The following book was written by Master Kamigaïto after he left Belgium. He presented it to a literary jury in the Hida region, which awarded him the first prize.
It is not a reportage, but a work of fiction; karate is above all an opportunity to discover a new world; it is not the main subject of this story….
Master Kamigaito’s book ” Writing from Bujumbura ” was probably inspired by his two trips to Burundi where he directed many Karate courses including the Puma karate club. This represents another important facet of Master Kamigaito and that is why you will find this book-fiction of Master Kamigaito in the form of about twenty episodes.
Translation from Japanese and adaptation into French: Jean-Maurice Huard
Dutch version: Peter Keijers
German version: Andréas Peil
English version: word translate
Foreword
The following text was written by Master Kamigaïto after he left Belgium. He presented it to a literary jury in the Hida region of Japan, which awarded him the first prize.
It is not a reportage, but a work of fiction; karate is above all an opportunity to discover a new world; this is not the main subject of this story.
In the story of his character whom he calls Sawada Yasuhiko, Master Kamigaïto mixes a little invention with memories from his second trip to Burundi; indeed, at the end of 1982 he returned alone to Burundi, having already spent two months there between the end of 1981 and the beginning of 1982.
Peu d’entre nous le savent ou même s’en doutent, mais, à un talent certain, Monsieur Kamigaïto joignait une connaissance approfondie du japonais, et l’étendue de sa culture littéraire m’étonnait souvent ; sans rien d’abstrait ou d’académique d’ailleurs : il lisait sa vie en termes littéraires et ses lectures éclairaient sa vie.
Few of us know or even suspect it, but, to a certain talent, Master Kamigaïto combined a thorough knowledge of Japanese, and the extent of his literary culture often astonished me; without anything abstract or academic for that matter: he read his life in literary terms and his readings enlightened his life.
His story “Writing from Bujumbura” will appear in episodes on the www.wado-kamigaito-ryu.be website
created by Xavier Wispenninckx. The Dutch translation is supervised by Peter Keijers while Andréas Peil has reviewed the German translation. The english version is done with the help of the Word Translation so please do not hesitate to send your remarks ( to admin@wado-kamigaito-ryu.be ) if you see any faults; thanks
Chapter 1
When did Africa come into my life? Yasuhiko Sawada wonders.
His plane left Brussels in the middle of the night to reach Africa in the early morning and land in Nairobi, Kenya at eight o’clock in the morning. He remembers looking with amusement through the porthole to see if there would not be a lion or a zebra….
Before proposing Chapter 2, here is the copy of a very nice email received a few years ago from a Wado-Ryu practitioner who participated in Master Kamigaito’s courses in Burundi in the 1980s:
“”Mail received from a Wado-Ryu practitioner who participated in Kamigaito master courses in Burundi
Subject: Contact uit Burundi/Canada over meester Kamigaito
Date: zaterdag 12 juli 2008 19:37:26
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Baranyanka Injimbere
Date: 2008/7/12
Subject: hello
To: tshintoleuven@gmail.com
Hello sir, I am so surprised to see that there are practitioners who recognize themselves in the method of the great Sensei YOSHIKAZU KAMIGAITO, let me first decline my identity, I am a practitioner of WADO RYU, I discovered this art through my uncle who also learned it by one of the students of the great SENSEI, thus in 1982, SENSEI came to BURUNDI for an internship and gave the very first 1st dan with the exception of my uncle who obtained him the 2nd dan as Sempai, in 1984 he came back for another internship, so we knew his working method through my coach who had forged a great friendship with the Sensei; today I live in Canada but I think that our way of working is so different from others in such a way that I was desperate to no longer find that atmosphere that moved all our Sempai and cadets, needless to say how delighted I am to know that I am no longer alone and that now I can communicate with the other people who knew him; the Sensei to continue to communicate with my Sensei until the early 2000s, he told him that he would end his days in a monastery, however, if you have any or other information let me know I will be grateful from the bottom of my heart, we still have the small booklets of the pin-nan katas drawn by the Sensei, once again thank you and I expect from you, have a good day.””
Chapter 2
To be followed…