The Karate-do That Began with Chinmochi By Gichin Funakoshi (Translation by Mark Tankosich)

This translation originally appeared in Vol. 34, No. 2 of the Hiroshima University of Economics Journal of Humanities, Social and Natural Sciences. 

From Okinawa to Tokyo

“Have you begun a mochi-making business?”  It was a Buddhist priest from Shomyoji, the temple located at the bottom of the cliff.  Mochi-making business?!?!  What in the world was he talking about?  I came to understand later, and it’s humorous how karate-do’s pioneer in Tokyo – that is, its first voice [here] – [seemingly] started out making mochi.   

Thinking about it, I guess I could say that the very beginning was my having come up to Tokyo about 40 years ago, at the end of 1921, to attend the First National Athletic Exhibition³ (including kobudo⁴), which was to be sponsored by the Ministry of Education, and held at the Tokyo Ocha-no-mizu Education Museum⁵ in early spring the following year. I had wanted to introduce karate-do to the heart of the nation for a long time, and had [the benefit of] the recommendation of the prefecture, etc., so, thinking that I shouldn’t miss this perfect opportunity, I had hurriedly prepared by hastily making double-width scrolls⁶ containing more than a hundred pictures⁷ of kata, along with explanations and what not.  

Continue reading here: http://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/article/karate-do-began-chinmochi-gichin-funakoshi-translation-mark-tankosich