{"product_id":"bushi-the-guardian-of-shuri-the-story-of-sokon-matsumura-walking-upright-trilogy-1","title":"Bushi. The Guardian of Shuri: The Story of Sōkon Matsumura (Walking Upright – Trilogy)","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis book is a work of historical fiction inspired by the life and legacy of Sokon “Bushi” Matsumura, one of the most influential figures in Okinawan martial history. Although grounded in historical research and tradition, the story is presented as a novel and includes fictionalized events, conversations, and narrative elements.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBefore Tōde began to be taught openly, there was Sōkon Matsumura: a warrior of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, bodyguard to kings, and strategist trained in both Okinawa and China. To know his story is to step into the origins of karate, when it had not yet taken that name.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMatsumura did not found schools or write treatises. His legacy was deeper—and also more dangerous: he transmitted a real art of combat in a time when doing so implied risk, responsibility, and silence.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAmong his disciples were Ankō Asato, Ankō Itosu, Kōsaku Matsumora, Chōtoku Kyan, and other masters who would transform that secret knowledge into something teachable and enduring.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDecades later, that invisible thread would reach Gichin Funakoshi, who would carry the art beyond Okinawa and open it to the world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books Prime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45915674181823,"sku":"7c8a5193-d02c-45e0-b686-fc420c41ca89","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/7550\/7647\/files\/354251a57688a0d4045eab9e28576d9e.jpg?v=1785081840","url":"https:\/\/books-prime.com\/products\/bushi-the-guardian-of-shuri-the-story-of-sokon-matsumura-walking-upright-trilogy-1","provider":"Books Prime","version":"1.0","type":"link"}