Volume 30, number 1/2/3

January/February/March 2016

PNKF DATEBOOK

April 2016

• 4/1-3: 28th Cleveland Kendo Tournament / GNEUSKF Championships, Fri-Sun, weekend-long
  exciting and instructive activities featuring Kendo Hanshi 8th Dan Mitsuru Hamasaki, former chief instructor of Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Case Western Reserve University.

• 4/2: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center,
  525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.) Kent.

• 4/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting, Radisson Hotel, 18118 International Blvd; and Kodansha Shinsa, Odyssey at Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac. Shinsa schedule: April 9, Sat, building doors open at 4pm, gym available until 6:30pm. AUSKF Godo Keiko 5-6pm, must vacate building by 7pm. April 10, Sun, building doors open at 10:30am, gym available for warmup. Shinsa registration 12:30pm, Shinsa test begins at 1pm. Must clear building by 5:30pm.
• 4/16: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake
  Boulevard NE.

• 4/24: Cherry Blossom, Sun, 2:30-3pm, Seattle Center Armory (former name Center House),
  main stage.

• 4/29-30: SWKIF Kendo Seminar, Fri, 6:30-8pm; Tsutomu Ito Women’s Team Taikai and Ito Cup
  Team
  Taikai, Sat, 8:30am-5pm, Standley Lake High School, 9300 W. 104th Ave, Westminster, Colorado.

• 4/30: 5th Garden State Kendo Tournament, Sat, 8:30am-6pm, City Sports Complex, 62 Route 4
  East, Englewood, NJ.

May 2016

• 5/1: SWKIF Kendo Shinsa, up through 4th Dan, Sun, 8am-12noon, Standley Lake High School,
  9300 W. 104th Ave, Westminster, Colorado.

• 5/7: PNKF Board, Sat, 9-11am, Seattle location, 4001 Aurorah Avenue N., Seattle 98103.
• 5/21: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am-3pm, Highland Park Community Center, 14224
  Bel-Red Road, Bellevue.

• 5/28: 51st Annual Vancouver Kendo Tournament, Sat, 10am-6pm, gym open at 9am, Byrne Creek
  Secondary School, 7777 18th Street, Burnaby, BC.

• 5/29: AEUSKF Kendo Tournament, Sun, John Jay College Gym, 10th Avenue and 58th Street, New
  York City.

June 2016

• 6/11: Rose City Taikai, Sat, time and location TBD, Portland.
• 6/17-19/2016: 9th US Nito Kendo Camp, Boise State University Campus, Boise, Idaho. Guest
  instructors: Tadao TODA, Tokyo, Hanshi 8 dan; Yoshihiro UGAJIN, Tokyo, Kyoshi 7 dan; Hirotsugu SASAKI, Miyagi, Kyoshi 7 dan; Ryoichi FUJII, Yamaguchi, Kyoshi 7 dan; Futoshi SATO, Chiba, Renshi 7 dan; Ako FUJII, Yamaguchi, 6 dan.

• 6/23-27: AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp, Thu thru Mon, Dallas Sportsplex, 5702 Alpha Road,
  Dallas, TX.
  • Thursday and Friday, June 23/24: Iaido seminar led by guest sensei from Japan to be
    announced

  • Saturday, June 25: 2016 AUSKF Iaido Championships
  • Sunday, June 26: Iaido Shinsa, followed by afternoon Jodo workshop
  • Monday morning, June 27: Jodo workshop ending at 12 noon
• 6/26: Leeward Oahu Kendo Tournament, Sun, 8:30am, Mililani District Park Gym, 94-1150 Lanikuhana Avenue, Mililani.

July 2016

• 7/9-15: North American Women’s Seminar, Sat thru Fri, Broadview-Thompson Elementary School
  East Gym/Bitter Lake Community Center Annex, 13052 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle.

• 7/16: 6th PNKF North American Women’s Kendo Taikai, Sat, 9am, Renton Community Center,
  1715 SE Maple Valley Highway, Renton.

• 7/22-29: AJKF Foreign Leaders’ Seminar, Fri/Fri, Kitamoto, Japan.
• 7/23: PNKF Board, Sat, 9-11am, Seattle location, 4001 Aurora Avenue N., Seattle 98103.

August 2016

• 8/13: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
• 8/13-14: AJKF/CKF Jodo Seminar and Shinsa, Sat/Sun, time and location TBD, Vancouver BC.
• 8/19-21: 2016 AUSKF Summer Camp, Fri-Sun, special guests and location TBD, Northern
  California.

September 2016

• 9/17: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of
  4th & James St.) Kent.

• 9/23-25: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Fri/Sat/Sun.
  • Rain City Fencing, 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue. Teachers: Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Hideo
    Noguchi; and
    Iaido Kyoshi 7th Dan Shigehiro Aoki and Kaoru Suzuki. Schedule: Fri, 7-9pm Jodo/Iaido; Sat, 9am-5pm
    Iaido; Sun 9am-12noon Iaido Tournament; 1-5pm Iaido.

October 2016

• 10/8: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, location TBD.
• 10/22: Tacoma Taikai
  • 9:30am Opening Ceremonies (doors open at 8:30am), Curtis High School, 8425 40th Street
    West, University Place, WA 98466 (tentative).

November 2016

• 11/5: PNKF Taikai, Sat, 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner
  of 4th & James St.) Kent.

• 11/12: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner
  of 4th & James St.) Kent.

• 11/12-13, AUSKF Board, Sat/Sun, TBD.

December 2016

• 12/12: Kent Taikai, Sat, report time 9am, start 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center,
  525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.) Kent.

September 2018

• 9/14-16: 17WKC, Fri/Sat/Sun, Seoul, Korea.

MUSOKAI NEW LOCATION AND PRACTICE TIME

Starting April 6, Musokai training will move to the North Court of Rain City Fencing Center
(RCFC), 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue, and will be on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9pm.

