The official Kōburyū logo has a lot to say about our Kōburyū organization.
The Central Character, Kō
The Chinese character for kō is featured in the center. Kō is another pronunciation of the kanji for Sōke Kaichō Kinjō’s given name, Takashi. Kō means filial piety, a quality that is important to Sōke Kaichō Kinjō. Simplified, this means that you should honor your parents, teachers and other important people in your life.
Why Karate-dō and Not Karate-jutsu?
The word karate-dō emphasizes that it is not just the physical aspects of karate, but also the balance of the physical and mental. Karate-jutsu is all about fighting. Failure is not acceptable. The combat in karate-dō is not against an external enemy, but against yourself. Sōke Kaichō Kinjō says polish yourself, but he also says practice as though your life depends upon it.
Fists
The fists represent karate. The fists representing karate are equally balanced with the nunchaku, emphasizing the equal importance of karate and kobudo to Kōburyū.
Nunchaku
Stylized nunchaku represent all of kobudō, not just the nunchaku. Both the fists and nunchaku are equally featured in the logo, emphasizing the equal importance of karate and kobudo to Kōburyū .
Three commas
The three red interlocked comma-shaped figures are called mitsu domoe (三つ巴 or 三つ鞆絵). You can think of these three as representing shingitai – mind, technique and body. To perform karate well and to understand it properly you have to harmonize these three things within you. The mitsu domoe in Japanese culture typically rotates counterclockwise. The clockwise rotation represents Okinawa.
