Aragaki Seisho was born in 1840 in Kumemurra village Naha
city Okinawa. Aragaki Seisho
was also known as “Ou” Aragaki or “Old
Man” Aragaki, a term of deep respect
in Okinawa. In addition to “Ou,”
Aragaki was also known as Aragaki Maya (or Aragaki the
cat).
Having
been born in Kume and being fluent in Chinese, it is possible
that Aragaki was a descendant of one of the original 36
Chinese families which had immigrated to Naha
in 1392.
At
the Okinawan court Aragaki held the title of "Chikudon
Peichin" (Samurai), and acted as an interpreter.
It is probably here that he first met his martial
arts teacher Wai Xianxian, the Chinese military attaché
to Okinawa for the Province of Fujian. At the Okinawan court
Aragaki held the title of "Chikudon Peichin" (Samurai),
and acted as an interpreter.
It
is probably here that he first met his martial arts teacher
Wai Xianxian, the Chinese military attaché to Okinawa
for the Province of Fujian.
Reportedly,
Aragaki’s Chinese was so good that he was eventually
petitioned to travel as an interpreter to Beijing in1870.
Details as to what Aragaki Seisho taught can be pieced together
from various sources.
Firstly, there is a written record of a martial arts demonstration
held to commemorate the visit of the last Chinese Sapposhi
to Okinawa, on March 24th, 1867 at Shuri’s Ochayagoten
(Garden). At this event Aragaki
performed various weapon forms, kumite, and the kata Seisan.
Also,
during this demonstration members of his team performed
the kata Pechurin and a kata identified as Chisauchin. Several
of these kata found their way into Kanryu Higaonna’s
Naha-Te system and into modern Goju Ryu.
The
kata Seisan has a direct Goju Ryu equivalent as well as
Pechurin, which is simply the Chinese name for Suparinpei.
The
kata Chisauchin also bears a remarkable phonetic resemblance
to Shisochin, which is also a kata found in the Goju Ryu
system.
Given
certain striking structural and technical similarities between
these kata and the kata Sanchin and Sanseru, it is also
possible that Aragaki taughtSancinh and Sanseru as well.
Secondly, other elements of Aragaki’s style can be
pieced together from what is known about what his other
students taught.
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