11th ANNUAL PACIFIC INTERCOLLEGIATE TOURNAMENT – January 16, 2016, UBC, University Hill Secondary School

Non-Bogu                         Women 1 Kyu and Under
1st place - Po Chen, SFU         1st place - Jasmine Chao, Langara
2nd place - John Wragg, UBC      2nd place - Klaudine Go, UBC
3rd place - Colton Johnson, UBC  3rd place - Anna Ngo, UBC
3rd place - Erin Boe, Langara    3rd place - Aya Hioki, UBC

Women 1 Dan and Above            Men No Rank
1st place - Erica DeJong, UW     1st place - Matthew Chu, UBC
2nd place - Bernice Lin, UW      2nd place - Kevin Chiang, UBC
3rd place - Becca Hsu, SFU       3rd place - Johnson Nguyen, UBC
3rd place - Nikki Asano, SFU     3rd place - Jason Tang, Langara

Men 1 Kyu and 1 Dan              Men 2 Dan and Above
1st place - John Magaling, SFU   1st place - Tsuyoshi Hamanaka, UBC
2nd place - Spencer Myrtle, SFU  2nd place - Ryota Kuki, UBC
3rd place - Andrew Chen, UBC     3rd place - Masamitsu Sawaoka, SFU
3rd place - Long Le, UW          3rd place - Matthew Pomeroy, UVic

Teams
1st place - UBC (T.Hamanaka,R.Kuki,K.Leung,J.Ohara,J.Li,A.Chen,R.Jacinto,E.Cheng,M.Chu)
2nd place - SFU (J.Magaling,K.Lee,C.Cheng,S.Ikoma,M.Morgan,B.Hsu,M.Sawaoka)
3rd place - UVic (T.Koyano,MattPomeroy,S.Nichols,K.Mercer,MarkPomeroy,S.Shan,M.Tahara)
3rd place - UW (B.Lin,L.Le,E.DeJong,C.Chan,M.Eum,A.Ngo,C.Blomquist)

Fighting Spirit Award - Andrew Chen, UBC

54th ANNUAL STEVESTON KENDO TOURNAMENT – February 20, 2016, McMath High School

10 Years and Under                  11 to 13 Years                       14 to 15 Years
1st place - T. Ariga, Butokuden     1st place - M. Fukuoka, Tozenji      1st place - E. Lee, Renbu
2nd place - Y. Lee, Renbu           2nd place - K. Squance, Renbu        2nd place - S. Nichols, UVic
3rd place - K. Yoshimura, Renbu     3rd place - M. Iwai, Steveston       3rd place - K. Fukuda, Cascade
3rd place - I. Fujita, Renbu        3rd place - C. Robillard, Steveston  3rd place - K. Muramatsu, Steveston

0-4 Kyu                             1-3 Kyu                              Ladies 1 Dan and Under
1st place - M. Park, Central        1st place - J. Magaling, SFU         1st place - K. McManus, Kent
2nd place - M. Chu, UBC             2nd place - D. Imanishi, Seattle     2nd place - J. Chao, Steveston
3rd place - N. Gardiner, Langara    3rd place - C. Capoeman, Tacoma      3rd place - S. Maekawa, SCKF
3rd place - F. Yoshimura, Renbu     3rd place - T. Shiomi, SFM           3rd place - A. Hioki, UBC

Ladies 2 Dan and Over               1-2 Dan                              3 Dan
1st place - C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan 1st place - H. Nagano, UVic          1st place - R. Asato, Vancouver
2nd place - S. Suzuki, Tozenji      2nd place - S. Kim, Renbu            2nd place - S. Masamitsu, SFU
2nd place - J. Kurahashi, Renbu     3rd place - T. Koyano, UVic          3rd place - T. Okitsu, Tozenji
3rd place - L. Murao, Steveston     3rd place - S. O'Sullivan, Steveston 3rd place - I. Takagaki, Steveston

4 Dan and Above
1st place - T. Nozawa, Tozenji
2nd place - S. Kamata, Etobicoke
3rd place - T. Ariga, Butokuden
3rd place - D. Ara, Renbu

Junior Team                                    Senior Team
1st place - Renbu A (K.Itagaki,R.Kim,          1st place - Ontario (E.Jeong,I.Lin
             H.Chun,I.Kim,E.Lee)                            M.Otabe,E.Hung,S.Kamata)
2nd place - Steveston A (E.Chui,K.Muramatsu,   2nd place - Renbu (H.Shim,T.Kabata,
             M.Iwai,A.Iwai,S.Ito)                            O.Young,E.Kita,J.Kurahashi)
3rd place - Bellevue (L.Ohata,B.Park,          3rd place - Youshinkan (J.Chien,Ke.Takeuchi,
             M.Ohata,M.Blechschmidt,A.Kojima)               Ka.Takeuchi,K.Kobayashi,C.Takeuchi)
3rd place - Steveston B (D.Chui,C.Robillard,   3rd place - Bellevue (D.Yu,F.Wessbecher,
             A.Ito,A.Chang,R.Nakano)                        L.Tsybert,S.Blechschmidt,D.Park)

Sportsmanship Pledge - Jeremy Chiang  Consul General of Japan S. Okada Trophy - C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan

2016 EAST COAST IAIDO SEMINAR TAIKAI – March 13, 2016, Holy Ghost Prep. School, Bensalem, Pennsylvania

Mudansha C                                  Mudansha B
1st place - Albert Valentin III (IttoKai)   1st place - Minsoo Seon (Princeton)
2nd place - Shiro Kondo (KenZen)            2nd place - Kevin Huang (Shidogakuin)
3rd place - Benjamin Wingate (IttoKai)      3rd place - Michael Temple (Doshikai)
3rd place - Terry Lewis (Norwalk)           3rd place - Jeremie Clark (Doshikai)

Mudansha A                                  1st Dan
1st place - David Dudek (KenZen)            1st place - Mitko Botev (Doshikai)
2rd place - Maryann Amici (KenZen)          2nd place - Jeffrey Heinze Fry (SeiZanKai)
3rd place - Abel Erives (Doshikai)          3rd place - Alec Milton (KenZen)
3rd place - Noriko Ambe (KenZen)            3rd place - James Cody Kroll (IttoKai)

2nd Dan                                     3rd Dan
1st place - Stephen Tomshaw (Shidogakuin)   1st place - Kevin Thibedeau (Ken Zen)
2nd place - John Mullin (KenZen),           2nd place - Narbeh Bagdasarian (PCIKendo)
3rd place - Leslie Williams (KenZen)        3rd place - Ji Ni (Nichibukan)
3rd place - Justin Lee (MuMonKai)           3rd place - Phillip VanDenBerghe (BaltimoreAnnapolis)

4th Dan                                     5th Dan
1st place - Patrick Suen (MuMonKai)         1st place - Paul Shin (Shidogakuin)
2nd place - Takanori Furuta (IttoKai)       2nd place - Terry Fukui (KenZen)
3rd place - Aram Kailian (Shidogakuin)      3nd place - Barry Poitras (Doshikai)
3rd place - Hanna Ikeda-Suen (MuMonKai)     3rd place - Isabella Church (Shidogakuin)

TATER TAIKAI – March 13, 2016, Boise State University

Kachinuki - Tie for first, Logan Lewis (Ore-Ida), Ken Tawara (BSU)
Kojin sen, Individual - Ken Tawara (BSU), Matt Miller (Idaho)
Dantai Sen, Red vs White Team Match - White Team

