embracing

“Funakoshi Gichin. In his writings he continually emphasized Karate-do as embracing the Japanese spirit of the samurai (Yamato-damashi) and referring to Karate-do masters of the past as warriors or samurai.” Kowakan Blog

Comment: This makes sense, the need and desire for acceptance in a group is instinctually strong, it is about survival. When the Okinawans were “conquered” by the Japanese in the sixteen hundreds they became Japanese whether they liked it or not. Since that time they have been totally and completely absorbed and indoctrinated into that social societal belief system. Although they, like all conquered, hold tight to many social and cultural beliefs but in essence to survive in the new world they needed to become a contributing member of the Japanese tribe and that led to the need to establish themselves, create a perception of status and need to the Japanese and this led to the strong need and desire of karate masters, as well as other Okinawan’s of historical importance, to seek out the greater status holding Japanese to accept them and provide them both status and need, etc. Funakoshi, in his urgency to become an accepted bushi, Japan like not the Okinawan version of bushi although that was needed as well, he made efforts that often left out important information that would have connected the new karate to the old as to heritage of ancient Okinawans and so on. Needless to say that ended up become the defacto modern belief system that is only now being brought to light to all practitioners who will listen and heed the possible truth to this.