Pine Tree (or Forest) Symbol

Nick: Something was recently brought to my attention:

My style comes from Kayo Soken. To mark the occasion when Kayo was appointed the chief body-guard to King Sho Ko (and later to Sho Iku and then Sho Tai), he was allowed to change his name. This was a custom back then, especially if something important or notable happened to you; he changed his name to Matsumura, — Matsumura Soken.

That's from an interview with Sensei Hohan.

Then I recalled reading from Shotokan's Secret:

"Matsu" means "pine tree". "Mura" is a common suffix that means "village".

Sensei Hohan goes on:

We would also use the pine trees that were found throughout Okinawa. We would slap or kick the trees and develop our gripping methods for close in fighting.

The practice of the hakutsuru form forced me to learn better balance by performing the techniques while balanced on a pine log. Initially I learned the form on the ground and then I had to perform it on a log laying on the ground. For the advanced training the log was put into the river and tied down so as not to float away. I was then instructed to perform the kata while balanced on the log. It was very difficult and I almost drowned several times by falling and bouncing my head off the log.

Then Wikipedia says:

Shōbayashi ("Small Forest")
Kobayashi ("Young Forest")
Matsubayashi ("Pine Forest")

What is the tree about??

Andrew: I tried to find something on the Net... nada.

But I think the Tree is a symbolic metaphor for for the growth of Knowledge in Martial Arts. Interesting to note that Funakoshi's pen name 'Shoto' (as in Shotokan) also has reference to pine. Hmmm...

Nick: Clayton (Shotokan's Secret) says pine trees are very common symbols in karate styles that trace their roots to Matsumura.

According to this, Sho uses the same kanji as Matsu, the same one from Matsumura's name. Apparently Shoto means pine waves, which Funakoshi explained as "waves of wind in pine trees". Apparently this is a subtle connection with Itosu's Shining Forest style.

It goes on to say that Shoto may refer to the smaller of the two swords in a daisho display, because he was "as short and sharp as they come" (author talking, not Funakoshi).

This is part of a folktale, apparently.

A long, long time ago, when God created the island of Yaeyama, it was covered with rocks. So God decided he had to bring something else to the island so that it looked better.

One day he called all the trees together. The fuguki tree came first, then the pine tree, then the kuwa tree. Later, the bamboo, kuba, and adan trees came. But they all started fighting over where they would live on the island. God got upset and told the trees to come in front of him one at a time.

To the first, the fuguki tree, God said, "You have a strong body and leaves, so you will live around houses and protect them from typhoons and fire." The fuguki tree was very happy about this and felt very important.

To the second, the pine tree, God said, "You should grow around the villages and show off your big pine needles and protect the people from evil spirits and epidemic diseases." The pine tree was also happy to be protecting the people.

Karate does have well-known effects on health.

Also found this:

The Ryukyu Pine or White Pine is one of the hardiest of all evergreens, and symbolizes health and longevity.

Apparently this symbolism goes a ways back.

Kenpo is the family style of Grandmaster James Mitose. It was first taught to non-family members in Hawaii during the 1940's and 1950's. Mitose called his family style "Kyu-sho-ryu" Kenpo (old pine tree school fist law). According to Mitose, during the invasion of Genghis Khan, the Head Monk of the Shaolin Temple fled China and found refuge with the Mitose family. In appreciation for the kindness of the Mitose's, he taught them Shaolin Chuan Fa (Shorinji Kempo in Japanese). Then, in 1235, a Shinto priest whom James Mitose calls his first ancestor became enlightened to what we call Kempo. According to Mitose, this man was a martial arts master and a Buddhist monk studying at Shaka In who found it difficult to be both. His religion taught him pacifism; his martial art taught him destruction. He pondered this dilemma under an old pine tree meaning Kosho in Japanese. He became enlightened and was from then on known as, Kosho Bosatsu, the Old Pine Tree Enlightened One. He discovered the relationship between man and nature and also the secret of the escaping arts. He founded the Kosho Shorei Temple of Peace, True Self Defense, and Kosho Shorei Yoga School.

To be continued...