Volume 32, number 10/11

October/November 2018

PNKF DATEBOOK

• 11/16: Jodo Seminar, Fri, 6:30-9:30pm, Hastings Community Centre, 3096 E. Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC.
• 11/17: Jodo Seminar, Sat, 1:30-5:30pm, SHIFT Movement and Healing Arts, 3517 Stone Way N., Seattle
• 11/17: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
  

  December 2018

• 12/8: Kent Taikai, Sat, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
• 12/8: Jodo Seminar, Sat, 10am-4pm, Portland, TBD.
• 12/9: Jodo Seminar, Sun, 9am-12noon, Portland, TBD.
• 12/9: Jodo Shinsa, Seattle, TBD.

• 4/6: AUSKF Junior Open National Championships, Sat, South Forsyth High School, 585 Peachtree Parkway,
  Cumming, Georgia 30041 http://auskf-jrnationals.com/.

• 6/14-6/15-6/16: 12th Annual US Nito Kendo Summer Camp, Fri/Sat/Sun, College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho.

• 7/6-7/13: 7th North American Women’s Kendo Tournament and Seminar, with Chinatsu Murayama Sensei, Renshi 7th Dan, 5-time All Japan Women’s Kendo Champion. Seminar: 7/6-7/11 Sat-Thu; Godo Keiko: 7/12; Taikai: 7/13, Sat, Bitterlake Community Center Annex, Sno-King Kendo Club, 13052 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle, WA 98133

CANADIAN KENDO FEDERATION 2018 MCGILL KENDO TAIKAI – July 17, 2018, Montreal, Quebec

Mudansha-Shodan                        Women
1st place - Kathy La, Mississauga      1st place - Hanaca Yamada, Vancouver
2nd place - Etienne Matieu, Granby     2nd place - Bora Choi, Jung Ko Kendo
3rd place - Ryan Evans, York U         3rd place - Noriko Imaizumi, Granby
3rd place - Luke Pham, U Toronto       3rd place - Alysha Hum, Shidokan

Nidan-Sandan                           Yondan and Up
1st place - Rahmil Mustafa, U Toronto  1st place - Kyle Eunseob Lee, Chinook
2nd place - Yun Bao, JCCC              2nd place - Inseo Park, Jung Ko Kendo
3rd place - Daniel Lau, Carleton       3rd place - Tuan Anh Hoang, McGill U
3rd place - Patrick Kim, GSK           3rd place - Julio Kenji Toida, Montreal

Team Division
1st place - Team Canada Kendo Men
2nd place - Garden State Kendo Alliance
3rd place - McGill University 1
3rd place - Jung Ko Kendo

Fighting Spirit Women - Joanna Asare, JCCC
Fighting Spirit Men - Matthew Ricci, Hamilton Kendo Club

44th PNKF TAIKAI – November 3, 2018, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent

10 Years and Under                     11-12 Years
1st place – N. Son, Renbu              1st place – A. Mabale, Seattle
2nd place – I. Hwang, Renbu            2nd place – DV Chung, Cascade
3rd place – T. Okurano, Youshinkan     3rd place – A. Yuen, Seattle
3rd place – A. Kobayashi, Youshinkan   3rd place – S. Kim, Seattle

13-15 Years                            0-4 Kyu
1st place – C. Robillard, Steveston    1st place – L. Bobadilla, Oregon State U
2nd place – A. Son, Renbu              2nd place – A. Kim, Bellevue
3rd place – L. Ohata, Bellevue         3rd place – B. Wong, UW
3rd place – O. Benson, Youshinkan      3rd place – T. Elliott, Spokane

Women’s Kyu                            Women’s Dan
1st place – S. Lowes, UBC              1st place – B. Park, Bellevue
2nd place – E. Midorikawa, UW          2nd place – R. Ono, Hawaii
3rd place – R. Allen, Portland         3rd place – M. Oya, Palouse
3rd place – Y. Gao, Oregon State U     3rd place – W. Robillard, Steveson

1-3 Kyu                                1-2 Dan
1st place – J. Jeon, Bellevue          1st place – YA Chen, UBC
2nd place – M. Miyamoto, Northwest     2nd place – P. Kim, Garden State
3rd place – T. Miyamoto, Northwest     3rd place – H. Shim, Renbu
3rd place – J. Tang, Langara           3rd place – J. Jeong, Youshinkan

3 Dan                                  4 Dan and Above
1st place – T. Marsten, Kent           1st place – S. Harris, Hawaii
2nd place – I. Miki, Steveston         2nd place – N. Tanimura, Seattle
3rd place – A. Fujii, UW               3rd place – G. Suzaka, Seattle
3rd place – D. Miura, Hawaii           3rd place – L. Hancock, Hawaii

Junior Teams
1st place – Seattle (S. Kim, A. Yueh, A. Mabale, E. Kim, KY Hale)
2nd place – Renbu A (N. Son, E. Cho, A. Son, H. Homma, K. Squance)
3rd place – Bellevue A (H. Koob, T. Chu, L. Ohata, T. Koob, K. Takamatsu)
3rd place – Youshinkan (M. Shirai, F. Benson, T. Okurano, O. Benson, H. Asaoka)

Senior Teams
1st place – Hawaii (D. Miura, R. Ono, L. Hancock, S. Harris, A. Fujimoto)
2nd place – Renbu (H. Shim, Y. Hayashi, J. Kurahashi, E. Lee, O. Young)
3rd place – Youshinkan (J. Jeong, J. Schmidt, K. Kobayashi, J. Chien, T. Nakamura)
3rd place – Sno-King (M. Scott, M. Suzuki, N. Grimes, T. Tagami, T. Patana)

Shinpan Sho – Shinichi Koike
Sportsmanship Pledge – Keigo Underhill, Northwest
Shoji Award – Josh Kim, Kent
Presidential Service Award – Mary DeJong, Highline

SHINKYU SHINSA

AUSKF KODANSHA SHINSA, August 19, 2018, Las Vegas, Nevada
5TH DAN:  Wayne Kikuo Abe (PNKF), Hoon Chang (AEUSKF), Sean Choi (NCKF), So Young Choi (SCKO), Tiana Cirkovic (SEUSKF), 
Kenichi G. Kamimoto (SCKO), Won Kim (AEUSKF), George Lee (SCKO), Jaeyeon Lee (AEUSKF), Lewis Franklin Murphy (GNEUSKF), 
Sara Tominaga (GNEUSKF). 
6TH DAN:  Steve Sang Hyun Choi (PNKF), Yoshiyuki Goya (SCKF), Zia Uddin (MWKF). 
7TH DAN:  Sandip Ghodgaonkar Maruyama (SCKO), Yuji Hosokawa (SCKF), Sang Hwan Huh (SCKF).
RENSHI:  Ken Ikeda (SCKO), Yukiko Miura (SCKO), Youn-soo Shin (SCKO).

