blog:The defeat of Japan and the subsequent indignity
The defeat of Japan and the subsequent indignity of Occupation almost proved to be too much
for Mas Oyama, who nearly despaired. Fortunately for all of us, So Nei Chu came into his
life at that time. Master So, another Korean (from Oyama’s own province) living in Japan,
was one of the highest authorities on Goju Ryu in Japan at the time. He was renowned for
both his physical and spiritual strength. It was he who encouraged Mas Oyama to dedicate his
life to the Martial Way. It was he too who suggested that Oyama should retreat away from the
rest of the world for 3 years while training his mind and body.
Mountain Training When he was 23 years old, Mas Oyama met Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of the
novel Musashi, which was based on the life and exploits of Japan’s most famous Samurai. Both
the novel and the author helped to teach Mas Oyama about the Samurai Bushido code and what
it meant. That same year, Oyama went to Mt. Minobu in the Chiba Prefecture, where Musashi
had developed his Nito-Ryu style of swordfighting. Oyama thought that this would be an
appropriate place to commence the rigours of training he had planned for himself. Among the
things he took with him was a copy of Yoshikawa’s book. A student named Yashiro also came
with him.