39th ANNIVERSARY HIGHLINE MUDANSHA CHALLENGE CUP – March 19, 2016, White Center

Yudansha                          Mudansha
1st place - T. Marsten, Kent      1st place - C. Capoeman, Tacoma
2nd place - K. McManus, Kent      2nd place - G. Wroblewski, Bellevue
3rd place - A. Law, Sno-King      3rd place - A. Yorita, UW
3rd place - J. DeJong, Highline   3rd place - S. Kua, UW

Teams
1st place - Bellevue, 34 points   2nd place - UW, 31 points

Sportsmanship Pledge - D. Sasaki, Highline

PASSAGE

Koji (Frank) Fukawa

On December 21, 2015, a major Southern California presence left us when Kendo Renshi 6th
Dan Koji (Frank) Fukawa passed away. Born November 16, 1926 in Lompoc, he lived there until
1942 when he and his family were interned at Poston, where they stayed until 1945, when they
moved to Ontario, Oregon. Enlisting in the Army, he served as an intelligence analyst during
the Allied occupation of Japan, 1946-1949, reaching the rank of sergeant. He then received an
AA degree from LA City College, and in 1955 married Kazumi Uwate, moving to La Marada in 1964.
An industrial chemist, Fukawa Sensei was an instructor at Norwalk Kendo Club, President, Vice
President, and Secretary of the SCKF, and a member of the Orange County Buddhist Temple.

Henry Shigeru Asai

A great friend and encouragement to many in the PNKF, Kendo Kyoshi 7th Dan and Iaido 4th
Dan Henry Shigeru Asai passed away December 24, 2015. Born in Walnut Grove January 1, 1920
where the family farmed, he later moved with them to Nagoya, but as war loomed in the late
1930s Henry was sent back to the US, and graduating from LA Polytechnic High School, he
enlisted in the Army. He was offered battlefield interpreting in MIS, but preferred to
complete cooking and baking school, serving in England, France, Italy, and Germany, followed by
a 40+ year career with Vons Markets. He began Kendo at age 50 at West LA, and went on to
contribute greatly to the formation of Venice Dojo and its programs. Traveling extensively to
participate vigorously in seminars, tournaments, and shinsa, with his life wisdom and unfailing
good humor, Asai Sensei was hugely kind and inspirational to many, especially those who may
have started Kendo later in life.

Our deepest condolences to the families and many friends of Fukawa Sensei and Asai
Sensei.

SHINKYU SHINSA

KYOSHI: Iwao Sato (Wahiawa).

AJNF GODAN SHINSA, January 24, 2016, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo

5TH DAN: Karen Yesowich Schmucker, (PNNF), Kei Tsukamaki (PNNF).

PNKF IAIDO SHINSA, February 27, 2016, Tyee Educational Complex, SeaTac

3RD KYU: Ball (Tonbo), Khoi Duong (Kent), Ian Otto (Seattle), Donald Wentworth (Tonbo).
2ND KYU: Mikako Barlow (AiShinKai), Adam Clark (AiShinKai), Victor Whitman (Seattle).
1ST KYU: Thane Mittelstaedt (AiShinKai), Ken Tawara (Idaho). 1ST DAN: Ryan Atagi
(Idaho), Mart Hughes (Obukan), Francis Maier (Everett), Richard Milde (Tonbo). 2ND DAN:
Sam Wilkins (Everett). 3RD DAN: Narbeh Bagdasarian (SCKF), Frederick Fourie
(AiShinKai), Callie Goeke (RenMa), Lynn Miyauchi (Musokai).

6TH KYU: Sean Kim (Seattle), Kai Kubal-Komoto (Federal Way), Aneurin Mabale (Seattle),
Taiki Miyamoto (Northwest), Uno Tate (Alaska), Kassidy Ting (Northwest), Timaeus Ting
(Northwest). 5TH KYU: Kyle Hale (Seattle), Daniel Kao (Tacoma), Hana Koob (Bellevue),
Drew Migita (Seattle). 4TH KYU: Kira Campbell (Sno-King), Emily Cho (Cascade), Helen
Fukuda (Cascade), Kiana Fukuda (Cascade), Kyle Fukuda (Cascade), Tom Fukuda (Cascade), Eugene
Kim (Seattle), Whitney Langford (Obukan), Ffion Mabale (Seattle), Francis Maier (Everett),
Darren Migita (Seattle), Sandra Mizuno (Seattle), Aska Mooko (Bellevue), Leonardo Ohata
(Bellevue), Michizane Ohata (Bellevue), Nagato Orita (Seattle), Joshua Paik (Tacoma), Keiji
Underhill (Northwest), Victor Whitman (Seattle), Donna Wilson (Seattle), Binah Yeung (Seattle).
3RD KYU: Benet Garcia (Bellevue), Hyunjun Jang (Cascade), Jinho Jeon (Bellevue), Mia Kao
(Tacoma), Raymond Kao (Tacoma), Josh Kim (Federal Way), Kasey Kitchel (Sno-King), Terry
Langford (Obukan), Elysia Midorikawa (Bellevue), Young-ki Paik (Tacoma), Catherine Park
(Bellevue), Tyler Peterson (Idaho), Ann Rubin (Tacoma), Sarah Tyree (UW), Kengo Underhill
(Northwest), Brayan Valdez-Cruz (Northwest). 2ND KYU: Cougar Capoeman (Tacoma), Timothy
Jaybush (Bellevue), Sunghi Kim (Northwest), Allison Kojima (Bellevue), Rachel Koo (Bellevue),
Evan Kriechbaum (Portland), Spencer Kua (UW), Elijah Lam (Everett), Long Le (UW), Brian LeSmith
(Edmonds), Carlos Matutes (Idaho), Gregory Vielhaber (Portland), Chris Vitale (OSU), Adrienne
Wilburn (Portland), Joshua Zheng (OSU). 1ST KYU: Clyde Bailey (Portland), Maya
Blechschmidt (Bellevue), Vincent DeBellis (Portland), Jihan Kim (OSU), Soo-Hyung Kim (Seattle),
Dan McLean (Portland), Peter Palmer (Northwest), Stephen Ting (Northwest), Adesanjo Wolfe
(Alaska), Tyler Yamashita (Seattle). 1ST DAN: Fritz Borchardt (Edmonds), Murray
Bratland (Bellevue), Addison Knappett (OSU), Alick Law (Sno-King), Soohmin Lee (Bellevue),
Brian Liao (Bellevue), Andrew Miller (Portland), Mikiyo Ohashi (Edmonds), Leo Shibata
(Bellevue), Andrew Yuen (Seattle). 2ND DAN: Fang-Ying Chu (Sno-King), Jane Higa
(Bellevue), Terry McManus (Kent), Andrew Nagasawa (Bellevue). 3RD DAN: Erik
Christianson (Edmonds), Mark Frederick (Northwest), Brandon Goh (Seattle), Apurva Jantrania
(Obukan), Su Hwan Kim (Northwest), Richard Lei (Seattle), Tero Patana (Sno-King). 4TH
DAN: CJ Chaney (Sno-King), Stephen Day (Kent), Masami Suzuki (Sno-King), Alfred Tan
(Northwest), Valera Vulfson (Northwest).