THE LAST WORD

I was put in charge, as an officer, of training new troops. They were young, too young in fact. Teenagers were called to fill the need for more soldiers. And because they were young, they were not only vigorous but also cocky. One day I was running in the lead during our morning exercises. One of the sergeants informed me that some recruits were complaining that it wasn’t fair that Omoto Minari Shikan carried only a light sword, but the recruits had to carry heavy rifles and machine guns. The next day, immediately after leaving the barracks, I yelled “Kake Ashi! (run!). Give me your machine gun and follow me.” We ran full speed. I left one soldier sergeant to follow at the rear and pick up all those who dropped out. At the end of the training run, many of the young kids had dropped out. I was never criticized again. And they had learned a lesson. There is a Japanese doll, the “daruma.” Knock it down and comes back up. There is an old Japanese saying, “Nan Na Korobi Ya Oki.” It means seven times knocked down, get up on the eighth! This is the way of the soldier, but when soldiers are still children, it is a difficult requirement. My Kendo training helped me to endure. I learned about “intent” to firmly focus only upon the present task, to firmly commit with absolute resolve, and thereby to win. And with meditation, I knew how to refresh my body, to relax and recuperate.

My training now was to learn to operate and repair Toyota 6- cylinder trucks. This was easy, for just as my father had been a blacksmith, so he had also repaired all parts of the Model T Ford and modified other sedans to use as cooler trucks for fruit, vegetable and fresh fish peddlers, I was familiar with mechanical repairs. After basic learning, I was sent on a winter convoy (Jidosha Taikan Kogun) for more truck experience. After traveling for three days on the long convoy route through the remote countryside of Hiroshima, we stopped near a large brewery with huge tubs of sake. This became a great celebration. Our spirits were lifted by a party; that cold evening we were warmed by sake in a brief respite from the harshness of life as soldiers. Our rations provided basic nutrition and did not include sake and no parties or R & R leave. The next morning, after filling our canteens with sake instead of water, we continued our travel. It was my turn to be flag man, moving between the trucks and to communicate to the truck in the rear distances and road conditions. I didn’t think I was very lucky to pull this duty because it was cold, and all the other soldiers were under the canvas, taking it easy with sake filled canteens. The trucks were loaded with three 50-gallon drums filled with fuel alcohol because Japan had almost completely run out of gasoline. Certainly none could be spared for military exercises.

As we were slowly moving on a narrow snow covered road, my truck started to skid toward the left side. All of a sudden the left front wheel ran off the road and started tipping over the cliff. Instinctively, I put my hands on the rail on the right side and somersaulted onto the road. I desperately tried to hang onto the edge of the road but failed and started sliding down a steep cliff until I caught a branch of a small tree about midway from the road and the rice paddy at least thirty feet below. I suffered scratches and bruises. Everyone inside was crushed by the truck and the 50-gallon fuel drums. Many hours later the ambulance came with stretchers. Not only did I survive the plunge, but as a bonus, I got a ride on the stretcher to the ambulance and safety.

Sometimes I wonder whether this reflexive response was due to Kendo training. Kendo is all offensive resolute action. Training hones the reflexes so that action is instantaneous, without thought. The greatest risk come with hesitation, when nerve is briefly lost. Survival depends on boldness. I had, of course, learned the strategy of examining my environment and was ready for the cliff, and I was in good physical shape, but without Kendo training, I’m not sure my response would have been quick enough to save my life.

But sometimes action is not the best approach. When I returned to Hiroshima, I was assigned to a look-out on top of a roof for air raid watch. As always, I considered my surroundings; our base was darkened to avoid being identified as a target. A group of American bombers flew over my head almost close enough to touch. I didn’t shoot. Had I done so, the entire barracks area would have been discovered and bombed. But it may have been destroyed anyway if we had already been noted as the target. In that case, by not alerting our defenses, if I had survived, I would have been held responsible and likely executed, certainly I would have been utterly disgraced. I was very lucky, because there was another, completely unacceptable reason I didn’t shoot. Walter was my childhood friend in Wahiawa and I knew he, and other friends I had grown up with, were all fighting on the American side. If I had shot, would I kill Walter? I couldn’t shoot. I would rather have been shamed and executed. I could never have lived knowing I had killed one of my friends, even if from the distance of modern warfare. To have killed Walter would have destroyed my spirit and made life unbearable. Boot camp training does not teach how to deal with such regret.

–Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 36-37. Available as free download at lulu.com.

Kenyu – Monthly Newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation PLEASE NOTE: Kenyu Online IS THE EDITION OF RECORD FOR THIS NEWSLETTER – https://www.pnkf.org/ Tom Bolling, Editor – 7318 23rd Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98115

Volume 32, number 7/8/9

July/August/September 2018

PNKF DATEBOOK

• 9/28-9/30: PNKF West Coast Iaido Seminar, Tournament, and Shinsa, 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; Sat, 9am-5pm Iaido; Sun, 9am-1pm Tournament; 2-4:30pm Shinsa/Seminar.

