This is off of Funakoshi Sensei's gravestone. Thanks to Todd Kohli.
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
That is not really Funakoshi's gravestone. The stone marker in Kamakura is just a memorial marker erected by some of his students during the 1960's. I think they wanted to have something to visit. There are also rumors that it was erected by the "big corporate karate interests" in Tokyo as a way of furthering the mythology and mystique surrounding Funakoshi.
Funakoshi doesn't have a gravestone as far as I know. The Japanese traditional death rites include cremating the body and then later at the funeral passing ashes and a few small bones around in a bowl, and picking up the bones with chopsticks to examine them, occasionally passing them around.
This is one reason it is considered rude to use chopsticks to pass food to other people, because it reminds Japanese of a funeral and they can be highly superstitious.
It is also why it is considered rude to stick chopsticks into a bowl of rice with them sticking up, because that reminds the Japanese of offering up rice to the dead person at a funeral, and again, traditionally that really frightens them the same way it does us when someone "tempts fate" by saying something like "This car has never ever broken down, and never will."
We are all really superstitious people.
You have to give credit to Funakoshi's students, because they succeeded in creating a stone monument that everyone would think of as Funakoshi's grave site for visitations.
Give Todd and Kevin my best. It's good to see you blogging such a positive site with pictures of such happy, relaxed, and well-grounded people obviously having a blast!
Rob I have been a big fan of your writing for many years now. I used to print your newsgroup posts out and give them to my students to read. In fact when Todd moved to Atlanta I gave him your Shotokan faq and suguested he look you up. Im glad he did. Anyhow your are a gifted writer and I am looking forward to your book when it comes out. Thanks for your post.
2 comments:
That is not really Funakoshi's gravestone. The stone marker in Kamakura is just a memorial marker erected by some of his students during the 1960's. I think they wanted to have something to visit. There are also rumors that it was erected by the "big corporate karate interests" in Tokyo as a way of furthering the mythology and mystique surrounding Funakoshi.
Funakoshi doesn't have a gravestone as far as I know. The Japanese traditional death rites include cremating the body and then later at the funeral passing ashes and a few small bones around in a bowl, and picking up the bones with chopsticks to examine them, occasionally passing them around.
This is one reason it is considered rude to use chopsticks to pass food to other people, because it reminds Japanese of a funeral and they can be highly superstitious.
It is also why it is considered rude to stick chopsticks into a bowl of rice with them sticking up, because that reminds the Japanese of offering up rice to the dead person at a funeral, and again, traditionally that really frightens them the same way it does us when someone "tempts fate" by saying something like "This car has never ever broken down, and never will."
We are all really superstitious people.
You have to give credit to Funakoshi's students, because they succeeded in creating a stone monument that everyone would think of as Funakoshi's grave site for visitations.
Give Todd and Kevin my best. It's good to see you blogging such a positive site with pictures of such happy, relaxed, and well-grounded people obviously having a blast!
Rob
I have been a big fan of your writing for many years now. I used to print your newsgroup posts out and give them to my students to read. In fact when Todd moved to Atlanta I gave him your Shotokan faq and suguested he look you up. Im glad he did. Anyhow your are a gifted writer and I am looking forward to your book when it comes out. Thanks for your post.
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