Karate schools, classes, dojos, in Japan - About Karate:
Any unarmed combat system could accurately be called "karate" since the Japanese phrase literally means "empty hand." This is not necessarily an acceptable conclusion. To separate fact from fancy requires understanding issues of nationalism, lineage, primacy, and philosophy. Chinese Hand Karate was originally written as Chinese hand in kanji. The original use of the word karate in print is attributed to Ankō Itosu. He wrote it with the kanji (Tang Dynasty hand). The Tang Dynasty of China ended in AD 907. The kanji representing it remained in use in Okinawa as a way to refer to China generally. Thus the word karate was originally a way of expressing "Chinese hand," or "martial art from China." During the time when admiration for China and things Chinese was at its height in the Ryūkyūs it was the custom to use the former character when referring to things of fine quality... It should be noted that use of the written character is possibly linked to the origins of karate from China.