October 2018

• 10/6-10/7: AUSKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 9am-5pm, and Sun, 9am-1pm, with asageiko 7:30-8:30am, Chinook Middle School, 18650 42nd Avenue S., SeaTac, WA 98188. There will be a $15 seminar fee to be paid in CASH and collected at the door. In addition, Bento are available for lunch on Saturday at $10 each which will also be collected at the door Saturday morning. Dinner Party — Saturday night there will be a dinner and all are invited and encouraged to attend, details to follow. REGISTER ON-LINE NOW AT: https://goo.gl/forms/4biLMEpPvIkTDMLt2
• 10/20: Tacoma Taikai, Sat — CANCELLED.

November 2018

• 11/3: PNKF Taikai, Sat, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
• 11/10: AUSKF Board meeting, Sat/Sun, Crowne Plaza Dallas, 14315 Midway Road, Addison, Texas.
• 11/11: Kodansha Shinsa, Sun, 12:30pm, Greenhill School Cox Gym, 4141 Spring Valley Road, Addison, Texas.
• 11/16: Jodo Seminar, Fri, 6:30-9:30pm, Hastings Community Centre, 3096 E. Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC.
• 11/17: Jodo Seminar, Sat, 1:30-5:30pm, SHIFT Movement and Healing Arts, 3517 Stone Way N., Seattle
• 11/17: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.

December 2018

• 12/8: Kent Taikai, Sat, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
• 12/9: PNKF Jodo Shinsa.

April 2019

• 4/6: AUSKF Junior Open National Championships, Sat, South Forsyth High School, 585 Peachtree Parkway, Cumming, Georgia 30041 http://auskf-jrnationals.com/.

June 2019

• 6/14-6/16: 12th Annual US Nito Kendo Summer Camp, Fri/Sat/Sun, College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho

July 2019

• 7/6-7/13: 7th North American Women’s Kendo Tournament and Seminar, with Chinatsu Murayama Sensei, Renshi 7th Dan, 5-time All Japan Women’s Kendo Champion. Seminar: 7/6-7/11 Sat-Thu; Godo Keiko: 7/12; Taikai: 7/13, Sat, Bitterlake Community Center Annex, Sno-King Kendo Club, 13052 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle, WA 98133

17th WORLD KENDO CHAMPIONSHIPS – September 14,15,16 2018, Namdong Gymnasium, Incheon, Korea.

Men Individuals
1st place – Sho Ando, Japan
2nd place – Jin Yong, Korea
3rd place – Byung Hoon Park, Korea
3rd place – Yuya Takenouchi, Japan
 Fighting Spirit
 Makoto Grosfils, Belgium               Borna Ban, Croatia
 Yosuke Katumi, Japan                   Jarrod Hatakeyama, USA
 Dwight Park, Australia                 Man Uk Jang, Korea
 Celso Tsuyoshi Takayama, Brazil        Julian Williams, USA

Women Individuals
1st place – Mizuki Matsumoto, Japan
2nd place – Mariko Yamamoto, Japan
3rd place – Mei Fujimoto, Japan
3rd place – Maika Senoo, Japan
 Fighting Spirit
 Kumi Sato, Sweden                      Nicole Chun, Hawaii
 Asteria Akyla, Greece                  Esther Kim, USA
 Kasey Tada, USA                        Sayo Van Der Woude, Netherlands
 Hwa Yeong Lee, Korea                   Ju Won Choi, Korea

Women Teams
1st place – Japan (T. Watanabe, Moeko Takahashi, H. Tominaga, M. Yamamoto, M. Matsumoto)
2nd place – Korea (S. Jung, J. Choi, Y. Ryu, H. Han, H. Lee)
3rd place – Canada (Bree Yang, Akiko Fukushima, Kyrene Kim, Man-San Ma, Hanaca Yamada)
3rd place – Australia (Jenny Song, Julie Feng, Daesul Chun, Alex Kambara, Vivian Yung)
 Fighting Spirit
 Pauline Stolarz, France                Teodora Dimitric, Serbia
 Saadet Kok, Turkey                     Maia Bober, Poland
 Haruko Tsuzuki, New Zealand            Sayo Van Der Woude, Netherlands
 Elina Hideko Onaka, Brazil             Yuri Kil, USA

Men Teams
1st place – Japan (Y. Maeda, K. Hoshiko, Y. Takenouchi, H. Nishimura, S. Ando
2nd place – Korea (B. Park, I. Park, M. Lee, MU Jang, J. Jo)
3rd place – USA (Lee, Yamaoka, Hill, Brown, Williams, Steele, Wang)
3rd place – Taiwan (C. Chu, PT Peng, HC Weng, CW Liu, C. Tsai)
 Fighting Spirit
 Wilfried Olivier, France               Winston Dollee, Netherlands
 Joel Salmela, Finland                  Miodrag Dimic, Serbia
 Jonathan Bertout, France               Edson Jundi Toida, Brazil
 Wang Hon Kwok, Hong Kong               Dario Baeli, Italy

11th ANNUAL PNKF WEST COAST IAIDO TAIKAI – September 30, 2018, Rain City Fencing Center, Bellevue, Washington

Sportsmanship Pledge – Hans Andersen, AiShinKai

Mudansha                                Yudansha 1-2 Dan 
1st place – B. Burton, AiShinKai        1st place – V. Whitman, Seattle
2nd place – N. Varma, Seattle           2nd place – K. Duong, Musokai
3rd place – S. Gose, Musokai            3rd place – M. Hughes, Obukan
3rd place – K. Chang, Musokai           3rd place – S. Horita, Musokai

Yudansha 3-4 Dan (Noguchi Cup)
1st place – H. Fukumoto, Seattle
2nd place – F. Fourie, AiShinKai
3rd place – B. Blomquist, Everett
3rd place – C. Goeke, Renma

Special PNKF Iaido Committee Commendation Award – September 29, 2018 
Presented to Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Hideo Noguchi in appreciation of his long-term 
commitment of teaching Iaido at PNKF Annual Seminars.

SHINKYU SHINSA

PNKF KENDO SHINSA, August 11, 2018, Kent Commons Recreation Center, Kent, Washington

6TH KYU:  Darwin Beck (Sno-King), DongYun Ryu (Cascade).  

