That Photo! Revisited!!!!

Originally I posted this article in December 2019. Since then, I have become aware of a video where the current Soke of Chito Ryu continues to assert that the man photoed at the centre back is indeed his father. That being the case I have spent the last three weeks, while in hospital, digging around documents to explain why or how we have got to this conundrum. Like so many things in karate history - it is layered.

Nevertheless, I have been able to track down the historical documents where the photo was published initially, identified actual problems with the photo and then explained why I continue to assert that the person in the photograph is irrefutably not Chitose Sr. I have added detail which I believe will be of help to those who genuinely are interested in the historical accuracy of Chito Ryu.

The Photo is from 1937 NOT 1936! This is the first major mistake most people make when they explore this photo. The photo in question is from a 1937 meeting to commemorate the establishment of the Kihon-gata in Okinawa (McCarthy, 2018). The photo first appeared in the 1938 publication Karate-do Taikan, edited by Nakasone Genwa with contributions from Hanshiro Chomo, Shimpan Shiroma, Choshin Chibana, Mabuni Kenwa and Shinken Taira - that is, most of the people in the photo! 

Taikan is a massively important collection of writings. It correctly identifies the origin of the photo as 1937; however, given that most people in the picture were also present in 1936, it is understandable how the mix-up by later writers could have taken place. Additionally, as there were numerous such meetings in the 1930s, it is not inconceivable that the date of the photo became mixed up. Indeed the sponsor of the 1936 meeting Ryukyu Shinpo Newspaper sponsored many such events as Okinawa tried to contribute to the nationalist agenda then sweeping Japan. 

It is important to note that both the 1936 and 1937 meetings had to do with 'standardisation' within karate. The more famous 1936 meeting was when the kanji used for karate changed from Chinese hand (唐手) to karate (空手). Additionally, the 1936 conference also established the addition of the suffix - do (道) to karate to help align it with the expectations laid down by the Botokukai (McCarthy 2018; Hokama 2007; Kinjo, 2011). 

The 1937 meeting from which the photos comes from as outlined in Taikan appears to be referencing is the one held on March 28, 1937, when the 12 basic kata were created and acknowledged by the Okinawan Prefecture Promotion Society (Hokama, 2007, p. 66). 

Thankfully Taikan, due to the work of Mario McKenna, is available in English via his 2009 translation entitled: An Overview of Karate (McKenna, 2009).

I have been unable to uncover when, in Japanese, the photo became associated with the 1936 meeting, but for English, it appears to be down to works by Richard Kim (citation needed).

Tracing its association with Chito Ryu is much easier.

In the 1979 Chito Ryu Karate-Do Nyumon Kihon, the photo is incorrectly identified as belonging to the 1936 meeting and identifies Chitose as the man at centre back. While it is conceivable that Chitose would have had many photos taken of him during this timeframe (for example we know he was a student of Kyan since at least 1926 -see photo below - McCarthy 2018, p. 205) - that he is the one in this 1937 photo is extremely unlikely. Below I outline some of the more pertinent evidence supporting this assertion.

POINT 1: The photo which is in Taikan identifies the man in question as Maeshiro Choryo (1883-1944) which in itself should be proof enough as those contributing to Taikan were also in this photo. More precisely, Nakasone, the editor of Taikan, was also a good friend of Chitose, so to believe he incorrectly labelled the photo is highly unlikely.

POINT 2: The Chito Ryu manual incorrectly identifies the photo being from 1936, when it originated in 1937. Suggesting those who made the assertion were unaware of the Taikan.

POINT 3: We have, thanks to McCarthy (1999), the translated minutes of the 1936 meeting and Chitose is not present in any capacity. Chitose not being there, it is not a great surprise. He was living on the mainland at this time, and the cost of getting to Okinawa was prohibitive. Moreover, many leading lights most notable Funakoshi, Mabuni and Uechi Kanei were also not at the meeting as they were working towards the development and recognition of karate on the mainland. Lastly, most of the people in the photo were the 'sempai' of Chitose and were at least ten years his senior, with most a good deal more than that! 

POINT 4: The recent Okinawa Karate Kaikan which exhibited this photo correctly identifies the person as Maeshiro Choryo (1883-1944) from the Nishihara Elementary school. The Kaikan is the offical, researched-based voice of karate history in Okinawa.

POINT 5: We have photos of Chitose with Nakasone (man to the far right, standing), Kyan (man sitting down, far left) as well as Miyagi. These photos show that Chitose was around the same height as Nakasone, which clearly, the person in the picture is not.

POINT 6: If we compare photos of Chitose and the man in this photo we can see the man in the photo is FAR too old to be Chitose. Maeshiro was born in 1883, thus meaning he was in his 50s at the time of the photo while Chitose was in his 30's. Indeed a simple comparison of the picture, when magnified, reveals that the two men were unalike physically.

There are other pieces of evidence regarding this topic, but alas I won't get into it here. 

I trust that the evidence presented herein will, for those willing to accept historically grounded arguments, lay to rest the myth that the man in this 1937 photo is Chitose Tsuyoshi. 

As karate faces, unprecedented criticism from several sides having an accurate portrayal of its history is essential. Sloppy assertions will, in my opinion, do more harm than good. As I have argued here and in other forums, Chitose and his brain-child Chito Ryu can stand on their own feet. Neither requires mythmaking or exaggerated claims. While to do this in the past was acceptable and indeed, the cultural norm within Budo, we must now hold ourselves to a higher account. 

The onset of serious academic research into Martial Arts such as that being conducted at the University of Cardiff, to say nothing of the internet, are shining lights into areas of Budo which were once shrouded in mystery or downright misleading.  Areas which enabled manipulation of truth which in some cases was deliberately done to benefit the gatekeepers.

Those entrusted with preserving and developing Chito Ryu must ensure that they remain abreast of latest expectations or risk getting assigned to the history of quirky pastimes. ​


Selected Bibliography. 
Chito-Ryo (1979). 千唐流空手道　入門、基本編.
Hokama, T. (2007) Timeline of Karate History (trans. J. Swift).
An Overview Karate Do (1938) Ed. Nakasone G. (trans. M. McKenna).
Kinjo, H. (2011). 唐手から空手へ.
McCarthy, P. (2018) Legend of the Fist.
McCarthy, P. (1999). Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts (Vol. 2).
Okinawa Karate Kaikan Exhibition Pamphlet (2020)空手を伝え、広める！

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