Kokan Oyadomari was a disciple of the Chinese Annan (also Ahnan or Anan) and of Ason, a Chinese sailor

Sailor

A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...

 or possibly a pirate. Annan was a castaway

Castaway

A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade their captors or the world in general. Alternatively, a person or item can be cast away, meaning rejected or discarded...

 from a shipwreck

Shipwreck

A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....

 along the coast of Okinawa, who took refuge in the cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

 of the mountains near Tomari

Tomari, Okinawa

is a neighborhood in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, where the Tomari Terminal of the port of Naha is located. The terminal is used for ferries and passenger vessels which connect Naha and neighboring islands....

. There is a legend which indicates that Annan was the master who taught the kata

Kata

is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....

 Chinto to Sokon Matsumura

Sokon Matsumura

was one of the original karate masters of Okinawa. His life is reported variously as or or or -Early history:...

.

Oyadomari was also a disciple to two local masters: Kishin Teruya (1804-1864) and Giko Uku (1800-1850). From Teruya, Oyadomari learned Passai

Passai

Passai is the Japanese name of a group of kata practiced in different styles of martial arts, including karate and various Korean martial arts . There are several variations of these kata, including Passai sho and Passai dai . In karate, the kata are known as Passai in Okinawan styles and Bassai...

, Rohai

Rohai

The Rōhai kata are a family of kata practiced in some styles of karate. The name translates approximately to "vision of a Crane" or "vision of a heron". The kata originated from the Tomari-te school of Okinawan martial arts. It was called Matsumora Rōhai, after Kosaku Matsumora, who was presumably...

, and Wanshu

Wanshu

Wanshu is a name borne by several katas in many systems of karate, including Isshin-Ryu, Shotokan , Wadō-ryū, and others.Wanshu is also the Okinawan-adapted name of Sappushi [Jp. 'diplomat'] 'Wang Ji' , the leader of a large ambassadorial mission from China sent by the Qing government to the...

, and from Uku the kata Naifanchi. According Shoshin Nagamine

Shoshin Nagamine

was a Japanese author, soldier, police officer and karate master.-Early Life and Karate-do:Nagamine was born in Tomari, in Naha City, Okinawa. He was a small and sickly child, and he contracted a gastroenteric disorder in 1926, his second year of high school. He began a self-imposed diet and took...

(see "Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters", Tuttle Pub, Boston, 2000), Teruya was considered by Matsumora as his true master.

External links

• Shugyokan Shorin Ryu Dojo, Redondo Beach, California