5TH KYU:  Ezra Corcoro Marx (Federal Way), Joe Kabeshita (Obukan), DongHyun Ryu (Cascade), Tenu Ahn (Cascade), Matthew Park (Cascade).  

4TH KYU:  Drew Migita (Seattle), Lucien Jesequel (Obukan), Hoeun Son (Federal Way), Nina Underhill (Northwest), 
Juno Lee (Federal Way).  

3RD KYU:  Alec Yuen (Seattle), Sean Kim (Seattle), Aneurin Mabale (Seattle), Takakazu Maxfield-Matsumoto (Highline), Ian Krupp (Cascade), 
Theo Koob (Bellevue), Zhaoyuan Xu (UW), David Yip (Cascade), Espen Hellevik (UW), Krysta Hart (OSU), Willard Wiseman (OSU), Tai Enrico (Seattle), 
Gavin Higham (Seattle), Ju Oh (Highline), Derek Woodward (Everett), 
Kate Rice (Portland), Andrea Calhoun (Portland), Mayumi Simpson (Portland).  

2ND KYU:  Hana Koob (Bellevue), William Wellborn (Bellevue), Suepapone Vanasouk (UW), Zhengnan Liu (OSU), 
Yuning Gao (OSU), Krystal McIntosh (Federal Way), Emilio Peralta (Obukan), Gen Li (OSU), Yue Chen (Seattle), 
Haoran Su (Bellevue), Robin Allen (Portland), Matt Miyamoto (Northwest), Justin Davis (Northwest),
Dan Rosanova (Seattle), Benjamin Marx (Federal Way), Chizuko Heyer (Edmonds), Raymond Fish (Edmonds).  

1ST KYU:  Catherine Park (Bellevue), Keiji Underhill (Northwest), Timaeus Ting (Northwest), Eugene Kim (Seattle), Ffion Mabale (Seattle), 
Koki Takamatsu (Bellevue), Kassidy Ting (Northwest), Elysia Midorikawa (UW), Kyle Wang (UW), 
Aidan Chervin (Portland), Timothy Jaybush (Bellevue), Daniel Lee (Tacoma), Raymond Kao (Tacoma), Bruce Alter (Portland).  

1ST DAN:  Shota Wetlesen (Obukan), Michizane Ohata (Bellevue), Kengo Underhill (Northwest), 
Kyle Fukuda (Cascade), Kasey Kitchel (Sno-King), 
Blake Sprenger (Obukan), Jason Nguyen (UW), Francis Walsh (UW), Binah Yeung (Seattle), 
Athena Epilepsia (Bellevue), Victor Blancarte (Sno-King), Chi Pak (Portland). 
 
2ND DAN:  Drake Imanishi (Seattle).  

3RD DAN:  Jane Higa (UW), Richard Carroll (Cascade).  

4TH DAN:  Melanie DeJong (Highline), Austen Samkange (Bellevue), Sergey Shilov (Bellevue).

PNKF WEST COAST IAIDO SHINSA, September 30, 2018, Rain City Fencing Center, Bellevue, Washington

3RD KYU:  James Thorne (AiShinKai).  

2ND KYU:  Brian Burton (AiShinKai), Alex Chang (Musokai), Kevin Chang (Musokai), 
Steve Gose (Musokai), Manuel Teran (AiShinKai).  

1ST DAN:  Nikhil Varma (Seattle).  

2ND DAN:  Victor Whitman (Seattle).

THE LAST WORD

All kendoists and most Japanese know and revere Musashi, but I had not yet penetrated more than about twelve pages of the copy of the Gorin no Sho in the book called Kendo by Takao Sasaburo given to me by Miura Sensei when I left for Japan. And here I was in Kumamoto with no time for sight-seeing or study. But even a fool could appreciate the surrounding exquisite natural beauty. And I later realized that my response to the horses reflected Takano Sasaburo attitude on relationships, which was part of my body’s knowledge, between Uchi Tachi and Shitachi in Kata. For our morning training, we would run three miles to Suizenji Park, a thoroughly pleasant exercise. Then we learned how to dismantle buggies and cannons, pack them onto horses, and transport the parts into the hills to reassemble the cannons there. I groomed, fed, and cared for the horses. Being with the horses was my favorite duty. I respected and gained the trust of the horses, just as my father had as a blacksmith in Wahiawa. A quiet spirit is necessary as the horse can feel fear and will respond with fear by kicking or rearing or refusing to be still. During the cold winter, I snuggled with the horses and was saved from freezing. The horses had moist warmth and shared his flank with me. Kendo training helped me with the horses, something I would never have anticipated. Miyamoto Musashi taught that “Both in fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, your spirit settled yet unbiased.” Every practice begins and ends with mei so. Generally the meditation period is brief, less than a few minutes, but that is time enough to leave behind all other concerns, leaving the mind open and the spirit to settle and quiet. In addition, we learned the kendo “gaze”. Described by Musashi, the gaze is twofold: perception and sight. “It is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things…to look to both sides without moving the eyes.” Thus the gaze is large and broad. So when I approached the horses, I was calm. I respected their power and their intelligence. I spoke to them softly, and noting how they communicated with each other by sharing breath, breathed into their nostrils. I did not stare into their eyes, which I now understand can both frighten and challenge them. My gaze was perception, not challenge. My attitude was acknowledged and reflected back to me. But food helped. When I could, I fed them their favorite foods, apples and carrots. I loved the horses and for about six months actually enjoyed my training at Kumamoto, unlike the other soldiers who never slept with the horses. After this training, I was sent back to Hiroshima, where I was designated Minarai Shikan, a graduate of military war school. I don’t know why. Promotion just happened in the Japanese army, not necessarily connected to time in service or aptitudes. An officer said I was Minarai Shikan, and so I was. At a young age, I came to appreciate the random nature of our lives.

–Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 35-36.
Available as free download at lulu.com.

Kenyu – Monthly Newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation PLEASE NOTE: Kenyu Online IS THE EDITION OF RECORD FOR THIS NEWSLETTER – https://www.pnkf.org/ Tom Bolling, Editor – 7318 23rd Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98115

Volume 32, number 4/5/6

April/May/June 2018

PNKF DATEBOOK

July 2018

• 7/21: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.

