Some Myths about Karate 1

One myth is that "karate" means “empty hand.”  The Chinese kanji characters used to write the word nowadays do translate as such, and are a useful epithet for “unarmed.”  But karate came to Japan via Okinawa, which during the Edo period of Japanese isolation was one of the few places to have continuous contact with the outside world. During this period, Okinawans visited China, studied Shaolin Kung Fu and brought it back with them.  Karate was brought to mainland Japan from Okinawa by Mr. Gichin Funakoshi in 1922. At that time, the kanji characters used meant “Chinese hand.” It was only later, under Japanese imperialism, when all things Chinese were scorned, that the kanji was changed to “empty” instead of “Chinese” – both pronounced “kara” in Japanese.  In Okinawa, however, karate is simple referred to as “Te” or hand. And in the Okinawan dialect, this is pronounced “Tea” – as in the drink. Karate-do, the Way of Tea!