THE TATEMAE AND HONNE OF KARATE'S HISTORY

 by Phillip Starr

Honne and tatemae are Japanese words that describe the contrast between a person's true feelings and desires (本音 hon'ne, "true sound") and the behavior and opinions one displays in public (建前 tatemae, "built in front", "façade").

Honne may be contrary to what is expected by society or what is required according to one's position and circumstances, and they are often kept hidden, except with one's closest friends. Tatemae is what is expected by society and required according to one's position and circumstances, and these may or may not match one's honne.

In so far as the history of karate is concerned, most of us have been taught the tatemae (accepted and presented to the public) version. That is, karate was learned primarily by commoners – farmers and peasants – who employed their skills to protect themselves and their families from the vicious Japanese samurai who invaded and occupied their nation in 1604...right? The actual truth (honne) is a far different story, however...

We've all been told stories about how the ancient karate masters and their pupils trained in the dark of night (when it's considerably cooler, too)...but what did they do during the day? WHO were these guys? Now we get down to the honne...digging into the true history of the art indicates that the art arose mainly in Shuri (which was and still is the capitol city) and if you dig a bit further, you'll find that these masters and most of their pupils were of the bushi class; they were the knights and nobles who were actually employed by the government that centered in Shuri!

A cluster of buildings located in and on the grounds of Shuri Castle served as the seat of the government. The main building, the Seiden,was the king's office and throne room. Most of the early karate masters worked in administrative jobs only a few yards from the throne room. They worked and enjoyed lunches together and likely walked to work and back home together.

The Japanese (who controlled the government such that the king was king in name only; he had no power) stayed out of sight for the most part. The Chinese, with whom Okinawa was closely allied, turned a blind eye; they didn't want a war with Japan and so long as the Okinawans sent in their annual tribute, they didn't care what was going on there.

The early karate masters would, I'm sure, talk not about their boring jobs as they enjoyed the noon-time meal and walked back and forth from home to work; it's most likely that they talked about their passion...karate. I'm quite sure that they exchanged techniques and ideas. After all, they depended upon each other because their actual main function in the castle was not as administrators...they were BODYGUARDS to the king! That's why they were all positioned quite close to the throne room!

Japan forbade Okinawa from engaging in any foreign trade whatsoever and if they did, the king would suffer for it. In the 1800's Western whaling ships often docked at Shuri. These sailors had been at sea for many months and when they arrived in Okinawa, they were looking not just for re-supply; they wanted a little R&R on the island! Some alcohol, some women...but no, they had to be turned away and told that they had to leave immediately. Consider that. These fellows brandished all kinds of common Western weapons and as they shouted in excitement about finally getting some shore leave... how do you think they'd react to being told that they had to get back aboard their ships and leave NOW? And whose job was it to break the bad news to them? Yep...the karate masters, acting as government mouthpieces drew the short straws and were handed this wonderful task. So they did more than just protect the king.

And they weren't allowed to possess weapons (such as swords) because such items were outlawed. The Japanese didn't impose that ban; it was done by one of the kings of Okinawa and the Japanese simply maintained the existing ban. This is why the original karate masters stayed up at night refining their combative skills and tempering their bodily weapons; they NEEDED them regularly.

Certainly, I imagine that a few commoners learned martial arts from various Chinese individuals who, for whatever reason, found themselves in the island nation. But the most famous names; Azato, Sakugawa, Matsumura...were upper-class nobles who were tasked with protecting their king...