4TH KYU: Davin Hattaway (Princeton), Chris Kim (Princeton), Andrew Park (Princeton).
3RD KYU: Dylan Abrams (Princeton), Dominique Alfandari (SeiZanKai), Enver Bajraktarevic
(KenZen), Soochul Bang (Shidogakuin), Helene Cousin (SeiZanKai), Kevin Ding (Princeton), James
Dover (Princeton), Ritchard Higham (KenZen), Peter Kim (Doshikai), Terry Lewis (Norwalk), Ina
Park (Princeton), Yoojin Seon (Princeton), Albert Valentin III (Itto Kai), Jonathan Velazco
(Princeton), Kathleen Villemaire (Doshikai), Di Wang (Shidogakuin), Benjamin Wingate (Itto
Kai), Jing Ye (Nichibukan). 2ND KYU: Axel Anderson (Doshikai), Jason Carl (Princeton),
Jerry Chen (Nichibukan), Jeremie Clark (Doshikai), Garry Dodd (Princeton), Kevin Huang
(Shidogakuin), Shiro Kondo (KenZen), Minsoo Seon (Princeton), Louis Thauvin (KenZen), Joshua
Yang (Princeton). 1ST KYU: Noriko Ambe (Ken Zen), Maryann Amici (Ken Zen), Mark
Gottlieb (Shidogakuin), Charles Johnson (Baltimore-Annapolis), Dmitry Murashchik
(Balt-Annapolis), Michael Temple (Doshikai), Akihiko Watanabe (Shidogakuin), Joseph Wong
(Shidogakuin. 1ST DAN: Victor Betts (Doshikai), Gary Cotton (Doshikai), David Dudek
(KenZen), Abel Erives (Doshikai). 2ND DAN: Mitko Botev (Doshikai), Jeffrey Heinze Fry
(SeiZanKai), Michael Kamish (Itto Kai), Szilvia Kovari-Krecsmary (Shidogakuin), James Cody
Kroll (Itto Kai), Yoonhee Macke (Shidogakuin). 3RD DAN: John Mullin (Ken Zen), Stephen
Tomshaw (Shidogakin).

THE LAST WORD

Ogawa Sensei taught me the traditional Japanese culture of Kyoto and how to endure and adapt to
cold and suffering, to gain confidence and become a Nihon Kendoist. Once in Kyoto, I had no
time to analyze, to be nervous. I did what others told me and thereby adjusted to the
circumstances (“Rin Ki Oh Hen”) of my new life. I say, no “Big Deal!” Day in and day out all I
did was:

   sleep, then get up;
   eat, then move;
   sleep again, then get up again:
   Ne Te Oki Te;
   Tabe Te Ugoi Te
   Ne Te Oki Te.

The noodle shop gave me the only time – practically no time – for thinking, because my body
just got on with the job of eating by itself. “Move” meant chores, which continued because I
remained in my room at Kodo Kan, never living with my fellow students even after I finally
passed the entrance exam for Busen after graduating from Japanese high school and studying in
night school and was accepted as a formal student at Busen. Of course, “move” mostly meant
kendo practice.

Every morning from 6 AM to 7 AM I would do kangeiko, morning practice, at Busen. For the first
year, we only trained kirikaeshi the basic exercise of repeating side head cuts. That was for
the whole year! This is a very basic cut, and other students who had been tops in their high
schools were bored and would complain that they had already trained kote and other cuts
considered more advanced. “All you do is kirikaeshi; if you don?t like it, go home!” the
sempais would answer. These were the instructions of Ogawa Sensei and were not to be
contradicted. After the morning practice, from 7 AM to 8 AM, we ate breakfast.

Once I was officially accepted into Busen, I attended lectures from 8 AM to noon consisting of
more Japanese language, both modern and classic, and Japanese calligraphy. Calligraphy has long
been associated with the Samurai. In the first page of the Ground Book Miyamoto Musashi noted
that the “warrior’s is the two-fold Way of brush and sword, and he should have a taste for both
Ways.” Young men of the Japanese nobility of the Tokugawa period were educated solely in the
Chinese classics and exercising in word techniques. Brush and sword were to be in accord “bunbu
Itchi.”

Lunch was from noon to 1 PM. And then more keiko from 1 PM to 3 PM. Then from 3 PM to 4 PM was
afternoon practice, Koshuka (short training after regular training). This was the “voluntary
practice” which I had already learned was not really voluntary. If you didn’t attend, unless
you were a senior with other commitments to assist in keiko somewhere else, you didn’t belong
in Busen. After 4 PM I would go home to study. But I continued to clean the dojo and do all of
the chores I had done since arriving.

Finally it was time for evening practice at Kodo Kan when I would practice with Ogawa Sensei.
Kendo practice was a minimum of about six hours per day, but still less than the keiko of
Miyamoto Musashi! You could never practice too much.

–Rod Nobuto Omoto,
Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 23-24. Available as free download
at
lulu.com.

PLEASE NOTE – THIS KENYU ONLINE IS THE EDITION OF RECORD

Kenyu – Monthly Newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation
Tom Bolling, Editor – 7318 23rd Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98115

Volume 29, number 12

December 2015

PNKF DATEBOOK

January 2016

• 1/9: PNKF Kata Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm with godo keiko for the last 45 minutes, Chinook Middle School,
  18650 42nd Avenue S., SeaTac.

• 1/9-10: “Kokusai Budo Daigakku, Kazuhiza Kaneda Iaido Seminar” Sat/Sun, Boise State University, Boise Idaho.
  • featuring Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Kaneda Kazuhisa Sensei, instructor at International Budo University, Katsuura Japan, 8 time
    All Japan Iaido National Champion, author of “Iai no Kihon” (Iai Basics) Book and DVD set I & II,
    Info: http://www.idaho-kendo.com/iaido/iaido-seminar/
• 1/16: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 1/16: 11th Annual Pacific Intercollegiate Taikai, Sat, doors open 9:30am, opening ceremony 10am, hosted by UBC Kendo Club. Location: University Hill Secondary School, 3228 Ross Drive, Vancouver, BC (near UBC Vancouver campus).
• 1/16-17: AUSKF Adult/Mudansha Seminar, Sat/Sun, Las Vegas.
• 1/30-31: America Zone Kendo Referee Seminar, Sat/Sun, Japanese Canadian Cultural Center, 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

February 2016

• 2/13/14: 18th Detroit Taikai, Seminar, and Shinsa Sat/Sun, Novi, Michigan.
  • Distinuished guests, the Eiga brothers, Kendo Kyoshi 8th Dan Eiga
    Hideyuki and Eiga Naoki, from Hokkaido.
• 2/20: Steveston Taikai, Sat, 9am, McMath High School, 4251 Garry Street, Richmond BC.
• 2/27: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th
  Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.

