On the invitation of Okinawa Prefecture's designated intangible cultural asset holder Higaonna Morio sensei, some 50 influential karate masters and related people gathered at the Okinawa Karate Kaikan on September 23 to listen to video lectures and exchange opinions on the subject of the UNESCO registration of Okinawa Traditional Karate.
Lecturers were Matsuura Koichiro and Nakahara Nobuyuki. Mr. Matsuura (80 years old) is a diplomat, former UNESCO secretary general and director of the Japan Karate Association. Mr. Nakahara (82 years old) is a former director of the Japan Banking Association and the former chairman of the JKA.
In their speeches, they stressed the importance of having Okinawa traditional karate being included in the list of Japanese intangible cultural heritages in order to succeed in the UNESCO recognition. With this in mind, Okinawa traditional karate must be promoted in all Okinawa through various types of events. The material distributed at the venue can be found here (In Japanese).
In the second half, participants expressed various opinions and ideas on the matter. The chairman of the board of directors of the Shinkōkai, Kiyuna Chōkō sensei stressed the necessity of a movement headed by the Governor of Okinawa Prefecture.
At the end of the meeting, Mrs. Teiko Yonaha-Tursi, a Goodwill Ambassador appointed by the Okinawan Government who resides in New York stated her favorite proverb “Goetsu dōfū (bitter enemies placed by fate in the same boat)” and called out Okinawa karate people to seriously strive for the UNESCO recognition saying “It's about time!”.
Following the Japanese and English sides of our website, our information center has launched its Spanish and French pages. In addition, we introduce our center in Russian, German and Chinese.
Please note that at the moment, our center can only handle directly inquiries in Japanese, English, Spanish and French.
Do not hesitate to contact us anytime.
September 16-24, the 19th Okinawan Book Fair is held on the 7th floor of the Ryūbō Department store in Naha, precisely at Libro Ryūbō Book Center. The store is open 10:00〜20:30.
On September 18th, a talk show titled “Okinawa karate’s past, present and future” is scheduled with Tsuha Kiyoshi and Katsuren Seihō as guest speakers. Tsuha Kiyoshi is a 9th dan Shōrin-ryū master and karate researcher. Mr. Katsuren authored “Inspection of Okinawa martial art history, The Okinawan martial art - Karate”.
With the 2017 Day of Karate event coming up next month, we have translated the resolution text in English.
Juan Antonio García Ruiz visited Okinawa August 18-23 for a series of reports and interviews on Okinawa karate. He regularly writes articles in Spanish martial magazines and has a radio show on the subject.
While in Okinawa, our center helped organize interviews with Kenshikai Hokama Tetsuhiro sensei, Kyūdōkan Higa Minoru sensei and Higaonna karate dōjō Higaonna Morio sensei.
The first article in Spanish was posted on Mr. Ruiz blog.
https://budoblog.es/2017/08/23/nihon-ni-ikimasu-diario-de-un-viaje-a-japon-3-okinawa-la-cuna-del-karate/
