Satunuku Sakugawa Kanga  (1733 – 1857 CE), was an Okinawan Karate Master in the 18th and 19th centuries who is best known as Bushi Sokon Matsumura’s teacher, and creator of the Kusanku kata that is practiced in many of the styles that sprout from this lineage.

Development of Te: 

He is also known as the father of Okinawan Karate, which is a title that he shares with his great-grand student Gichen Funakoshi; although he is the lesser known of the two, all things being even.  He was a Ryūkyūan martial arts master and major contributor to the development of Te, the precursor to modern Karate.

Training career:

In 1750, Sakukawa (or Sakugawa) began his training as a student of a Ryūkyūan monk, Peichin Takahara. After six years of training, Takahara suggested that Sakugawa train under Kusanku, a Chinese master in Ch’uan Fa. Sakugawa spent six years training with Kusanku, and began to spread what he learned to Ryūkyū in 1762.

Nickname:

He became such an expert that people gave him, as a nickname: “Tōde” Sakugawa (Sakugawa “Chinese Hand”). His most famous student, Matsumura Sōkon, went on to develop the Shuri-te which later develop into Shōrin-ryū style of karate.