Nagamine was born in Tomari, in Naha City, Okinawa July 15, 1907. He began a self-imposed diet and took up karate under the watchful eye of his next-door neighbor, Chojin Kuba. Nagamine soon became a picture of good health, crediting his recovery to "hard work both at school and training of Karate" he became a leader of the school's karate club, and his friends dubbed him Chaippaii Matsu, a nickname meaning "tenacious pine tree".
After graduation in March 1928, he began to study martial arts full time, moving to Shuri and training under Taro Shimabuku and Ankichi Arakaki. Later that year, he was drafted into the Japanese army in the 47th Infantry Division, and fought in China before receiving an honourable discharge in 1931.
After departing from the army, Nagamine sought an area in which his martial arts abilities would be useful, eventually settling on the police force. During his time as a police officer, Nagamine received further instruction in karate from Chotoku Kyan and Motobu Choki, and achieved the title of Renshi in 1940. By 1951, Nagamine was a Police Superintendent, of Motobu, and was training his own officers in karate.
Nagamine retired as a policeman in 1952, and in 1953 he returned to Naha City and set up his own dojo, which he named "Matsubayashi-Ryu Kododan Karate and Ancient Martial Arts Studies". From the dojo he taught Matsubayashi-ryu, a karate school he had invented in 1947, and named in honour of Sokon Matsumura and Kosaku Matsumora. He continued to teach the discipline until his death in 1997.
Nagamine wrote two books in Japanese, The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do and Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters. The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do, which has been reprinted many times, was first published in the English language in 1976. Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters received its first English translation in 2000. He died November 2, 1997 at the age of 90, but his legacy lives on.
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