Kasuya of the Keio University and asked for Konishi Soke's permission to use the kendo dojo during off-training hours for Ryukyu Kempo To-te jutsu practice.
Konishi Soke not only granted his permission but also invited Funakoshi Sensei to come to his Ryōbukan Dōjō to teach him karate. During this era, it was unheard of for one martial arts school to allow a martial arts teacher from another system to teach in their dojo. Such a request would be considered a "challenge" to the dojo.
Konishi Soke, however, was a visionary in the sense that he saw value in cross-training; he remembered the kata demonstrated during his university days by Arakaki. Konishi Soke also taught Western Boxing at the Ryōbukan, elements are still practised today within Shindō Jinen-ryū.
In fact, in 1934 the celebrated boxer Tsuneo "Piston" Horiguchi joined the Ryōbukan and studied karate and kendo under Konishi Soke. Horiguchi also received hands-on instructions from Choki Motobu Sensei at the Ryōbukan. Few months later, Horiguchi won the Japanese Featherweight Boxing Title.
Karate-jutsu was born when Funakoshi Sensei added karate to this mix. As yet, no names were applied to this emerging style or any of the systems from Okinawa. It was as mentioned before that this came about on the insistence of the Dai Nippon Butokukai.
It was at the Keio University Dōjō the change in the kanji (China hand) to karate (Empty hand) in 1929 occurred. However, the substitution was more than a mere cosmetic change. One of the founding members of the Keio University Karate Dōjō, Goro Shimokawa was a member of the Enkaku Temple in Kamakura (The garden of which contains a monument commemorating Funakoshi Sensei with the inscription written by Zen master Sogen Asahina which reads "There is no first attack in karate"). After studying Zen at this temple, Funakoshi Sensei was persuaded by his students at Keio to change the character to Kara (Empty or Void) which contains profound meaning in the Zen context.
The adaptation of Zen signified that the Chinese/Okinawan fighting art of karate had transformed itself into a Japanese budo. "Karate-do" was born.
During this period Konishi Soke was concerned that Funakoshi Sensei teaching was heavily focused on the performance of kata. He with Ōtsuka Hironori Sensei and Gima Shinkin Sensei (Shotō-ryū) started to develop Yakusoku Kumite 約束組手 and work on Bōgu-tsuki Karate or “karate with protective equipment”.
Konishi Yasuhiro Soke was the first person who tested protective gear, and this was prior to Mabuni Kenwa Sensei’s experiments. Due to Konishi Soke’s background he used adapted kendō armour (with padding).
Konishi Soke also maintained his studies in Aikidō when it was still the Aiki Daitō-ryū 大東流 with Ueshiba Morihei 植芝盛平 (1883–1969) as well as Nanban Sattō-ryū Kenpō 南蛮殺到流拳法 from Fujita Seiko 藤田西湖 (1899–1966) famed as being the last living real ninja. Which are both mentioned later. Konishi Soke was also associated with many Jūjutsu schools such as Yōshin Koryū Jūjutsu 揚心古流柔術、Shiba Shinyō-ryū Jūjutsu 柴真楊流柔術, Fusen-ryū Jūjutsu 不遷流柔術, Yagyū Shingan-ryū 柳生心眼流.
Konishi Soke continued his kendō training under the instruction of legendary master Hakudo Nakayama Sensei, who was called "kensei," or kendō god. Nakayama suggested to Konishi Soke that karate-do had the potential to become "empty-hand kendō."