唐手 karate Karate - China Hand

唐手 is karate written with 唐, the character for China, in place of 空 (empty) in the usual 空手. Both spellings are read karate.

The Japanese word 唐手 meaning "Karate - China Hand" is composed of the kanji 唐 (read kara) meaning "China" and 手 (read te) meaning "hand".

The two characters were an ordinary word for empty-handed for more than a thousand years before they named an art; the Okinawan fighting art, written 唐手 and already read karate, took this spelling in Tokyo from about 1929 among Funakoshi Gichin's students at Keiō, and his book of 1935 explained the change as a break from the impression that the art was Chinese boxing and as a choice of the Buddhist sense of 空.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 空手.

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