Training with Akamine Sensei - Okinawa 2019 ⑨

-David B.

Week 4

Didn’t take as many extensive notes this week; most of them are written at night and I’ve been too exhausted to write much. Since the kids had finished their performance they only came for Tuesday and Friday’s sessions, but they’ve earned the rest. I’m grateful for the festival, as it gave me a chance to train with them nearly every day for three weeks. Who knows if Sensei would have made himself so open and available to me if the kids didn’t have this performance to work toward.

毎日疲れているから今週はちゃんとノートに書いてなかったからごめん。演武が終わったから子供達にはちょっと休みを取らせて、稽古は火曜と金曜日だけだった。先生と二人だけで稽古できるなんてすごい経験だったけど、演武のおかげで子供達と一緒に稽古が出来てとてもよかったと思う。

Sensei took me to his property up north in Nago, on Wednesday. He has about 10 acres near the dam, a beautiful but rugged jungle landscape. He’s carved out a bit of that space for a structure.

名護の山荘に連れて行ってくれた。すごい綺麗で自然豊かなパラダイスのなかに建物を作った。

Meditation seat, blocking dummy, and hakutsuru stone. Soken sensei’s remains? Soken sensei never made it up there, but a monument was carved in his honor, and an altar in the corner of the building oversaw the training that Akamine did.

黙想の椅子とか、受け用のダミーとか、白鶴の稽古台とか。建物の角に大きな机がある。祖堅先生の肖像が稽古を見守っている。

He’s always watching over us, he said, handing me a set of handmade nunchaku lined up on the table “for your practice back home.” Gratitude wells up, I really can’t believe my good fortune in finding such a genuine man and dedicated karateka to learn from.

「いつも先生がみているよ。」と机の上のヌンチャクをくれた。「向こうでの稽古のために」と。感謝でいっぱいだった。こんな先生に出会えてとてもラッキーだなとニヤニヤしちゃった。

In the car, I asked about Soken Sensei. I didn’t know how much of biography exists outside what I’ve read in my own research, and it’s possible that there’s no one living who was closer to Soken sensei during his life. By Akamine Sensei’s account, Hohan Soken Sensei was born in 1891, and moved to Argentina before the war because his brother was already over there. He worked in a photography shop but may have had many other jobs over there. Came back to Okinawa in the late 50's/early 60's? And spent some time on Miyako-jima looking for work before settling in Gaja neighborhood in Nishihara town on Okinawa, near the Gaja kouminkan.

帰る途中、祖堅先生の話を聞いた。研究上、祖堅先生と一番親しんでいた人なのだ。赤嶺先生によると１８９１年に生まれ、戦争の前にお兄さんがもうアルゼンチンで働いていたからあそこへ引っ越して色んな仕事してみた。50年代沖縄に戻って少し宮古島でも過ごしてから西原の我謝公民館の近くに戻った。

About 7 kilometers south, in Miyahira, Yoshimatsu Akamine was born in 1943 (Showa 18), and has some memories of the post war times, waving to US soldiers that would throw candy for the kids. He started to get interested in karate in his late teens and began to ask around to find a teacher. There wasn't much to do at the time and when the adults got together the topic of karate would usually come up as a good way to toughen up and build a strong body. During hard times, that was especially important. Through word of mouth (what else was there those days?) he found Soken Sensei, and began riding a bike to his house/dojo from Miyahira. Soken Sensei was a bright person who was always smiling. He had a bit of a "foreign face," according to Akamine sensei. Soken Sensei would set the schedule for training, which sometimes would be every day. This continued for nearly a quarter of a century. At 30, Akamine sensei and his wife Ritsuko were married, and an 84/85 year old Soken Sensei was there to celebrate his student’s happiness.

南へ約７キロ離れた場所、宮平で赤嶺嘉松は1943年に生まれ、戦争の後の記憶があった。空手の興味は十代後半から先生を探し始めた。　あの頃は、人から紹介してもらうのが普通だった。祖堅先生の話を聞いて、自転車に乗って道場まで走った。明るい表情でちょっと外人っぽい顔をしていた。祖堅先生の師事でトレーニングを２２年間続けた。30歳で結婚して、披露宴での祖堅先生の写真を見せてくれた。

On the way home, over lunch at the michi no eki (highway rest area), I asked about Soken Sensei’s kata. "I've been doing karate a long time, 60 years... And I've seen a lot of different styles and kata. None have been as deep or impressive as Sensei's."

道の駅でお昼を一緒に食べながら、祖堅先生の型について聞いた。「６０年間空手をやっているから、型はたくさん見た。先生の型は一番深くて感動するものだった。」

Back in the south, on my last day before flying back to Nagoya, we had a little “gokurou-san!” dinner party after training, both for me and the kids for their excellent performance. Ritsuko-san made some delicious yakisoba and I brought a Bueno chicken with me. My friend had told me that this was a famous chicken and a common thing to bring to parties and picnics. When I first described it he hadn’t heard of Bueno Chicken, but when I cracked my backpack open and the smell of garlic filled our nostrils, he “Oh! This is just like Rico Chicken! The recipe is from Argentina.” I guess the garlic roast chicken in Haebaru is sold under a different name, but they were more impressed that I had biked all the way to Urasoe to get it. After enjoying our meals for a bit with one of the fathers, I gave my other “thank you” gifts, including a set of yo-yos for the kids from Yo-Yo Store Rewind, and a bottle of awamori for sensei called 美玉 “bi-dama,” in honor of the 美 “bi” I hope to develop in my kata. In Japanese, Bi-dama means marble, so the bottle is round like a marble, and it’s wrapped in small netting, making it a pretty ornament for display. Lastly, I brought a handful of photos I had taken and printed to share with them.

帰る前のご苦労さん会で、りつこさんは美味しい焼きそばを作ってくださった。私は友達のおすすめでブエノ・チキンを買いに行ってきて、いい匂いで南風原までついた。ついてリュックを開けるとニンニクの匂いで囲まれた。

「あ、これ、リコーチキンと同じだ！アルゼンチンのだろう。」あ、南風原では違う名前で売られてて有名なのだ。チキンより浦添まで走って行ってきたことに感心したらしい。子供のお父さんと食べた後、お礼のギフトに先生には泡盛、子供達にはリワインドのヨーヨーをあげた。泡盛は「美玉」と呼ばれて、「ビー玉」のように見えたけど、「美」と書いてあったからいいかもと思った。自分の型の中に見つける「美」の意味のと重ねて選んだ。最後に皆さんの写真を何枚か印刷してあげた。

I taught the kids the basics, based on my friend’s presentation at the elementary schools. They picked it up very quickly, not surprising the adults at all. I rode back to Sora House for the last time with a heartfelt “ittekimasu,” knowing that I’d be back someday.

ヨーヨーの基本を教えてみたら、すぐ分かって早くトリックが出来ちゃってた。大人達が全然出来なかったのはビックリしなかった。そしてまた必ず戻って来ると信じ、心から「行ってきます！」と言って、これが今年最後になる空ハウスへ自転車で走り出した。

Note to self: don’t forget about Sora-chan and the strays of Midorigaoka park.

緑ヶ丘公園のソラちゃんと野良猫達を忘れないでね。