August 2018

• 8/11: PNKF Kendo Shinsa, Sat, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center,
  525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James), Kent.

• 8/18: 5th Annual Houston Kendo Kyokai Team Taikai, Sat, opening ceremony 8:45am, Gilruth Fitness Center, 2101 E. NASA Parkway, Houston, Texas.

• 9/8: PNKF Senior Kendo Seminar, Sat, 8:30am-4pm, Bitterlake Community Center Annex, Thompson Broadview Elementary, 13052 Greenwood Avenue N., Seattle.
• Tentative agenda: doors open 8:30am; 9-10:30am, injury prevention; 10:30am-12noon, Competition;
  12noon-1pm lunch; 1-1:30pm warm up; 1:30-3pm shinsa; 3-4pm open keiko.

• 9/14-16: 17WKC, Fri/Sat/Sun, Namdong Gymnasium, Incheon, Korea.
• 9/15: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
• 9/28-9/30: PNKF West Coast Iaido Seminar, Tournament, and Shinsa, 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; Sat, 9am-5pm Iaido; Sun, 9am-1pm Tournament; 2-4:30pm Shinsa/Seminar.

October 2018

• 10/6-10/7: AUSKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 9am-5pm, and Sun, 9am-1pm, with asageiko 7:30-8:30am, Chinook Middle School, 18650 42nd Avenue S., SeaTac, WA 98188. There will be a $15 seminar fee to be paid in CASH and collected at the door. In addition, Bento are available for lunch on Saturday at $10 each which will also be collected at the door Saturday morning. Dinner Party — Saturday night there will be a dinner and all are invited and encouraged to attend, details to follow. REGISTER ON-LINE NOW AT: https://goo.gl/forms/4biLMEpPvIkTDMLt2
• 10/20: Tacoma Taikai, Sat — CANCELLED.

November 2018

• 11/3: PNKF Taikai, Sat, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
• 11/10: AUSKF Board meeting, Sat, venue TBD.
• 11/11: Kodansha Shinsa, Sun, venue TBD.
• 11/17: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.

December 2018

• 12/1: Kent Taikai, Sat, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
• 12/9: PNKF Jodo Shinsa.

April 2019

• 4/6: AUSKF Junior Open National Championships, Sat, South Forsyth High School, 585 Peachtree Parkway, Cumming, Georgia 30041 http://auskf-jrnationals.com/.

June 2019

• 6/14-6/16: 12th Annual US Nito Kendo Summer Camp, Fri/Sat/Sun, College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho

8th AUSKF JUNIOR OPEN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – April 8, 2018, Marina High School, Huntington Beach, California

9 Years and Under                      10-11 Years
1st place – Issei Lancelot, NCKF       1st place - Taiyo Ariga, SCKO
2nd place – Ryuga Madokoro, SCKF       2nd place - Jacob Huh, SCKF
3rd place – Bailey Shinada, SCKF       3rd place – Euvene Kae, WKF
3rd place – Yuta Onitsuka, NCKF        3rd place – Demian Roh, SCKF
 Kantosho – Yuichi Sato, SCKF           Kantosho – Jonathan Yu, PNKF
 Kantosho – Yoshihiko Shimada, SCKO     Kantosho – Devin Chung, PNKF
 Kantosho – Sora Kanemoto, SCKF         Kantosho – Kokoro Kusayanagi, SCKF
 Kantosho – Luke Ido, SCKO              Kantosho – Jacob Kim, WKF

12-13 Years                            14-15 Years
1st place – Jonathan Huang, NCKF       1st place – Tomohide Katayama, ECUSKF
2nd place – Andrew Kang, SCKF          2nd place – Riki Okawa, SCKO
3rd place – McCartney Hong, SCKF       3rd place – Tylor Wang, WKF
3rd place – Scott Fujiwara, SCKO       3rd place – Dave Nam, SCKF
 Kantosho – Ennio Kim, SCKF             Kantosho – Bryan Yoo, WKF
 Kantosho – Dylan Hil, SCO              Kantosho – Benjamin Ahn, WKF
 Kantosho – Hayden Kim, SCKF            Kantosho – Josh Kim, PNKF
 Kantosho – Yosuke Takubo, SCKF         Kantosho – Keisuke Yamamuro, SCKO

16-18 Years                            13 Years and Under Girls
1st place - Branden Wang, WKF          1st place - Daphne Chen, SCKF
2nd place - Gen Takahashi, SCKO        2nd place - Misaki Matsunaga, ECUSKF
3rd place - Steven Yoo, WKF            3rd place - Kayleen Kim, SCKO
3rd place - Kyle Fukuda, PNKF          3rd place - Grace Huh, SCKF
 Kantosho - Benjamin Huh, SCKF          Kantosho - Sayaka Masuo, SWKIF
 Kantosho - Teruya Mochizuki, ECUSKF    Kantosho - Naomi Yu, SCFK
 Kantosho - Lucien Levins, SCKO         Kantosho - Mai Sakamoto, SCKO
 Kantosho - Nathan Sueki, SCKF          Kantosho - Ffion Mabale, PNKF

14-18 Years Girls
1st place - Aika Onitsuka, NCKF
2nd place - Betty Park, PNKF
3rd place - Hana Yamamoto, SCKO
3rd place - Colleen Fan, NCKF
 Kantosho - Allison Kojima, PNKF
 Kantosho - Chika Hotta, ECUSKF
 Kantosho - Anne Morita, SCKO
 Kantosho - Keeley McManus, PNKF

Youth Team            Girls Team                                     Boys Team
1st place - ECUSKF A  1st place - PNKF A (K.McManus,B.Park,A.Kojima) 1st place - SCKO A
2nd place - SCKO A    2nd place - SCKF A                             2nd place - WKF B
3rd place - SCKF B    3rd place - NCKF A                             3rd place - PNKF B
3rd place - SCKF A    3rd place - NCKF B                 (J.Paik,K.Honda,D.Chung,KEUnderhill,K.Fukuda)
                                                                     3rd place - ECUSKF A

