Happy Birthday

In honor of Trent's birthday, which was today, I thought I would post about Okinawa, his birthplace, and coincidentally, the birthplace of karate. Okay I know this isn't kung fu, but wait, there's a connection.

During the golden era of King Sho Shin-O (1477-1526) a law was passed that banned people from carrying weapons in the Ryukyu kingdom. A century later the island was invaded and the locals basically got mowed by fully armed dudes (Jacking dudes -- how appropriate. Now, if only mongooses were indigenous). So, over the next 250 years, under the thumb of opressive bad guys, the local Ryukyuans practiced what they called 'te' in secret and passed it down from generation to generation. The original characters for karate mean "empty hand." *

Ah, Trent. I should have known all along.

Shi a wa se na tan jo bi.
(happy birthday)

k.


*Source: The Lonely Planet Japan Guide