Kūsankū

Chinese karateka (1670-1762)

公相君

Born

1670, Qing dynasty

Died

1762

Sport

karate

Occupation

karateka

Kusanku (クーサンクー) or Kung Hsiang Chun (公相君) was a Chinese martial artist who is said to have visited Okinawa during the Ryukyu Kingdom in the mid-18th century. He performed a martial art called quan-fa (拳法) in Ryukyu, which is believed to have contributed to the later development of kempo, and then later karate.

According to "Ōshima Records" (大島筆記, 1762) by Yoshihiro Tobe, on April 26, 1762 (lunar calendar), a ship carrying Ryukyuan envoys set sail for Satsuma (present Kagoshima Prefecture). On the way, however, it was caught in a storm and drifted ashore on Ōshima, a small island in Tosa (present Kochi Prefecture). The crew consisted of 52 people, including Shiohira Pēchin Seisei (潮平親雲上盛成).

The book, "Ōshima Records," is a record of interviews conducted by Tōbe Yoshihiro, a Confucian scholar of the Tosa Domain, with the crew members, and contains a detailed description of the domestic situation in Ryukyū in the mid-18th century, including descriptions of Kūsankū and Quan-fa (literally, fist method).

Students

• Chatan Yara

External links

• Wikipedia
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q1929108 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.