42nd ANNUAL UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON INVITATIONAL KENDO TOURNAMENT – April 14, 2018

Women's                                0-4 Kyu
1st place - H. Yamada, Vancouver       1st place - D. Yip, Cascade
2nd place - K. Darbyshire, Vancouver   2nd place - A. Kim, Bellevue
3rd place - W. Robillard, Steveston    3rd place - B. Wong, UW
3rd place - M. Gardner, UVic           3rd place - M. Xu, UW

3-1 Kyu                                1-2 Dan
1st place - A. Yorita, UW              1st place - B. Liao, Bellevue
2nd place - L. Gao, UW                 2nd place - P. Lee, Steveston
3rd place - A. Rossi, Spokane          3rd place - E. Chui, Steveston
3rd place - B. Sprenger, Obukan        3rd place - A. Kojima, Bellevue

3 Dan                                  4 Dan and Above
1st place - K. Sugiura, UW             1st place - T. Yamada, Vancouver
2nd place - M. Yoneda, Kent            2nd place - H. Yamada, Vancouver
3rd place - J. Croes, Portland         3rd place - N. Nakano, Steveston
3rd place - T. Marsten, Kent           3rd place - T. Hamanaka, Tozenji

Teams
1st place - Vancouver (K. Darbyshire, R. Asato, H. Yamada, S. Jung, T. Yamada)
2nd place - Steveston A (E. Chui, D. Yao, S. O’Sullivan, N. Nakano, W. Robillard)

Head Shinpan - David Yotsuuye
Taikai Chair - Minari Omura
Sportsmanship Pledge - Sue Vanasouk
UW Most Improved - Esther Law
Kazuo and Tomo Shoji Inspirational Award - Minari Omura

28th ANNUAL BELLEVUE JUNIOR TAIKAI – May 19, 2018, Bellevue

10 Years and Under                          11 to 12 Years                 13 to 14 Years
1st place - I. DeBlieck, Sno-King           1st place - J. Yu, Northwest   1st place - K. Underhill, Northwest
2nd place - K. Ayers, Sno-King              2nd place - N. Chu, Bellevue   2nd place - J. Kim, Federal Way
3rd place - K. Maxfield-Matsumoto, Highline 3rd place - S. Kim, Seattle    3rd place - L. Ohata, Bellevue
3rd place - E. Cocoro Marx, Federal Way     3th place - D. Chung, Cascade  3rd place - T. Ting, Northwest

High School Girls                      High School Boys
1st place - B. Park, Bellevue          1st place - K. Fukuda, Cascade
2nd place - K. McManus, Kent           2nd place - S. Enomoto, Kent
3rd place - M. Blechschmidt, Bellevue  3rd place - D. Imanishi, Seattle
3rd place - A. Kojima, Bellevue        3rd place - K. Underhill, Northwest

Junior Teams
1st place - Northwest (J. Yu, N. Underhill, K. Underhill, A. Fung, T. Ting)
2nd place - Seattle (A. Mabale, E. Kim, F. Mabale, K. Halve, N. Orita)

High School Teams
1st place - Kent/Federal Way (S. Lee, S. Enomoto, K. McManus)
2nd place - Bellevue Red (N. Smith, A. Kojima, B. Park)

Head Shinpan - David Yotsuuye 
Taikai Co-Chairs - Hide Iba and Leonid Tsybert
National Anthem - Maya Blechschmidt
Competitors’ Pledge - Betty Park
Master of Ceremonies - CJ Chaney
Awesome Spirit Award - Juah Paik, Tacoma
Centurion Bellevue Highline Sno-King Youth Leadership Award - Maya Blechschmidt, Bellevue

53rd ANNUAL VANCOUVER KENDO TOURNAMENT – May 26, 2018, Byrne Creek Secondary School, Burnaby

9 Years and Under                   10 to 12 Years                  13 to 15 Years
1st place - Ka. Yoshimura, Renbu    1st place - Y. Lee, Renbu       1st place - R. Kim, Renbu
2nd place - Y. Asaoka, Youshinkan   2nd place - N. Son, Renbu       2nd place - K. Underhill, Northwest
3rd place - M. Ishizuka, Youshinkan 3rd place - K. Yoshimura, Renbu 3rd place - A. Son, Renbu
3rd place - M. Shirai, Youshinkan   3rd place - J. Yu, Northwest    3rd place - K. Kono, Tozenji

16 to 20 Years                      21 to 30 Years                  31 to 40 Years
1st place - S. Enomoto, Kent        1st place - K. Komoto, UBC      1st place - K. Lee, Chinook
2nd place - K. Muramatsu, Renfrew   2nd place - K. Unzei, AOI       2nd place - T. Yamada, Vancouver
3rd place - K. Higo, Kent           3rd place - W. Chung, UVic      3rd place - M. Rose, Renfrew
3rd place - T. Marsten, Kent        3rd place - E. Kita, Renbu      3rd place - I. Lin, Chinook

41 Years and Over                   Women
1st place - I. Miki, Steveston      1st place - J. Kurahashi, Renbu
2nd place - S. Shiono, Calgary      2nd place - H. Yamada, Vancouver
3rd place - S. Kim, Renbu           3rd place - A. Fukushima, Vancouver
3rd place - D. Chiu, SFU            3rd place - N. Fukushima, Vancouver

Junior Team                         Senior Team                     Fighting Spirit
1st place - Renbu B                 1st place - Team Canada         B. Buckham, UVic
2nd place - Renbu A                 2nd place - Vancouver A         K. McManus, Kent

2018 AUSKF IAIDO TAIKAI – June 2, 2018, Salt Lake City, Utah

Mudansha Division (0 - 2 kyu)
1st place - Ben Senderling, SWKIF, Omaha Kendo & Iaido Kyokai
2nd place - Bruce Hiraoka, RMKIF, Castle Rock Iaido
3rd place - Jeffrey Cardin, SWKIF, Mushinkan Kendo & Iaido Dojo
3rd place - Cierra Nix, RMKIF, Castle Rock Iaido
 Kantosho - Jonathan Hoopes, SWKIF, Salt Lake Kendo & Iaido Kyokai

