Okinawan Warrior

[Prince Loeffler]

As many of us have seen numerous pictures of the Japanese Warrior the Samurai. what does the ancient Okinawan Warrior looks like ? This item I found while googling, is it accurate ?

[johnst_nhb]

As many of us have seen numerous pictures of the Japanese Warrior the Samurai. what does the ancient Okinawan Warrior looks like ? This item I found while googling, is it accurate ?

Who knows? But I like it!!!

[Prince Loeffler]

Who knows? But I like it!!!


But someone has to know..... :( Well, regardless, I am still scouring the net in search of the TRUTH :)

Seriously, I can make a safe assumption by looking at the clothing by the Okinawan Fishermen that its pretty much what they wear. Such as this illustration:

http://www.okinawabudokai.org/images/Toku1.jpg

[gr455h0pp3r]

Nice shoes on that model. Did the Okinawans wear that kind of footgear aswell as the Chinese?

[Prince Loeffler]

Nice shoes on that model. Did the Okinawans wear that kind of footgear aswell as the Chinese?


Not sure, I am assuming that they wear sandals or simply barefoot. Until someone with much better knowledge in Okinawan culture comes forward, we will never know :)

[Andrew S]

All I can say is that the topknot looks much like the illustrations from the Bubushi. Maybe PM Patrick McCarthy Sensei for more info...

[Prince Loeffler]

All I can say is that the topknot looks much like the illustrations from the Bubushi. Maybe PM Patrick McCarthy Sensei for more info...


I noticed that it is different from the Samurai's top knot.

[RobertRousselot]

I noticed that it is different from the Samurai's top knot.

Okinawan Bushi did not wear the japanese styles "top knot". They wore what I think is called a "kampo" (not sure) held with one or two pins.

[RobertRousselot]

Here are 2 photos of what a high ranking court official (gold hat) most likely looked like and what a low ranking bushi may have looked like. In Okinawa certain colored clothing could only be worn by certain ranks of society. I don't recall the colors but only the King of Okinawa could wear certain types of yellow. This was true in China as well.

[Prince Loeffler]

Thanks for the pics Mr. Rousselot. I also found this interesting bits from www.fightingarts.com in regards to the top knot.


The hairstyle for men in Okinawa (as well as Japan) prior to the modern era was to tie long hair in a knot on top of the head and secure it with a single hairpin, as shown here, or with two hairpins pushed through the topknot from different angles. The two hairpin option is probably what Soken used for kusanku (kanku) kata practice since one could be held in each hand. In the begining of the kata the hands are raised overhead, a move which could be modified into a grab of the hairpins. Hairpins also differed. Men of the noble class wore special hairpins in their Samurai-style topknot to signify their social position as shown in this drawing. Made of metal or bone, hairpins were pointed on one end and had a round flat end or wire configuration that would hold the pin in place. Sometime after Japan formally annexed Okinawa, the Meiji authorities outlawed the wearing of topknots (as an old style warrior symbol) and thus hairpins were no longer used.