Empty Hand Hanashiro Chomo The original use of "Chinese hand," " Tang hand," “Chinese fist,” or "Chinese techniques" (depending on one's exact interpretation of 唐手) reflects the documented Chinese influence on karate. Chomo Hanshiro (Hanashiro Chomo, 1869–1945) began using a homophone of the logogram pronounced "kara" by replacing the character meaning " Tang Dynasty"(唐 から) with the character meaning "empty"(空 から) in 1905. In 1933, the Okinawan art of karate was recognized as a Japanese martial art by the Japanese Martial Arts Committee known as the "Butoku Kai". Until 1935, "karate" was written as "唐手" (Chinese hand). But in 1935, the masters of the various styles of Okinawan karate conferred to decide a new name for their art. They decided to call their art "karate" written in Japanese characters as "空手" (empty hand). [15] |
