Gabu Seikei (2) – Possibly a Photo of Him

Yesterday, I wrote about Gabu Seikei, a former karate teacher at the First Middle School in Okinawa.

According to Tokuda Antei, Gabu and Hanashiro began teaching karate at the same time. A newspaper report confirms that karate training had already started at the beginning of 1905 (Ryūkyū Shinpō, 1905). This was during the time when Yabu Kentsū was serving in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), which further suggests that it was indeed Gabu who was teaching alongside Hanashiro (Ryūtan, 1938). Yabu returned in 1906 and began teaching at the Normal School (Ryūkyū Shinpō, 1906).

Thanks to the excellent research by Andreas Quast, we also know that Gabu was active during the same period as Hanashiro (Quast, 2024). Putting all this information together, it seems there is a small possibility that the man standing next to Hanashiro in the photo could be Gabu Seikei.

Note: The photo analysis was done by me. I relied on the words of Tokuda Antei. The picture—originally found by Nakamura A.—possibly shows Itosu Ankō and definitely includes Hanashiro Chōmo.