You are familiar with Funakoshi's Twenty Precepts. One of them provides a very good illustration of honne and tatemae.
It is precept number 20: “tsune ni shinen kufuu seyo.” Here are some common translations of this precept:
- “Be constantly mindful, diligent, and resourceful, in your pursuit of the way.”[1]
- “Always be good at the application of everything that you have learned.”[2]
- “Always think and devise ways to live the precepts every day.”[3]
- “Never forget - Strength & weakness of Power. - Expansion & contraction of body. - Fast & slow techniques.”[4]
- “Continually polish your mind.”[5]
Do you notice some inconsistency here? These are all supposed to be accurate translations of the same sentence!
Shihan Eri Takase (San Ten's translator/calligrapher) has a web page devoted to the actual translation. Ready?
"Always be creative."
I checked it. That's exactly what it says, and that's all that it says.
These are not mistranslations, they are substitutions (tatame). The real precept (honne) was withheld from us because creativity is the one thing a Japanese karate instructor can never endorse. It undermines his authority, which is based on militant defense of the status quo.
They didn't want us to know about this precept, so they made up new precepts to put it its place. They put their own words in Funakoshi's mouth. Note that this isn't just one master but several who rewrote precept #20. Apparently they were confident that we would never notice.
If you are not being creative with your karate, you are not following Funakoshi.
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[1] Jotaro, Takagi (author) and John Teramoto (translator), The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate, Kodansha, 2003.
[2] Website of the Japan Karate Association (JKA).
[3] Hassell, Randall, Shotokan Karate: Its History and Evolution, Focus, 1995, p. 195.
[4] Website of the JKA of South Australia.
[5] Stevens, John, Three Budo Masters, Kodansha, 1995, p. 85.