March 2016

• 3/5-6: AUSKF Women’s Kendo Seminar, Sat/Sun, with WKC Team Japan members Kendo 5th Dan Yoko Sakuma and Yukiko Takami, Marina High School, 15871 Springdale Street, Huntington Beach, California.
• 3/19: Highline Taikai, Sat, 9:30am, White Center Community Center, 1321 SW 102nd St
  Seattle, WA.

• 3/19-20: 20th Annual Harvard-Radcliffe Invitational Shoryuhai Intercollegiate Kendo Tournament, Sat/Sun, Harvard University Malkin Athletic Center.
• 3/26: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

April 2016

• 4/1-3: 28th Cleveland Kendo Tournament / GNEUSKF Championships, Fri-Sun, weekend-long exciting and instructive activities featuring Kendo Hanshi 8th Dan Mitsuru Hamasaki, former chief instructor of Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Case Western Reserve University.
• 4/2: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th
  & James St.), Kent.

• 4/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting and Kodansha Shinsa, Sat/Sun, Seattle.
• 4/16: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake Boulevard N.E.
• 4/24: Cherry Blossom, Sun, 2:30-3pm, Armory (Center House), main stage.
• 4/29-30: SWKIF Kendo Seminar, Fri, 6:30-8pm; Tsutomo Ito Women’s Team Taikai and Ito Cup Team Taikai, Sat, 8:30am-5pm, Standley Lake High School, 9300 W. 104th Ave, Westminster, Colorado.
• 4/30: 5th Garden State Kendo Tournament, Sat, 8:30am-6pm, City Sports Complex, 62 Route 4 East, Englewood, NJ.

May 2016

• 5/1: SWKIF Kendo Shinsa, up through 4th Dan, Sun, 8am-12noon, Standley Lake High School, 9300 W. 104th Ave, Westminster, Colorado.
• 5/7: PNKF Board, Sat, 9-11am, Seattle location, 4001 Aurora Avenue N., Seattle 98103.
• 5/21: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am-3pm, Highland Park Community Center
  14224 Bel-Red Rd, Bellevue.

June 2016

• 6/11: Rose City Taikai, Sat, 10am, Portland.
• 6/17-19/2016: 9th US Nito Kendo Camp, Boise State University Campus, Boise, Idaho.
• 6/23-27: AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp, Thu thru Mon, Dallas.
• 6/25-26: Junior Open Championships, Sat/Sun, Eastern Michigan University, Detroit.

July 2016

• 7/9-15: North American Women’s Seminar, Sat thru Fri, with Kendo Renshi 7th Dan Chinatsu Maruyama, Broadview-Thompson Elementary School East Gym/Bitterlake Community Center Annex,
  13052 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle.

• 7/16: 6th PNKF North American Women’s Kendo Taikai, Sat, 9am, Renton Community Center, 1715 SE Maple
  Valley Highway, Renton.

• 7/23: PNKF Board, Sat, 9-11am, Seattle location, 4001 Aurora Avenue N., Seattle 98103.

August 2016

• 8/13: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th
  Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.

• 8/13-14: AJKF/CKF Jodo Seminar and Shinsa, Sat/Sun, time and location TBD, Vancouver BC.

September2016

• 9/17: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 9/23-25: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Fri/Sat/Sun.
  • Rain City Fencing, 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue. Teachers: Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Hideo Noguchi; and
    Iaido Kyoshi 7th Dan Shigehiro Aoki and Kaoru Suzuki. Schedule: Fri, 7-9pm Jodo/Iaido; Sat, 9am-5pm
    Iaido; Sun 9am-12noon Iaido Tournament; 1-5pm Iaido.

October 2016

• 10/8: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, location TBD.
• 10/22: Tacoma Taikai
  • 9:30am Opening Ceremonies (doors open at 8:30am), Curtis High School, 8425 40th Street West, University Place, WA
    98466 (tentative)

November 2016

* 11/5: PNKF Taikai, Sat, 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
* 11/12: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
* 11/12-13, AUSKF Board, Sat/Sun, TBD.

December 2016

• 12/12: Kent Taikai, Sat, report time 9am, start 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th
  & James St.), Kent.

19th ANNUAL KENT KENDO CLUB INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT – December 12, 2015, Kent Commons

10 Years and Under (Jr A)            3-1 Kyu
1st place - H. Koob, Bellevue        1st place - K. Toyokawa, Tacoma
2nd place - A. Yuen, Seattle         2nd place - A. Law, Sno-King
3rd place - K. Kubal-Komoto, Fed Way 3rd place - L. Le, UW
3rd place - DV Chung, Cascade        3rd place - D. Imanishi, Seattle

11-12 Years (Jr B)                   1-3 Dan
1st place - L. Ohata, Bellevue       1st place - T. Marsten, Kent
2nd place - K. Underhill, Northwest  2nd place - C. Ruiz, Spokane
3rd place - J. Shim, Obukan          3rd place - T. Koshiyama, Spokane
3rd place - T. Koob, Bellevue        3rd place - S. Day, Kent
                                     4th place - E. DeJong, UW
13 to 15 Years (Jr C)                4th place - Y. Sandberg, Spokane
1st place - K. McManus, Kent         4th place - C. Marsten, Kent
2nd place - H. Jang, Cascade         4th place - J. DeJong, Highline
3rd place - M. Blechschmidt, Bellevue
3rd place - K. Underhill, Northwest

Women                                1-3 Dan Seniors
1st place - M. Suzuki, Sno-King      1st place - J. Frazier-Day, Kent
2nd place - E. DeJong, UW            2nd place - V. Vulfson, Northwest
3rd place - R. Wakasaki, Obukan      3rd place - W. Sinclair, Spokane
3rd place - J. Frazier-Day, Kent     3rd place - H. Iba, Bellevue

4 Kyu and Under                      Junior Spirit of the Day
1st place - S. Kim, Northwest        Rachel Koo, Bellevue
2nd place - T. Fukuda, Cascade
3rd place - V. Blancarte, Sno-King   Senior Spirit of the Day
3rd place - B. Garcia, Bellevue      Val Vulfson, Northwest

