The martial art of Karate as we know it today originated on the island of Okinawa, largest of the Ryukyus. During the time of the Tokugawa shogunate (Edo period) in Japan (1603-1867), and the Qing dynasty in China (1636-1912), the Ryukyus were an independent kingdom. However, the kings of the Ryukyus gave formal allegiance to […]