♦ THE ISSHIN RYU NO MEGAMI PATCH
Contents:
• Master Shimabuku's Dream
• The Patch Takes Shape
• The Name of the Goddess
• The Isshin Ryu no Megami Explained
• Footnotes
Master Shimabuku's Dream
Isshin Ryu no Megami
There are different versions of Master Shimabuku's now-famous dream. The following version is
based on an interview granted to Sensei A.J. Advincula
in 1984.1
In the mid-1980s, Sensei requested an interview of three
men who studied under Master Shimabuku in the late 1940s
and 1950s. The men were Master Eiko Kaneshi, Genyu
Shigema, and Kenji Kaneshiro. The interview, conducted
by Sensei Advincula, took place in Okinawa in December
1984.
The students explained that one day in the 1950s, Master
Shimabuku had a dream. In this dream, a goddess appeared
to him. The goddess, who was riding a dragon, told
Master Shimabuku that since he had enough karate
knowledge, he must now teach everyone. One of the
students (Kaneshi) stated that after this dream, Master
Shimabuku made two pictures of the goddess, one for
himself and one for Kaneshi, his student.
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The Patch Takes Shapes
In 1958, twenty-year-old A.J. Advincula (he was not a
sensei at this time) was serving with the United States
Marine Corps in Okinawa. That December, he began
studying karate with Master Shimabuku. Soon afterwards,
Master Shimabuku told his dream to Advincula.
In early 1961, Advincula and another karate student
received Master Shimabuku's permission to take the
goddess's portrait to Naha, the city where Master
Shimabuku is thought to have first seen it. There, the
two men asked a shop to produce a patch or crest, using
the portrait of the goddess and a design done by
Advincula as a guide. Advincula made one more request of
the shop: the outline of the patch must be in the shape
of a vertical fist with the thumb on top. (Advincula's
fist was the model for the outline of the patch.)
|
A young A.J. Advincula, ca February 1961,
standing in the Agena dojo. He is wearing the
first patch* of Isshin Ryu karate, as approved
by Master Shimabuku.
|
A.J. Advincula in Hope, BC, 2001. |
* To view a picture of the original patch or crest as
designed by Sensei Advincula, along with the updated
(2000 version), see
http://www.isshin1.com/megami.htm
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The Name of the Goddess
The goddess has slightly different names, depending on
individual Masters. For example, Master Shimabuku called
the goddess "Isshinryu no Me Gami" (Goddess of Isshinryu),
while Master Uezu, Master Shimabuku's son-in-law, called
her "Mizu Gami" (Water Goddess). As for Sensei Advincula, he refers to her as "Me Gami".
According to the 1984 interview granted by Kaneshi and
Kaneshiro, the name "Mizu Gami" is not correct. Both men
state that the goddess "has nothing to do with water"
and that she is "not a Water Goddess".
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The Isshin Ryu no Megami Explained
For an explanation of the different elements found in
the Isshin Ryu no Megami patch, see the following websites:
Meanings of the Megami - patch
The True Story of the Isshin-Ryu Patch
The Isshin-Ryu Megami
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Footnotes
1. "Interview". Retrieved 22 January 2003 from Isshin-Ryu
on the World Wide Web:
http://www.isshin1.com/interview.htm
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