Junior Team
1st place - Bellevue (L. Ohata, R. Koo, M. Blechschmidt, M. Ohata, B. Liao)
2nd place - Federal Way (K. Kubal-Komoto, J. Kim, S. Lee, I. Lee, K. McManus)
3rd place - Obukan (Y. Wakasaki, M. Gyldersleve, S. Wetzlen, T. Koob, J. Shim)
3rd place - Northwest (Taiki Miyamoto, Kenji Underhill, Kassidy Ting, Kengo Underhill, Timeaus Ting)

Senior Team
1st place - Spokane A (C. Ruiz, Y. Sandberg, T. Koshiyama, A. Melton, J. Lamb)
2nd place - Kent (J. Frazier-Day, C. Marsten, T. Marsten, E. Ishii, S. Day)
3rd place - Sno-King (M. Suzuki, S. DeBlieck, C. Chaney, T. Patana, A. Law)
3rd place - UW (B. Lin, L. Le, E. DeJong, M. Omura, A. Yorita)

Sportsmanship Pledge - Tiarnan Marsten
Head Shinpan - David S. Yotsuuye

SHINKYU SHINSA

CKF WESTERN KENDO SHINSA, December 5, 2015, Steveston

6TH DAN: Harry Samkange (Bellevue).

THE LAST WORD

Once I arrived in Kyoto, my poor preparation in Japanese proved to be a major hindrance in attending
Busen. Thus Ogawa Sensei arranged for me to attend a Seiho Chugakko (high school) for 2 years. Upon graduation
from Japanese high school, I took the entrance exam for Busen and promptly flunked despite my 2 year immersion
in a Japanese school system. Then Ogawa Sensei arranged for me to attend classes in Classic Japanese and
Chinese language in the evenings in Ritsumeikan Daigaku (college) to help me to pass the entrance exam for
Busen. “Jishin” is Japanese for “earthquake”. Another Japanese term with the same pronunciation can means
confidence. “Ji” is “self” and “shin” trust, so perhaps it is that when one trusts oneself, it produces
confidence that can be as profound as an earthquake. I had learned the basics of Kendo, the “Ground” in Hawaii,
but the ground shook and I had to adapt at Busen in Kyoto. I don’t know what kind of arrangements were made by
Miura Sensei or my father, but I stayed in the dressing room of Kodo kan adjacent to the home of Ogawa Sensei,
the head of the kendo department at Busen. I had various jobs around Busen and Ogawa Sensei’s household; fix
the kendo gear for the young students, take Sensei’s dog, Jiro, for “walks” on my bicycle, and help clean Kodo
kan and sensei’s house.

–Rod Nobuto Omoto,
Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 21-22. Available as free download at
lulu.com.

Manipulate the shinai using your shoulders, and pay attention to the course of the kensen tip.
Be aware of your upper and lower body after you have prepared your posture to fully strike your opponent,
you should be conscious of your shinai movement. Suburi is especially important in this regard.
An overwhelming hit, as mentioned above, can only result as the shinai swings down from above. However,
currently the “sashi men” technique appears to strike in a way that is similar to scooping from down to up. I
think one of the reasons that it has become this way is because that is how suburi is being practiced.
When I was young, the kensen was normally swung all the way to your back during suburi. Through this type
of practice, I learned how to use my shoulders, and developed large (full rotation) kendo. Recently, however
you can often see suburi done, without using the shoulders, by raising the tip of the shinai from the elbows.
This type of scooping upward swing probably cannot be avoided. In any case, strive to trace a large arc with
the kensen tip during suburi. By doing it that way, your skills for shinai handling will permeate into your
body naturally.
Regarding the course of the kensen, direct it to aite’s center. Be conscious of where you have your kensen
when watching the opponent’s movement, then aite’s openings and your opportunities will become visible.

–Saburo Iwatate, Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan, Chiba Kendo Renmei, <b<"Kendo wa, Notte Katsu", pg. 15-16 (as
Translated by Robert Stroud, Kendo Kyoshi 7 Dan, Idaho Kendo Club)

PLEASE NOTE – THIS KENYU ONLINE IS THE EDITION OF RECORD

Kenyu – Monthly Newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation
Tom Bolling, Editor – 7318 23rd Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98115

Tom Bolling’s home page

Volume 29, number 9/10/11

September/October/November 2015

PNKF DATEBOOK

December 2015

• 12/12: Kent Taikai, Sat, report time 9am, start 9:30am,
  Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

January 2016

• 1/9: PNKF Kata Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm with godo keiko for the last 45 minutes, Chinook Middle School,
  18650 42nd Ave S, SeaTac WA 98188.

• 1/9-10: “Kokusai Budo Daigakku, Kazuhiza Kaneda Iaido Seminar” Sat/Sun, Boise State University, Boise Idaho.
  • featuring Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Kaneda Kazuhisa Sensei, instructor at International Budo University, Katsuura Japan, 8 time
    All Japan Iaido National Champion, author of “Iai no Kihon” (Iai Basics) Book and DVD set I & II,
    Info: http://www.idaho-kendo.com/iaido/iaido-seminar/
• 1/16: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 1/16-17: AUSKF Adult/Mudansha Seminar, Sat/Sun, Las Vegas.

February 2016

• 2/13/14: 18th Detroit Taikai, Seminar, and Shinsa Sat/Sun, Novi, Michigan.
  • Distinuished guests, the Eiga brothers, Kendo Kyoshi 8th Dan Eiga
    Hideyuki and Eiga Naoki, from Hokkaido.
• 2/20: Steveston Taikai, Sat, 9am, McMath High School, 4251 Garry Street, Richmond BC.
• 2/27: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.

March 2016

• 3/19: Highline Taikai, Sat, TBD, White Center Community Center, 1321 SW 102nd St
  Seattle, WA.

• 3/26: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

April 2016

• 4/2: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 4/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting and Kodansha Shinsa.
• 4/16: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake Boulevard N.E.
• 4/22,23,24: Cherry Blossom probable dates.

May 2016

• 5/7: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 5/21: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am-3pm, Highland Park Community Center
  14224 Bel-Red Rd, Bellevue.

June 2016

• 6/11: Rose City Taikai, Sat, 10am, Portland.
• 6/17-19/2016: 9th US Nito Kendo Camp, Boise State University Campus, Boise, Idaho.
• 6/23-27: AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp, Thu thru Mon, Dallas.

July 2016

• 7/9-15: North American Women’s Seminar, Sat thru Fri,
  Broadview-Thompson Elementary School East Gym/Bitterlake Community Center Annex,
  13052 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle.

• 7/16: 6th PNKF North American Women’s Kendo Taikai, Sat, 9am, Renton Community Center, 1715 SE Maple Valley Highway, Renton.
• 7/23: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

August 2016

• 8/13: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.

