Brief History of Goju-ryu Karate-do and The Meibukan
Much has been written about the origins of karate and various masters by researchers and historians too numerous to mention. The following summary reflects information drawn from multiple sources and in no way is intended to claim ownership or authority on the subject. My goal is to simply provide the reader with some sense of the roots and lineage associated with my training. For more information, please see the short bibliography that follows.
Kanryo Higaonna
The origins of Goju-ryu Karate-do may go back hundreds of years, but most historians agree that its formation as a ryu (style) began with Kanryo Higaonna. In 1853, Higaonna was born in the city of Naha, Okinawa, and as a youth began studying the martial arts. After several years of training under Seisho Arakaki, Higaonna traveled to Fuzhou (in Fukien province, China) where he was introduced to the Chinese master Liu Liu Ko, who became his primary teacher. After staying many years in China, Higaonna returned home to Okinawa, where he began teaching the martial arts he had learned, referred to at various points in time as “Te”, “To-de”, or “Kara-Te” (meaning “Chinese” or “empty” hand).
Chojun Miyagi
In 1902, Chojun Miyagi (born in 1888 at Higashi-machi, Okinawa) was accepted by Higaonna as a student of ‘Naha-te’. (As karate styles diversified, they began to be named after the places in Okinawa where they were practiced, hence Naha-te, Tomari-te and Shuri-te). Shortly before his death in 1915, Higaonna indicated that Miyagi would succeed him. Miyagi continued his study in the martial arts, journeying to Fuzhou, China in 1915 to visit and learn as his master had done years before. In 1933, Miyagi designated his ‘te’ as ‘Goju-ryu’ and registered the name at the All Japan Martial Arts Association. It is said that Miyagi drew the name ‘Goju’ from a phrase found in the Bubishi (one of the most famous historic treatises on Chinese martial arts ever produced) that goes: “Ho go ju donto” (the way of breathing in and out is a way of softness and hardness). Miyagi continued to teach his karate-do until 1943, primarily in Okinawa, but also occasionally in Japan.
Meitoku Yagi
In 1912, Meitoku Yagi was born in Naha, Okinawa, and at the age of fourteen was introduced to Chojun Miyagi who accepted him as a student. Within a few years, and because of his great natural abilities, Yagi began assisting his master, becoming one of his top students. After the death of Chojun Miyagi in 1953, Miyagi’s senior students were not able to reach consensus on a successor. It was at this time that Yagi named his dojo (school) the ‘Meibukan’, which some translate as ‘House of the Pure Martial Art’. Other senior students of Chojun Miyagi also established their own dojos, including Seikichi Toguchi (the Shoreikan), Eiko Miyazato (the Gokenkan), and Eiichi Miyazato (the Jundokan). In 1963, ten years after Miyagi’s death, Meitoku Yagi was publicly appointed Miyagi’s heir and successor by the Miyagi family, a role he carried with great honor until his death in 2003.
Following the Second World War, and during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Okinawan karate schools were visited by numerous American soldiers stationed on Okinawa, which had been formally annexed by the U.S. as a military resource base until its formal passing to the Japanese government in 1972. It is worth noting that Okinawa and its people claim a rich heritage of their own, spanning a thousand years or more, which is reflected in their own unique language, customs, and culture.
Anthony Mirakian
In 1933, Anthony Mirakian, of Armenian heritage, was born in Havana, Cuba. As a young man, Mirakian immigrated to the United States and later joined the Air Force. He was introduced to the martial arts while stationed in Okinawa during the Korean War in the early 1950s. Mirakian began training at the Shoreikan of Seikichi Toguchi, and continued to visit and learn from other schools and prominent Okinawan masters, including Ryuritsu Arakaki, who introduced him to Meitoku Yagi. After thoroughly assessing Mirakian’s background, and following strong recommendations provided by Arakaki and others, Mirakian was accepted as a student by Meitoku Yagi. In November 1959, Mirakian returned and introduced Okinawan Meibukan Goju-ryu karate to the United States. In 1961, he was granted official permission by Meitoku Yagi to open his own dojo, the first foreign dojo in the history of the Meibukan and one of the first foreign (founded outside Japan) dojos in the history of Okinawa Goju-ryu. He established his school at 151 Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown, MA, near Boston, where he taught for the next 54 years before passing on March 31, 2015. His students continue to teach at his dojo today. To read or listen to a remembrance, click here.