Zenryo Shimabukuro

A highly respected Okinawan Karate master, Zenryo Shimabukuro, was the founder of Shorin-Ryu Seibukan Karate. An unassuming man, very little is known of him in the West.

Shimabukuro was a student of the pre-war Okinawan master, Chotoku Kyan. He was one of Kyan’s few students to teach his style of karate.

Zenryo Shimabukuro was born in Shuri, Okinawa, on 14th November 1908. It is thought he learnt some Karate that had been introduced into the Okinawan school system.

At the age of 24, Shimabukuro moved to the district of Jagaru in the town of Chatan with his wife, Tsuru. He worked as a baker and later worked as a tatami maker.

Chotoku Kyan was a contemporary of Gichin Funakoshi and was a phenomenal fighter. In some quarters, he is considered to be the black sheep of Okinawa’s great masters. He was the son of a high-ranking official in the Okinawan Royal Court. He learnt his Karate from many of the top Okinawan masters, including the legendary Sokon Matsumura.

To prove the effectiveness of his Karate, Kyan would take his students to bars and brothels, looking for fights. He would use the fights to practice and refine his Karate techniques.

Shimabukuro used to deliver baked goods to the area where Kyan lived. He struck up a relationship with him. He would ask Kyan to train him, but was turned down several times before being finally accepted. He trained with Kyan for over 10 years, becoming one of his most senior students.

On 7 December 1941, Japan mounted a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbour Naval base in Honolulu. This brought the United States into World War II on the side of the Allies.

Between 1st April and 22nd June 1945, the Battle of Okinawa took place between Japan and the United States. The battle was the bloodiest of the Pacific War. The three-month battle saw over 12,000 American deaths, over 100,000 Japanese deaths, and around 100,000 Okinawan civilian deaths.

Kyan was a casualty of the battle. He would give any food he had to children orphaned by the war. He eventually died due to starvation.

Shimabukuro also suffered during the war. Apart from losing the only teacher he knew in Kyan, he also lost one of his daughters near the start of the war, and a son shortly after the war ended.

At the end of the war, Shimabukuro worked briefly for the US military before returning to his job as a baker.

Around 1947, Shimabukuro decided to teach the Karate he had learnt from Chotoku Kyan to other people. Mainly teaching outside, he taught the eight kata he had learnt from Kyan. He also created his own kata called Wanchin, which he eventually added to his teaching syllabus. The kata contained many of the elements he had learned from his teacher. Over time, his reputation as an instructor and for being one of Kyan’s most senior surviving students grew. He emphasised hard sparring, which at this time was very unusual in traditional Okinawan training.

In 1952, Shimabukuro began teaching Karate to his nine-year-old son, Zenpo and his nephew, Zenji. They would train at the family home and sometimes at a nearby graveyard. By this time, Shimabukuro was teaching Karate to some local children and also to some adults.

Shimabukuro was a good friend of another Okinawan Karate master, Chosin Chibana. They would frequently give demonstrations together.

In 1956, the Okinawan Karate Federation was established. Chibana was named President. However, Shimabukuro was not invited to be a member of the Federation. Many in the Karate hierarchy did not like the emphasis he placed on sparring. His exclusion from the Federation did not sit well with Chibana, who withdrew from the Federation some years later.

By 1959, Shimabukuro began teaching Karate to non-Okinawan students. His first American student was William Fuller Jr, who was stationed in Okinawa. Fuller arranged for him to introduce some other students. This took some persuasion, as at the time, Karate was very rarely taught to non-Okinawans.

Shimabukuro was given a contract to teach Shorin Ryu Karate to American personnel at Fort Buckner. He was assisted by his 16-year-old son Zenpo.

In 1960, Shimabukuro joined the All-Japan Karate-do Federation and became President of the Okinawan regional headquarters. Another of Kyan’s students, Joen Nakazato, was named Vice-President.

The AJKF Okinawan branch promoted Shimabukuro to 10th Dan in 1962. However, the AJKF Okinawan branch eventually dissolved due to internal politics and infighting.

Still mainly teaching his Karate classes outside, Shimabukuro borrowed some money to purchase some land in Chatan to build his dojo in 1962. Named the Seibukan, meaning the “Hall of the Holy Art”, the dojo was one of the biggest in Okinawa. Many of his students contributed to the construction of the dojo.

In September 1963, Shimabukuro sent his 19-year-old son, Zenpo, to Philadelphia to stay with Walter Dailey. Dailey had studied Seibukan in Okinawa and had established the first Seibukan dojo outside of Okinawa. Shimabukuro sent his son to help Dailey with teaching and organising Seibukan in the United States.

The Okinawan Karate-do United Association awarded Shimabukuro with his 10th Dan.

Shimabukuro’s son, Zenpo, returned to Okinawa in 1966 to assist his father in running the Seibukan dojo.

The Okinawa Karate-do United Organisation was established by Shimabukuro, Joen Nakazato, Shigeru Nakamura, and Shinsuke Kaneshima. The organisation merged with the All-Okinawa Karate-do Federation. Shoshin Nagamine was named President of the new organisation, with Shimabukuro being named one of three Vice-Presidents, alongside Kanei Uechi and Yagi Meitoku.

The new AOKF became an umbrella organisation for the various Okinawan Shorin-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, and Uechi-Ryu styles. The AOKF eventually awarded Shimabukuro with a 10th Dan.

On 14th October 1969, Zenryo Shimabukuro passed away in Mainland Japan, aged only 61.

Shimabukuro and 20 of the senior members of the AOKF had been invited to the mainland by Ryoichi Sasagawa for the 1st All Japan Karate Championships. Zenryo Shimabukuro had performed a kata demonstration at the event.

Shimabukuro had remained in Japan after the Championships to visit his daughter, who was living in Osaka. During the visit, he started complaining about stomach pains. His daughter took him to a local hospital, where it was found that he had a ruptured appendix. This eventually led to his death.

Shimabukuro’s remains were transported back to Okinawa. He was buried in the family tomb in Jagaru, near his dojo.

Zenryo Shimabukuro was succeeded by his son Zenpo as head of the Seibukan.

Standing only 5 feet 2 inches, Zenryo Shimabukuro was a giant in the world of Okinawan Karate. Although not widely known in the West, his legacy and that of his teacher, Chotoku Kyan, have continued through his son Zenpo and several of his American students in the United States.