September2016

• 9/17: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 9/23-25: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Fri/Sat/Sun.
  • Rain City Fencing, 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue. Teachers: Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Hideo Noguchi; and
    Iaido Kyoshi 7th Dan Shigehiro Aoki and Kaoru Suzuki. Schedule: Fri, 7-9pm Jodo/Iaido; Sat, 9am-5pm
    Iaido; Sun 9am-12noon Iaido Tournament; 1-5pm Iaido.

October 2016

• 10/8: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 10/22: Tacoma Taikai
  • 9:30am Opening Ceremonies (doors open at 8:30am), Curtis High School, 8425 40th Street West, University Place, WA
    98466 (tentative)

November 2016

* 11/5: PNKF Taikai, Sat, 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
* 11/12: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
* 11/12-13, AUSKF Board, Sat/Sun, TBD.

December 2016

• 12/12: Kent Taikai, Sat, report time 9am, start 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

PNKF BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015/2016

At their November 21, 2015 meeting, the PNKF Board elected officers. President – David Yotsuuye; Vice President – Doug
Imanishi; Secretary of Internal Affairs – Brian Blomquist; Recording Secretary – Thomas Bolling; Treasurer – Mary DeJong.

The Directors are: Jonathan Bannister (AiShinKai), Brian Blomquist (Everett), Connor Blomquist (UW), Thomas Bolling
(Bellevue), Jaered Croes (Portland), Mark Frederick (Northwest), An Giang (Northwest), Noelle Grimes (Sno-King), Nathan Holtorf
(Obukan), Doug Imanishi (Seattle), Addison Knappett (OSU), Michael Mabale (Seattle), Curtis Marsten (Kent), Vicki Marsten
(Kent), Edward Olson (Tonbo), Robert Stroud (Idaho), Val Vulfson (Northwest), Aaron Yen (Seattle), and David Yotsuuye
(Bellevue). Jeff Marsten (Bellevue/Highline/Sno-King) continues as Advisor. CJ Chaney (Sno-King) was elected UW Advisor.
Shinichi Koike and Jeff Marsten are members of the AUSKF Board of Directors.

9th ANNUAL PNKF IAIDO TAIKAI – September 27, 2015, Rain City Fencing Center, Bellevue, Washington

Mudansha                                  Yudansha 1-2 Dan
1st place - T. Mittelstaedt, AiShinKai    1st place - C. Goeke, Renma
2nd place - V. Whitman, Seattle           2nd place - C. Parkins, Renma
3rd place - R. DeAnda, Everett            3rd Place - N. Bagdasarian, Pasadena
3rd place - I. Otto, Seattle              3rd Place - L. Sukiassyan, San Fernando Valley

Yudansha 3-4 Dan (Noguchi Cup)            Teams (Murosako Cup)
1st place - H. Fukumoto, Seattle          1st place - Musokai (G. Goerlitz, L. Miyauchi, I. Otto)
2nd place - S. Kozawa, Seattle            2nd place - Everett (B. Blomquist, L. Sukiassyan, R. DeAnda)
3rd place - G. Goerlitz, Musokai
3rd place - M. Ando, Alaska

9th ALL CHINA KENDO TOURNAMENT – October 17/18, 2015, Shenzhen, China

Women Individual                                       Men Individual 
1st place - Zhenzhen Qin, Chengdu Wuxianliu            1st place - Zhonglin Zhang, Beijing Wushu
2nd place - Huifang Yang, Guangzhou Wude               2nd place - Peng Ha, Shenzhen Mo Jian
3rd place - Mengyu Wang, Beijing Ren Shin Kan          3rd place - Liang Ma, Beijing Ren Shin Kan 
3rd place - Elizabeth Bergen-Bartel, Chengdu Wuxianliu 3rd place - Xuan Chen, Ningbo Kendo Ai Hao Hui

Women Team                                Men Team
1st place - Shanghai United               1st place - Shenzhen Mo Jian
2nd place - Chengdu                       2nd place - Beijing Ren Shin Kan
3rd place - Guangzhou Dao Guan A          3rd place - Wuhan Lian Dao A
3rd place - Chengdu-Chongqing United      3rd place - Beijing

16th INVITATIONAL TACOMA KENDO TAIKAI – October 24, 2015, Curtis High School, University Place

9 and Under                               10-12 Kyu
1st place - Kai Kubal-Komoto, Federal Way 1st place - Keiji Underhill, Northwest
2nd place - Devan Chung, Cascade          2nd place - Danny Chung, Cascade
3rd place - Dan Terao, Cascade            3rd place - Josh Kim, Federal Way

13-15 Kyu                                 16-18 Kyu 
1st place - Kengo Underhill, Northwest    1st place - Jun-Wing Chen, Bellevue
2nd place - Allison Kojima, Bellevue      2nd place - Noah Larson, Federal Way
3rd place - Betty Park, Bellevue          3rd place - David Yip, Cascade

Adult 0-2 Kyu                             Adult 1 Kyu-1 Dan
1st place - Joshua Wigant, Portland       1st place - Terry McManus, Kent
2nd place - Su-Hwan Kim, Northwest        2nd place - Alick Law, Sno-King
3rd place - Long Le, UW                   3rd place - Nicholas Cook, Portland

Youth Dan                                 Adult 2-3 Dan
1st place - Tiarnan Marsten, Kent         1st place - Aaron Yen, Seattle
2nd place - Keeley McManus, Kent          2nd place - Stephen Day, Kent
3rd place - Jennifer DeJong, Highline     3rd place - Bernice Lin, Bellevue

Junior Team
1st place - Bellevue Red (B. Park, M. Blechschmidt, A. Kojima)
2nd place - Bellevue White (L. Ohata, L. Shibata, M. Ohata)

Senior Team
1st place - Kent B (K. McManus, E. Ishii, T. Marsten)
2nd place - Kent A (T. McManus, N. Larson, S. Day)

National Anthem Singer - Alisa Yoshikawa
Sportsmanship Pledge - Mia Kao
Award Presentation - Alisa Yoshikawa
Shinpan Cho - David S. Yotsuuye

41st ANNUAL PNKF KENDO TOURNAMENT – November 7, 2015, Kent

10 Years and Under                        11-12 Years
1st place - C. Robillard, Steveston       1st place - B. Miki, Steveston
2nd place - H. Homma, Renbu               2nd place - L. Ohata, Bellevue
3rd place - K. Squance, Renbu             3rd place - K. Underhill, Northwest
3rd place - R. Nakano, Steveston          3rd place - H. Asaoka, Youshinkan

13-15 Years                               High School Girls
1st place - E. Lee, Renbu                 1st place - B. Park, Bellevue
2nd place - M. Iwai, Steveston            2nd place - J. DeJong, Highline
3rd place - K. Muramatsu, Steveston       3rd place - J. Higa, Bellevue
3rd place - H. Kim, Bellevue              3rd place - M. Blechschmidt, Bellevue

