Masami Chinen

Masami Chinen (知念 正美, Chinen Masami, 1898-1976)[1][2] was an Okinawan martial arts master who formed Yamani ryu. He taught Bōjutsu privately at his home in the village of Tobaru, in Shuri, Okinawa.

Masami Chinen
Born知念 正美 (Chinen Masami)[1][2]
1898
Okinawa, Japan
Died1976
Okinawa, Japan
StyleShōrin-ryū, Yamani Ryu or Yamane Ryu
Teacher(s)Sanra Chinen,[1] Chinen- PECHIN (Yamagusuku Andaya), Shichiyanaka Chinen[3]
Notable studentsChokei Kishaba,[3] Shūgorō Nakazato[4]

Life

Like many martial arts masters Chinen had been a policeman. During the Second World War he lived with the martial arts master Horoku Ishikawa in Tainan, Taiwan.[5] He also worked at the Shuri City Hall in Shuri, Okinawa.[6]

Yamani Ryu Bōjutsu

Chinen named the style after his father Sanra Chinen who was also a teacher of Bōjutsu[2] and known as Yamani Usumei and Yamane Tanmei.[3][7]

Legacy

Although the style ceased to exist after his death, some of his katas were preserved by Seitoku Higa of the Bugeikan and Shūgorō Nakazato of Shōrin-ryū.[3] Another student of Chinen's, Chōgi Kishaba and his student Toshihiro Ōshiro also privately practised Yamani Ryu katas. Ōshiro teaches Bōjutsu today,[8] and so does Chinen's grandnephew Teruo Chinen.[6]

See also

Okinawan martial arts

References
  1. With family tree diagram of master and students, starting with Chinen Sanra. "Yamane-ryū, Yanmani-ryū" (in Japanese). Motoburyu. 2017-02-17. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  2. Originally published on Okinawa Taimusu (ja) on November 21, 1961 and translated into English. "Article 4 (Part 2) Chinen Masami (63) – Sakugawa no kon. : Onko Chishin series: Kaneshima Shinsuke and Chinen Masami". Okinawa Traditional Karate Bureau. December 15, 2014. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  3. Bishop 1999, p. 120.
  4. Bishop 1999, p. 101.
  5. Bishop 1999, p. 121.
  6. Interview with Teruo Chinen on May 31, 1997 (Masami Chinen's grandnephew). Dong Tran. "Teruo Chinen : Bridging Past and Future". Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  7. In Okinawan dialect of Naha area, when referring to a man older than you, usumē/usumei was used for a commoner meaning uncle, grandpa or old man. Originally, an older person from a family with traditional Ryukyu Kingdom rank had been called tanmē/tanmei, which has been applied as a honorific meaning sir or grandpa mainly on Okinawa island. "Shuri/Naha Hogen gaisetsu" [Outline of dialect in Shuri/Naha area]. Okinawa Center of Language Study, University of the Ryukyus. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  8. Bishop 1999, p. 122.

Further reading
  • Bishop, Mark (1999). Okinawan Karate : Teachers, styles and secret techniques (2 ed.). London: A & C Black. ISBN 0-8048-3205-6. OCLC 770590420.
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