There is a great deal of disagreement about the origin of these kata. Basically there are three schools of thought, each represented by credible authors. The first school of thought is that Bushi Matsumura created Pinan 1 & 2, and that the rest of the Pinan kata were created by Itosu. Chibana Chosin maintains that originally there were two kata, known as Channen Sho and Dai, which were taught to Itosu by Matsumura, and from them came the series Pinan 1-4. Chibana claims that the only Pinan developed entirely by Itosu was Pinan 5. The third school of thought is by far the most popular, and is surrounded by most authors, including Choki Motobu, who in a small book that he wrote in 1926 claimed that Itosu developed all Pinan kata. This version goes on to state that the Pinan kata were developed by Itosu for introduction into the Okinawan school system because the Naihanchi kata, traditionally the first kata taught, were much too difficult for children to learn. These authors generally agree that this was an older, more complex kata that formed the basis for Itosu's creating the Pinan kata; various suggestions as to what the older kata was are Kushanku, Pyong-An, and Passai, with the most popular belief being that Itosu created the Pinan kata from the concepts found in Kushanku. Pinan means Peaceful Mind, and whatever their origin were probably meant to be training kata rather than "fighting" kata.

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