High School Boys                          Women Kyu
1st place - T. Okitsu, Tozenji            1st place - S. Tyree, UW
2nd place - L. Oka, Tozenji               2nd place - H. Nguyen, Edmonds
3rd place - T. Marsten, Kent              3rd place - S. Rotenberg, Steveston
3rd place - B. Liao, Bellevue             3rd place - A. Tesar, Vancouver

0-4 Kyu                                   3-1 Kyu
1st place - Y. Cheng, UBC                 1st place - K. Toyokawa, Tacoma
2nd place - E. Cheng, UBC                 2nd place - G. Vielhaber, Portland
3rd place - O. Young, Renbu               3rd place - L. Le, UW
3rd place - C. Pak, Portland              3rd place - A. Knappett, OSU

Women Dan                                 1-2 Dan
1st place - J. Kurahashi, Renbu           1st place - T. Saito, Vancouver
2nd place - C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan       2nd place - D. Yao, Steveston
3rd place - M. Suzuki, Sno-King           3rd place - H. Shim, Renbu
3rd place - K. Takeuchi, Youshinkan       3rd place - V. Ruiz, Mexico

3 Dan                                     4 Dan and Above
1st place - Y. Yoshikawa, Northwest       1st place - B. Imanishi, Cascade
2nd place - E. Porras, Mexico             2nd place - N. Tanimura, Seattle
3rd place - J. Okada, Cascade             3rd place - A. Giang, Northwest
3rd place - K. Takeuchi, Youshinkan       3rd place - M. Mabale, Seattle

Junior Team
1st place - Bellevue A (B. Park, H. Kim, A. Kojima, M. Blechschmidt, B. Liao)
2nd place - Renbu (H. Chun, R. Kim, E. Lee, K. Squance, I. Kim)
3rd place - Tozenji (N. Horikawa, A. Shimizu, M. Watanabe, K. Kono, J. An)
3rd place - Cascade A (H. Jang, JY Lee, K. Fukuda, JW Lee, D. Chung)

Senior Team
1st place - Vancouver (T. Saito, T. Yamada, H. Yamada, Hi. Yamada, J. Schmidt)
2nd place - Steveston (S. O Sullivan, I. Miki, N. Nakano, K. Iwai, I. Takagaki)
3rd place - Mexico (V. Ruiz, C. Rogairo, CJ Chaney, E. Porras, P. Garcia)
3rd place - Youshinkan (Ke. Takeuchi, J. Chien, Ka. Takeuchi, A. Xie, K. Kobayashi)

Sportsmanship Pledge - Tiarnan Marsten   Shinpan Cho - Shinichi Koike
Shoji Trophy - Andrew Nagasawa, Bellevue

SHINKYU SHINSA

NCKF KENDO SHINSA, November 1, 2015, Stanford University

3RD DAN: Erica Tam (San Jose).

AUSKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 15, 2015, Novi, Michigan

5TH DAN: Ryan Atagi (Idaho).

AJKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 15, 2015, Aichi, Nagoya

6TH DAN: David Yeo (Singapore).

AJKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 24, 2015, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo

6TH DAN: Daisaku David Taguchi (Chinook).

7TH DAN: Mark Uchida (Bunshinkan).

THE LAST WORD

I remember my send-off. There was a big party with good food. It was a party of enough importance that my mother offered
beer she made and stored under the house for several of the older men, including Miura Sensei. My father never drank, not even
for this party which was as much congratulatory for him as for me. All our neighbors and classmates attended. Everyone in the
Japanese community was proud and my success would also be their success. I was embarrassed that my trip to Japan was not as
wonderful to me as it was to them. But I showed humble enthusiasm for my good fortune and truly great appreciation to my father
and Miura Sensei for making this possible.

Miura Sensei gave me one of his own books in Japanese as a going away gift. My father had purchased my ticket and would
provide the money for my expenses at Busen. It was more than any of the other neighbors in our poor community could have
provided. I thanked everyone, especially Miura Sensei, even though I was not much of a reader.

Miura Sensei helped me pack. He was pleased with the condition of my shinais and my hakama, and made sure I didn’t forget
the book he had given me: “Kendo” by Takano Sasaburo Sensei, which I still have and reread today. He told me I could read it
during my twenty-day journey. “The book will provide a review,” he explained, “of the Kendo principles we’ve spoken of and help
you practice Japanese. Now you can read the words of Miyamoto Musashi. You will arrive well prepared. And on deck, don’t forget
suburi. Remember, you can do suburi anywhere. You can do it sitting down if there is no room to stand or too much rolling on
the ship to gain good footing.” I promised him I would study and practice.

I was somewhat interested in “The Book of Five Rings” which was contained in Sasaburo Sensei’s book. Miyamoto Musashi, the
author of “The Book of Five Rings”, had become a hero to me. Musashi, born in 1584, is the greatest swordsman in Japanese
history. I thought I would probably enjoy his accounts of battles, especially since he slew a man in a one-on-one battle when
he was just thirteen. Besides, this was a short section within the larger book of “Kendo”, and I thought I could read it
quickly. I felt I was fluent in Japanese, so did not intend to study too diligently; suburi was more attractive to me. I would
keep in shape and be ready for my first practice at Busen, rather than any philosophical discussions. Practice was the
practical course of action.

I started to read the book Miura Sensei gave me while I was waiting to steam out of the harbor. I was surprised to find
how difficult it was to translate and understand the book. But I rationalized that this was old-style Japanese so I should be
fine with modern Japanese. I assumed Old Japanese was of little relevance to my education.

I was mistaken about everything concerning the trip to Busen. I manage to read the introduction and first chapter, “Chi No
Maki” or the “Ground Book” of the “Book of Five Rings.” It was about twelve pages long but described no action filled battles.
But I never read another page after the ship steamed from the harbor, and I never did a minute of suburi. What do I remember of
the twenty-day voyage? Nothing! Well, not exactly nothing. I remember the head, the ship’s toilet in the hall by my room. My
head in the head! I decided I should have learned surfing instead of kendo for this trip because I was seasick the entire time.
There isn’t anything more miserable. I stood on deck and tried to gulp cool air; I tried to walk; I tried to meditate; I tried
to hold my breath, to keep my eyes closed, to keep my eyes focused on one object. I tried eating, and not eating. Nothing
helped. Lying on my bunk with no movement and no food in my stomach was the best I could do. No reading, no suburi – nothing.
This was not Samurai spirit. Twenty days seemed an eternity. I wanted to set my foot on solid ground!

–Rod Nobuto Omoto,
Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 21-22. Available as free download at lulu.com.

PLEASE NOTE – THIS KENYU ONLINE IS THE EDITION OF RECORD

Kenyu – Monthly Newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation
Tom Bolling, Editor – 7318 23rd Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98115