- 學位論文
空手道在戰後台灣：其歷史與文化認同變遷
Karate in Postwar Taiwan: Its History in a Period of Shifting Cultural Identities
並列摘要
Abstract The history of karate in Taiwan has hitherto been an under researched topic. This paper provides a comprehensive history of Shōtōkan karate in Taiwan, focusing on the contribution made by Asai Tetsuhiko and Chen Huizhu. This research also frames karate in the context of the postwar period, when the martial art was introduced, thereby providing an understanding of the postwar Taiwanese cultural identity and the Nationalist government’s “de-Japanization” efforts. Surprisingly, the Nationalist government did not effectively prevent the dissemination of Japanese cultural influences in postwar Taiwan, as is witnessed by the reintroduction of jūdō and kendō in the 1950s and the introduction of karate in 1965. These examples highlight that in the postwar period, Taiwan was not “anti-Japanese,” as was the case in South Korea. In fact, a comparison of the introduction and development of karate in postcolonial Taiwan and South Korea shows that, despite sharing similar colonial histories, the two nations have had divergent relationships with Japan and Japanese culture. In South Korea, this is exemplified by the transformation of karate into taekwondo, a “Korean” martial art with an invented tradition created to eliminate any connection to its Japanese origins. In Taiwan, karate has remained consistent with its Japanese roots, thus showing that Taiwanese were willing consumers of Japanese culture. This research is based primarily on interviews with several of Taiwan’s first generation karate practitioners, relevant newspaper reports, and several unpublished documents from sources with an intimate understanding of the history of karate on the island. This research illustrates the cultural implications of karate and shows why the martial art was accepted in postwar Taiwan.