Anichi Miyagi

Largely known as the teacher of Morio Higaonna, An’ichi Miyagi was one of the founders of Goju–Ryu and Chojun Miyagi’s final student. Dedicated to Chojun Miyagi, he tried to stay true to his master’s teachings.

An’ichi Miyagi was born on 9th February 1931 in Naha, Okinawa. He was the oldest of three boys.

Between 1st April and 22nd June 1945, the Battle of Okinawa took place between Japan and the United States. The three-month battle saw 12,000 American deaths, 100,000 Japanese deaths, and around 100,000 Okinawan civilian deaths. An’ichi Miyagi’s parents were among the dead.

Aged only 14, Miyagi had to look after his two younger brothers. He supported them by working at the Kaneda US Air Force Base.

On 1st February 1948, Miyagi and his friends, Chishin Bise, Seikichi Gima, and Tokeshi Kako, were accepted by Chojun Miyagi as his students. Chojun Miyagi had lost many of his students during the war. Some of his remaining students were picking up the pieces of their lives after the war. He wanted to pass on his system to a new set of students.

Living close to Chojun Miyagi’s Garden Dojo, An’ichi Miyagi and his friends initially trained at Chojun Miyagi’s home before eventually starting to train at the Garden Dojo.

The training at the dojo was very tough. After a year, only An’ichi Miyagi was still training. He had formed a close relationship with older Miyagi, who, in addition to being his teacher, became a father figure to him.

Chojun Miyagi assigned An’ichi Miyagi various tasks around his home and garden. These tasks occurred at various times of day and ranged in difficulty. He was testing the younger man to see what type of character he possessed. Pleased with what he saw in the young man, he eventually took him on as a uchi-deshi (live-in student). Apart from the physical teaching, he also taught him about the history of Okinawan Karate.

For the next few years, An’ichi Miyagi trained with Chojun Miyagi every day, learning much of what the master had to teach. It is thought that during this time, Miyagi changed his teaching method. Before the war, he taught his senior students different parts of the syllabus. He taught his young student the majority of the Goju-Ryu syllabus.

In 1951, Chojun Miyagi began accepting new students at his Garden Dojo. The first of the new students was Shuichi Aragaki, the grandson of his first teacher, Ryuko Aragaki. By the following year, the number of students at the Garden Dojo had increased. One of An’ichi Miyagi’s brothers also started training at the dojo.

On 8 October 1953, Chojun Miyagi died from a heart attack. An’ichi Miyagi had been training with him the previous night. He had been the last student to leave the dojo. He heard about the death, the following day on the radio and rushed to his master’s house. He had lost a teacher, mentor, and father figure.

At the time of his death, Chojun Miyagi had not named a successor. Over time, several of his students, including An’ichi Miyagi, claimed to be his successor. However, it was one of his senior students, Eiichi Miyazato, who was unanimously selected as his successor.

In 1955, Morio Higaonna began training at the Garden Dojo. He was introduced to the dojo by his friend, Tsunetaka Shimabukuru, who was already trained there. He mainly trained under An’ichi Miyagi.

In August 1957, the Garden Dojo moved to a new location. The new dojo was named the Jundokan after Jigaro Kano’s first Judo club. An’ichi Miyagi was responsible for most of the Karate instruction at the new dojo.

Miyagi left the Jundokan in 1959. He had had some disagreements with Miyazato on the way. Goju-Ryu should be taught at the Jundokan. He felt they were moving away from Chojun Miyagi’s teachings.

Finding work in Okinawa was difficult during this time. In 1959, Miyagi found work on an American-owned oil tanker and left Okinawa to become a merchant seaman.

Over the coming years, even though Miyagi was no longer teaching at the Jundokan, Morio Higaonna would train with him whenever he got the chance. Whenever he visited Okinawa, he would train with Miyagi.

Apart from training Higaonna, Miyagi largely removed himself from day-to-day teaching. He led a quiet and simple life.

In 1979, the International Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate-Do Federation (IOGKF) was established by Higaonna, with Teruo Chinen and James Rousseau. Miyagi was appointed the Honorary Chairman of the IOGKF.

The 1st IOGKF World Budosai and Tournament was held in Naha City in July 1981. The tournament was held in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary of Naha City’s founding. Apart from giving a kata demo, Miyagi gave a seminar.

Between 18th and 22nd October 1989, the 1st Miyagi Chojun Memorial Martial Festival was held in San Diego, California. The IOGKF organised the event and was the brainchild of Morio Higaonna. Myagi was invited to share his technical knowledge in a seminar.

Morio Higaonna trained with Anichi every chance he got. He would seek the older master’s advice on the technical aspects of certain kata.

An’ichi Miyagi and Shuichi Aragaki promoted Morio Higaonna to 10th Dan in 2007. They also presented him with a certificate naming him as the official heir to the style of Goju-Ryu as practised by Chojun Miyagi.

By 2008, Miyagi’s health was beginning to deteriorate. Even so, in his latter years, Miyagi privately taught a few advanced students. This included Alexander Filimonov, whom he promoted to 10th Dan in 2008. Miyagi had previously promoted Kato Tomoyuki to 10th Dan in 2002. In some circles, there have been questions about the correct lineage traced back to Chojun Miyagi and through An’ichi Miyagi.

On 28 April 2009, An’ichi Miyagi died from a heart attack aged 79. His funeral was held. Two days later.

An’ichi Miyagi led a simple life. He was not interested in the trappings of fame or fortune. Perhaps, this has led to some questions about his lineage and whether he was a direct student of Chojun Miyagi.

Morio Higaonna and Tetsuji Nakamura have gone on record several times stating that An’ichi Miyagi was a direct student of Chojun Miyagi. Additionally, Chishin Bise and Shuichi Aragaki, both students of Chojun Miyagi, have given interviews saying that An’ichi Miyagi was a direct student of Chojun Miyagi. As a senior student at the Garden Dojo, he taught them kata. They have also stated that he was a phenomenal martial artist.