Bujutsu Tetsugaku continued: Isshinryu No Megami

Megami

The symbol of Isshinryu is Megami or simply the "goddess." She is half sea-snake and half-woman. Some refer to her as Mizu Gami or "Water Goddess" as after a dream Master Tatsuo Shimabuku had of using an open left hand and closed right hand in response to a challenge to fight, he reportedly came across a painting depicting the Shinto Water Goddess in the same stance he recalled using in the dream. While the image of Mizu Gami appears to be incorporated into the Isshinryu emblem, Shinsho Shimabuku and Kensho Tokumura both indicate that it is not Mizu Gami; it is Isshinryu no Megami or Megami for short.

Yin Yang of Megami

In the simplest descriptions of Megami, she is half sea-snake and therefore has the strength of a snake. As half woman, she possesses a feminine grace and peacefulness. The left hand is open to convey peace. The right hand is closed to convey power. But, the image of Megami holds much more and important meanings.

Her image contains two pairs that are set as Yin Yang. Snake and Woman. Open Hand and Closed Fist.

Megami's snake aspect indicates a singular strength and deadly power as well as a rootedness to the material world. Serpents represent cunning and wisdom as well as healing and regeneration. Serpents can also be said to be a masculine symbol given their phallic form. Megami's feminine aspect represents grace and peacefulness. Unlike the snake, the woman symbolizes freshness, innocence, and creativity. Where the snake is masculine, deadly, and a bearer of knowledge, the woman is feminine (duh), nurturing, and open to learning.

Megami's open hand conveys peace. It also is welcoming and therefore represents courtesy and even modesty. Her clenched fist is a symbol of power. It represents perseverance and indomitable spirit. The open hand is peaceful and the closed fist is belligerent.

The Four Pillars, Megami, and the Salute

The hands of Megami inform the salute used in Isshinryu. The left hand is open and covers the knuckles of the closed right fist. This salute also serves as a quick mnemonic for the Four Pillars:

Form - The fingers of the left hand are expanded while the fingers of the right hand are contracted. This reminds us that conducting martial arts actions requires that we are mindful of the necessary expanding and contracting of our body and spirit.

Balance - the most difficult of the Four Pillars, it is brought to mind in the execution of the salute -- bringing the open hand together with the closed fist without sound of collision and then rotating the combined fist and hand to face downward and move away from the body parallel to the floor. Thus, we see the graceful rising, falling and then maintaining of a symbolic center of gravity as it moves through space. This reminds us that we must be aware of where our center of gravity is and how we intend it to change as we make a martial action.

Breathing - the closed fist symbolizes the drawing of breath into our bodies. The open hand symbolizes the exhalation of that breath. Their juxtaposition symbolizes how their timing is critical to the proper execution of any martial action.

Power - remind yourself of the Pillar of Power in realizing that the left hand is open. It is soft, light, fast. The right hand is closed. It is hard and dynamic. The salute reminds us that our performance of martial arts must balance both soft and hard actions.

On your own, consider how Megami also informs us of the Three Dimensions. For myself, I have only some half formed thoughts on Being that perhaps I will share another time.