White Crane Medicine's Ancestral Arts

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Aragaki "Ou" Seisho (1840 - 1918)

Note that I use the term Tou di instead of Karate. When O-Sensei began training in martial arts, the word Karate had barely been invented yet and Tou di was the common term in Okinawa. "Tou di" literally means "China-hand" and refers to any martial art passed from China to Okinawa, and more commonly refers to an eclectic blend of many Chinese styles.

The term "Ou" simply means "old man", which is a term of respect in Japan and Okinawa.

Aragaki had several nicknames, including Aragaki Maaya (Aragaki the cat), which is his most common name in Okinawa, even today. He was also known by the name Aragaki Kamadeunchu ("kama-de" means "sickle hands" and "unchu" was the name of a kata he was famous for, sometimes called Unsu or Unshu today).

His real name was Aragaki Seisho, and he was born in 1840. It is stated that he died in May of 1918, although some history books will quote a death date of 1920. Very little is actually known about this man, even his place of birth is in question. He was born either in Kumemura village, Okinawa, or on the nearby island of Sesoku. No photos or film of him are available but since he died in 1918 and photography and film were possible at the time, there is a small chance someone will discover these in the future. The only known likeness of him is in the sketch shown below. This is a drawing of Aragaki, or, more likely, a relative who closely resembled him.

Aragaki Ou

Aragaki held the title of "Chikudon Peichin", a title conferred upon commoners who were officials of the royal court in Okinawa, similar to a Samurai rank in Japan. He was fluent in Chinese and acted as an interpreter for the court. He was even petitioned to travel to China for his interpretive duties; there is a record of him being petitioned to go to Beijing in September of 1870. This interrupted his instruction of a young Higashionna Kanryo, himself becoming very famous for Tou di instruction some years later.

It is well known that Aragaki was highly sought after for Tou Di instruction near the end of his life, and was definitely one of the primary Tou Di instructors of the 19th century. Some of his other students included Higashionna Kanryo (mentioned above and teacher to Miyagi Chojun, the Goju-Ryu founder), Funakoshi Gichin (Shotokan founder), Mabuni Kenwa (Shito-Ryu founder) and Uechi Kanbum (Uechi-Ryu founder). These renowned karateka sought Aragaki for training, though none of them regarded him as their primary teacher.

Aragaki was a stern taskmaster, and training under him was quite difficult. In a time when training consisted almost entirely of kata, a student was taught only one kata, Seisan, for his first seven years of training. Aragaki is said to that Tote had it's inception 1000 years ago in China during the T'ang (Tou) era. In Japan, the word "Tou" signified things Chinese, and Chito-Ryu means 1000 year, China style.

Aragaki's Tou di was developed from teachings of Chinese martial arts masters. It's unknown exactly what school of gungfu he trained in, but historians generally say that he probably trained and taught Monk Fist gungfu (Arhat Boxing). The only Chinese master mentioned in association with Aragaki is someone by the name of Wai Xinxian (or Wai Shinzan), a famous gungfu master in Fuzhou, a city in Fukien province, China, although there were probably others.

Not only was he a renowned Tote expert, but Aragaki was also a superb weapons master, leaving behind several bo and sai kata including Aragaki-no-kun, Aragaki-no-sai and Sesoku-no-kun which has about 200 techniques used against the sword. Aragaki's weapons katas are thought to be long and beautiful.

Aragaki has many family members still practicing karate in Okinawa today, but his descendants are primarily associated with Goju-Ryu, a style with roots similar to Aragaki's Tou di. Despite his fame as a Tou di master, and his many descendants, Aragaki left no style behind. All that remains of this famous master's legacy are techniques and kata scattered throughout a number of modern karate and kobujutsu styles.

Very little documentation about Tou di has been preserved from the 19th century, but there is one written record (a program schedule) of Aragaki Seisho performing weapons and Tou di demonstrations for a Chinese ambassador to Okinawa in Shuri City (Okinawan Capital) on March 24th, 1867. Aragaki demonstrated weapons, pre-arranged sparring and the kata Seisan. This says a lot for Aragaki's stature as a Tote master, as this was an age of Tote giants. Itosu Anko, Azato Anko and the most famous Tou di master of all time, "Bushi" Matsumura were all active and very well known, yet, for whatever reasons, it was Aragaki Seisho performing a Tou didemonstration for an important foreign guest. We are fortunate to have such a master in our history.