Murakami Cup (1 kyu - 1 dan)
1st place - Feng (Blade) Weng, SWKIF, Mushinkan Kendo & Iaido Dojo
2nd place - Ma. Denise Verastique, SWKIF, Dallas-Fort Worth Kendo & Iaido Kyokai)
3rd place - Dongying Song, AEUSKF, Ken-Zen Institute)
3rd place - Nathan Williams, SWKIF, Dallas-Fort Worth Kendo & Iaido Kyokai)
 Kantosho - Helene Cousein, AEUSKF, Seizan Kendo Kai)

Murosako Cup (2 dan - 3 dan)
1st place - Thane Mittlestaedt, PNKF, Aishinkai Fudo Myoo Ji Dojo)
2nd place - John Mullin, AEUSKF, Ken-Zen Institute)
3rd place - Edward Vierk, SWKIF, Omaha Kendo & Iaido Kyokai)
3rd place - Jennifer Mayo, RMKIF, Castle Rock Iaido)
 Kantosho - Sergey Zalubovsky, NCKF, Mountain View Dojo)

Yamaguchi Cup (4 dan & above)
1st place - Debi Farmer, GNEUSKF, Shidogakuin NY Shidokan)
2nd place - Susan Sekreta, AEUSKF, Ken-Zen Institute)
3rd place - Paul Shin, GNEUSKF, Shidogakuin NY Shidokan)
3rd place - Gordon Hall, AEUSKF, Ken-Zen Institute)
 Kantosho - Monica Iwakabe, RMKIF, Rocky Mountain Budokan)

2018 ROSE CITY TAIKAI – June 9, 2018, Portland Community College Sylvania Campus

Women                                  Juniors 10 and Under
1st place - K. McManus, Kent           1st place - V. Chen, Oakland
2nd place - E. Ishii, Kent             2nd place - I. DeBlieck, Sno-King
3rd place - M. Blechschmidt, Bellevue
3rd place - J. Higa, UW

Juniors 11-15                          0-4 Kyu
1st place - Jo Paik, Tacoma            1st place - A. Kim, Bellevue
2nd place - Ju Paik, Tacoma            2nd place - E. Hellevik, UW

3-1 Kyu                                1-2 Dan
1st place - B. Sprenger, Obukan        1st place - K. McManus, Kent
2nd place - C. Pak, Portland           2nd place - J. Higa, UW
3rd place - S. Lee, Federal Way        3rd place - M. Blechschmidt, Bellevue
3rd place - J. Jeon, Bellevue          3rd place - A. Miller, Portland

3 Dan                                  4 Dan and Above
1st place - T. Marsten, Kent           1st place - I. Morgan
2nd place - J. Lee, Portland           2nd place - G. Nakayama, Portland
3rd place - J. Croes, Portland
3rd place - A. Fujii, UW

Junior Teams
1st place - Sno-King (I. DeBlieck, D. Shilov, D. Beck)
2nd place - Tacoma (Ju. Paik, I. Lee, Jo. Lee)

Senior Teams
1st place - Kent (I. Morgan, K. McIntosh, K. McManus, E. Ishii, T. Marsten)
2nd place - Seattle (D. Imanishi, Y. Chen, C. Capoeman, Y. Paik, A. Yen)

Head Shinpan - Doug Imanishi; Competitors' Pledge - Lucian Jesequel
 Master of Ceremonies - John Hancock

2nd TADAO TODA HAI KENDO TAIKAI – June 17, 2018, Caldwell Idaho

Upper Division                          Lower Division
1st place - Fumihide Itokazu, Covina    1st place - Cougar Capoeman, Tacoma
2nd place - Seth Harris, Hawaii         2nd place - Andrew Barnett, Young Moo Kwan
3rd place - Michio Kajitani, Arkansas   3rd place - Sten Kajitani, Arkansas
3rd place - Frank Wessbecher, Highline  3rd place - Jordy Davis, Zenbukan

SHINKYU SHINSA

IAIDO SHINSA

4TH KYU: Jonathan Hoopes (Salt Lake City Kendo & Iaido Kai), Lam Nguyen (Salt Lake City Kendo &
 Iaido Kai), Michael Webster (Zen Bu Kan).  3RD KYU:  Frauke Hachtmann (Omaha Kendo & Iaido 
 Kyokai), Bruce Hiroaki (Castle Rock Iaido), Caleb Johnson (Zen Bu Kan), Philip Markunas (---), 
Anandhavel Nagendrakumar (Zen Bu Kan), Tyler Wilson (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Cierra
 Waitman (Castle Rock Iaido).  2ND KYU:  Alex Cherry (Salt Lake City Kendo & Iaido Kai), Kevin O’Mara 
(Zen Bu Kan) Brett Thompson (DFWKIK), Michael Curtis (Rocky Mountain Budokan),  Nathanial Thomason 
(Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo 2kyu), Andrew Webster (Zen Bu Kan).  1ST KYU:  Adam Sandor 
(Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Ben Senderling (Omaha Kendo & Iaido Kyokai), Jeffrey Cardin
 (Mushinkan Kendo and Iaido), Michio Kajitani (Arkansas Kendo club), Francisco Moreno Ramirez
 (Club de Iaido Mexico Asia), Joshua Stadtlander-Miller (Ken-Zen).  1ST DAN:  Jared Bowler (ZenBuKan),
 Michael Jacobson (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Gary Lee Moulder (Palo
 Alto), Philip Sevin (ZenBuKan), Dongying Song (Ken-Zen), Feng (Blade) Wang (Mushinkan Kendo and Iaido 
Dojo), Darryl Woods Mushinkan Kendo and Iaido Dojo).  2ND DAN:  Dominque Alfandari (Sei Zan Kendo Kai),
 Helene Cousin (Sei Zn 
Kendo Kai), Alberto Kiramoto (DFWKIK), Jay Salazar (River City Iaido & 
Kendo Kyokai), Michael Schuldt (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Ma. Denise Verastigue (DFWKIK), Nathan Williams (DFWKIK).
  3RD DAN:  Tekin Korhan (Norwalk Kendo Dojo).  4TH DAN:  Genaro Luis Cervantes (Club de Iaido Mexico Asia), Rodolfo Lynch
 (Ken-Zen), Elizabeth Pesek (Salinas), Terry Sewell (DFWKIK), Edward Vierk (Omaha Kendo &
 Iaido Kyokai).
 

