Editing Karate (section)

=== Origin ===
There are several theories regarding the origins of karate, but the main ones are as follows.

==== Theory of development from ''mēkata'' ====
In Okinawa there was an ancient martial dance called ''mēkata'' ({{lang|ja|舞方}}). The dancers danced to the accompaniment of songs and ''[[sanshin]]'' music, similar to karate kata. In the Okinawan countryside, ''mēkata'' remained until the early 20th century. There is a theory that from this ''mēkata'' with martial elements, ''te'' (Okinawan:''tī'', hand) was born and developed into karate. This theory is advocated by [[Ankō Asato]] and his student Gichin Funakoshi.<ref name = "Asato1914">{{Cite news|author1 = Asato, Ankō |author2 = Funakoshi, Gichin |title = 沖縄の武技 |trans-title = Martial Arts of Okinawa |publisher = Ryukyu Shimpo |date = 17 January 1914 |language = ja }}</ref>

==== Theory of introduction by thirty-six families from Min ====
It is said that in 1392 a group of professional people known as the "[[Thirty-six families from Min]]" migrated to [[Kumemura|Kume Village]] (now Kume, Naha City) in Naha from Fujian Province in the Ming Dynasty at that time. They brought with them advanced learning and skills to Ryukyu, and there is a theory that Chinese kenpō, the origin of karate, was also brought to Ryukyu at this time.

There is also the "[[Keichō]] import theory," which states that karate was brought to Ryukyu after the invasion of Ryukyu by the [[Satsuma Domain]] (Keichō 14, 1609), as well as the theory that it was introduced by [[Kōshōkun]] (Okinawan: Kūsankū) based on the description in ''Ōshima Writing''.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Miyagi |first = Chojun |title = 唐手道概説 |trans-title = Overview of Karate-dō |publisher = Ryukyu Karate-jutsu International Research Association |date = 1934 |language = ja }}</ref>

==== Other theories ====
There are also other theories, such as that it developed from Okinawan [[sumo]] (''shima'') or that it originated from [[jujutsu]], which had been introduced from Japan.<ref>{{Cite book |last1 = Shimakura |first1 = Ryuji |last2 = Majikina Anko |title = 沖縄一千年史 |trans-title = A Thousand Year History of Okinawa |publisher = Nihon University |date = 1923 |page = 353 |language = ja}}</ref>