There is further documentation that in 1613 the Satsuma issued permits for the Okinawan samurai to travel with their personal swords (tachi and wakizashi) to the smiths and polishers in Kagushima, Japan for maintenance and repair. But documents have been recovered that state that the Satsuma outlawed the ownership and sale of firearms, all the Okinawan samurai of the Pechin class and above were allowed to keep those muskets and pistols that were already in their family’s possession.

The second time that the Okinawan samurai were purportedly disarmed was after the Satsuma invasion of 1609. But some Okinawan historians now interpret that King Shoshin was actually building an armory to protect his ports and prepare for any potential invasion by wako, or pirates, not that he was stripping the Okinawan samurai or the general population of their weaponry. A famous stone monument, the Momo Urasoe Ran Kan No Mei, which is inscribed with the highlights of King Shoshin’s reign, talks about the King seizing the aji’s swords, and how he amassed a supply of weapons in a warehouse near Shuri castle. While it is documented that King Shoshin ordered his provincial lords, or aji, to live near his castle in Shuri, many historians no longer believe that he totally disarmed his ruling class.

The first time that the Okinawan samurai’s weapons were supposedly confiscated was during the reign of King Shoshin (1477 – 1526). But a review of these incidents shows that our current view of the roots of Okinawan kobudo might be based on misconceptions. Most modern martial arts students have been taught that Okinawan kobudo developed as a result of the Okinawan samurai being stripped of their weapons at two different points in their history. Keep in mind that in the old days the normal dress was a kimono that had very long and baggy sleeves that could conceal a short weapon much better than a standard karate gi worn today. This gives one the advantage of surprise. The idea behind it is that the opponent cannot tell exactly what you are holding and how long the weapon is.

Oshiro Sensei poses in a kamae that demonstrates the concept of “kakushi buki” or concealment of the weapon.

Agena sai