JODO SHINSA

1ST KYU:  Tyler Wilson (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), James Maestes (Yamakage Dojo), Jaden Olah
 (Yamakage Dojo), Adam Sandor (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Michael Schuldt
 (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Robert Tranchin (DFWKIK), Francisco Moreno Ramirez (Club de
 Iaido Mexico Asia), Veronica Taylor (Baltimore-Annapolis), Sarah Scherr (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz
 Dojo), Amber Adams (Butokuden Kendo Dojo), Michi Takeda (Butokuden Kendo Dojo), Bob
 Schneider (Butokuden Kendo Dojo), George Carr, Jr. (Yamakage Dojo).
  

1ST DAN:  Genaro Luis de Cervantes (Club de Iaido Mexico Asia), David Bressler (Ken-Zen), Judit Olah
 (Yamakage Dojo), Jaden Olah (Yamakage Dojo), Adam Sandor (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Michael
 Schuldt Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Kevin Thibedeau Ken-Zen), Michael Jacobson
 (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), Bradley Anderson (Musoshindenryu Iaido - Agassiz Dojo), An Nguyen
 (Butokuden Kendo Dojo), Kazuhiro Kawashima (Shidogakuin NY), Bob Fushimi (Yamakage Dojo),
 N. Tasume (Yamakage Dojo) James Valencia (Yamakage Dojo).
  

2ND DAN:  Amado Maldonado (US Kobujodokai), Alec Milton (Ken-Zen).
  
3RD DAN:  David Gravens (US Kobujodokai), Sandor Ver (US Kobujodokai), Elizabeth Sapareto (US Kobujodokai).

11th ANNUAL US NITO KENDO CAMP, SEMINAR – June 17, 2018, College of Idaho, J.A. Albertson Activities Center, Caldwell, Idaho
PNKF KENDO SHINSA
3RD KYU: Cory Leslie, Idaho Kendo Club PNKF. 1ST KYU: Sten Kajitani, Arkansas SWKIF. 4TH DAN: Young
Sub Shim, (Detroit MWKF), Ethan Waln, (Portland PNKF).

THE LAST WORD

I was sent to the Tokyo Tank School for about six months to learn how to operate tanks and how to dismantle
and assemble them. We also learned to attack tanks with yellow bombs (Oh shoku yaku)
that we carried under our arms, and were taught to jump right into the wheels of the tanks, destroying
both the tank and ourselves. “Seppuku” the ritual suicide performed by cutting open of the hara with
the sword, performed ceremoniously was the honorable way to die for failure, defeat in battle or a
mistake or disgraceful act for the Lord. The slang term “harakiri” (literally gut cutting) coined
by the West during WW II debases the conscious will and courage implicit in the traditional concept.
Nonetheless, the average soldier needs to be honored, even if his suicide was not so pure as that
of the samurai.

Tradition required one to die honorably for one’s mistake or disgraceful act by seppuku. But Ogawa
Kinnosuke Sensei told me that modern Kendo did not require Seppuku. “If you make a mistake or a
disgraceful act, Omoto, live as long as you can. You can’t recover the mistakes you made, but
value yourself and show your bravery and repentance by being useful to your neighbors and the world for
as long as you live.” My modern kendo spirit, modern bushido, or Hawaiian Yamato spirit, would not allow
me to commit suicide, but rather survive to throw more bombs. I would fight to live, and live to
fight more. Would I have committed suicide if I could not imagine an alternative or had I been ordered,
as were the kamikaze pilots? I have to answer that I don’t know.

Luckily I did not have to face that decision, but likely, were the order to have been issued, I would
have complied and thereby at least died honorably. But I would have been dead either way. To refuse
an order is treason, punishable by death. However, war is about death. War means blood and pain – death –
that is the bottom line.

If you are a foot soldier in close combat, survival is luck, or perhaps karma. So it proved for me.
The day I left Tokyo, I learned that the tank school had been bombed. There were few, if any, survivors.
To survive by hours was my karma, and had no relationship to Kendo training or personal
control. I was lucky for my order to depart, just as I would have been unlucky to be
ordered to stay at the school another day or to sacrifice myself.

My next assignment was for horse and buggy training at Kumamoto Castle, located on the southern
island of Kyushu and noted for its beautiful gardens, mountains and history, especially as the area where
Miyamoto Musashi spent his last days and wrote the Book of Five Rings. I especially
enjoyed this assignment. When Musashi was fifty-six years old in 1640, after his sixth and final
battle during the siege of Shimabara, in 1637, he took up residence at Kumamoto as a guest of Lord
Hosokawa Tadatoshi. He was given the rank of a general of a division. Here he participated in his last,
and as always victorious, duel, and then took residence in the old castle of Chiba, adjacent to Kumamoto Castle.

He spent most of his time practicing the arts of calligraphy, painting, and tea ceremony. Shaken
by the death of Lord Hosokawa in 1641, he retreated to fulfill the Lord’s command to explain the ideas of
his strategy that had guided his life as a samurai. In 1643 at fifty-nine years old, Musashi departed
for Mount Iwato, located about twelve kilometers southwest of Kumamoto, where he lived in Reigando
(spirit rock) cave. Here he remained and wrote the Gorin no Sho (The Book of Five Rings).
He died at the age of sixty one in 1645.

–Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 34-35.
Available as free download at lulu.com.

Kenyu – Monthly Newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation PLEASE NOTE: Kenyu Online IS THE EDITION OF RECORD FOR THIS NEWSLETTER – https://www.pnkf.org/ Tom Bolling, Editor – 7318 23rd Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98115