Historically, given the usual dates for his birth, Matsumura would have been in his 50′s or 60′s when cameras made their way to Ryukyu, putting the possible date for this picture’s creation in the 1850′s or 60′s. This alone makes it’s authenticity highly unlikely- all of the images that we have of Ryukyu from the 1850′s-60′s are daguerreotypes or lithographs, like the portrait posted above the actor shot. There’s also the fact that there are no known images of anyone practicing karate from that time period, and the Ryukyuans would not have demonstrated a Chinese art in front of visitors (Perry and his crew) who were there to seek an audience with the Japanese. In the one brief reference to a Ryukyuan assuming a fighting posture in front of an American sailor after a misunderstanding, he immediately played it off and nothing further is mentioned in the Perry Expedition journals.