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Portrait of Bushi Matsumura.

Having gained such a prominent reputation, Matsumura Sokon had no problem securing an occupation befitting his skills. With proper recommendations, by the age of thirty Matsumura had secured a position in the great palace of Shuri. He remained employed there until his death, serving no less than three kings: Shoko, Shoiku, and Shotai.

Bushi Matsumura was twice sent to Fuzhou and Satsuma as an envoy of the Ryukyu Kingdom. He made his last journey to Fuzhou in 1860 when he was fifty-one years old. Not only was Matsumura physically talented, he was also a man of honor respected in both Okinawa and Fuzhou. During Matsumura’s generation, unlike today, great emphasis was placed on balancing physical and mental learning. Fuzhou was regarded as “the place” where such things were correctly learned. It was considered quite an achievement for a foreigner to be recognized in Fuzhou.

During Matsumura’s generation, the practice of the combative disciplines, in both Fuzhou and Okinawa, took place under an ironclad ritual of secrecy. It wasn’t as if people were unaware of what was going on. Rather, the location in which martial traditions were imparted has customarily been associated with an austere sanctuary of sorts. However, an exception to the martial arts “closed-door” policy of Fuzhou was always made for a man like Matsumura Sokon. He was a man of dignity, and a man who vigorously explored the value of different schools of Chinese boxing. In addition to learning te in Okinawa, and chuan fa (kempo) in Fuzhou, Matsumura Sokon also mastered the principles of Jigen-ryu kenjutsu while stationed in Satsuma (the old name for Kagoshima in Kyushu).