News

Kenyu – July/August 2019

Posted on 2019/08/29 by omb

Volume 33, number 7/8
July/August 2019

PNKF DATEBOOK

September 2019
* 9/7-9/8: Team USA Gasshuku, required to be considered for participation in 18WKC, Sat 8am-4pm; Sun
8am-12noon, Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance, CA. Attendance Fee: $50 (checks payable to
“AUSKF Team USA”). Send all checks to: Spencer Hosokawa, 17 Amelia Aliso Viejo, Ca 92656.

* 9/13 and 9/14: Idaho Kendo Seminar, Fri 9/13 Keiko 6-7pm, Fri venue: Boise State Univ, Kinesiology Gym, Room 215; Sat, 10am-4pm, Sat venue: Meridian Homecourt, 736 Taylor Avenue, Meridian Idaho 83642, Court #1. Kendo Kyoshi 7th Dan Robert Stroud. Open to all levels (all ages) including those not yet in bogu, covering Kendo Kata, kihon, and application of kihon for shiai and shinsa.
Cost $25 payable at the event.
* 9/14: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
* 9/27-9/29: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Tournament, and Shinsa, Fri/Sat/Sun, Rain City Fencing, 1776 136th Place NE,
Bellevue.
October 2019
* 10/5: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.
* 10/26: Tacoma Taikai, Sat, Curtis High School, 8425 40th St W, University Place, WA 98466, USA.
November 2019
* 11/2: PNKF Taikai, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.
* 11/2-11/3: AUSKF Second Team USA Gasshuku, Sat/Sun, venue and times TBD.
* 11/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting.
* 11/10: AUSKF Kodansha Shinsa, after the ASUKF Board meeting, Griffin Elite Sports and Wellness, 700 Dolwick Drive, Erlanger, Kentucky 41018.
* 11/16: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
December 2019
* 12/7: Kent Taikai CANCELLED.
January 2020
* 1/25-1/26: FIK Kendo Referee Seminar for the American Zone (FY 2019), Sat-Sun, British Columbia Institute of Technology Athletic Gymnasium, 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5G 3H2 Canada. Accommodation: Delta Hotel by Marriott Burnaby Conference Center, 4331 Dominion Street, Burnaby, BC V5G 1C7. – Participants should be members of FIK affiliated organizations in principle. – Kendo 5 Dan or higher, and practice Kendo regularly. – No age limit to participate.
April 2020
* 4/4: 2020 AUSKF Junior Open National Championships, Sat, Marina High School, 15871 Springdale Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92649
May 2020
* 5/2: Rose City Taikai, Sat, TBA, Portland.
May 2021
* 5/27-30: 18WKC, Thu-Sun, Paris, France.

2019 AUSKF IAIDO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – June 30, 2019, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon

0-2 Kyu Murakami Cup 1 Kyu–1 Dan
1st place – Cierra Nix, RMKIF Castle Rock 1st place – Eric Marquart, PNKF Idaho
2nd place – Zhuron Long, AEUSKF Ken-Zen 2nd place – Adam Sandor, MWKF Agassiz
3rd place – Reminton Redell, RMKIF Castle Rock 3rd place – Brian Burton, PNKF AiShinKai
3rd place – Frauke Hachtmann, SWKIF Omaha 3rd place – Darryl Woods SWKIF Mushinkan
Kantosho – Aojie Zheng, AEUSKF Ken-Zen Kantosho – Dongying Song, AEUSKF Ken-Zen

Murosako Cup 2-3 Dan Yamaguchi Cup 4–5 Dan
1st place – Allen Smith, SWKIF Mushinkan 1st place – Paul Shin, GNEUSKF Shidogakuin
2nd place – Ric Flinn, MWKF Raccoon Valley 2nd place – Gordon Hall, AEUSKF Ken-Zen
3rd place – Mike Schuldt, MWKF Agassiz 3rd place – Joe Sheldon, SUSKIF River City
3rd place – John Mullin, AEUSKF Ken-Zen 3rd place – Aram Kailian, GNEUSKF Shidogakuin
Kantosho – Sangki Lee, SWKIF Dallas-Ft Worth Kantosho – George Nishiura, NCKF Palo Alto

6 Dan (Inaugural Division)
1st place – Jason Hankins, RMKIF ZenBuKan
2nd place – David Bressler, AEUSKF Ken-Zen
3rd place – Terry Fukui, AEUSKF Ken-Zen
Kantosho – Samuel Okuno, SCKF Norwalk

WORLD NAGINATA CHAMPIONSHIP – July 6, 2019, Wiesbaden, Germany

Engi
Shikake-Oji Zen Nihon Renmei no Kata
1st place – A. Ajiki, M. Inoue, Japan 1st place – I. Itagaki, H. Kato, Japan
2nd place – S. Kanaoka, C. Hyashida, Japan 2nd place – I. Dermine, F. Dermine, Belgium
3rd place – C. Coppeans, B. Harrop, USA 3rd place – J. Hernandez, S. Lew, USA

Team Shiai
Shiai Team Women
1st place – Japan (S. Kanaoka, C. Hayashida, A. Shido)
2nd place – Canada (M. Landekic, L. Liu, M. Phan)
3rd place – Belgium (L. Dumonceau, G. Hau, C. Vandersleyen)

Shiai Team Men
1st place – Japan (M. Masuda, W. Kobashi, I. Itagaki)
2nd place – Netherlands (J. Zandstra, A. Noorman, P. Gerritsen)
3rd place – Belgium (J. D’hose, T. Dermine, F. Dermine)

Individual Shiai
Shiai Individual Women Shiai Individual Men
1st place – A. Ajiki, Japan 1st place – Y. Masuda, Japan
2nd place – S. Haruyama, Japan 2nd place – M. Masuda, Japan
3rd place – C. Hayashida, Japan 3rd place – T. Fujita, Japan

Overall Winner - Japan

PNKF 7th NORTH AMERICAN WOMEN’S TEAM TOURNAMENT – July 13, 2019, Renton

Special Guest Instructor – Kendo Renshi 7th Dan Chinatsu Murayama

Team
1st place - SCKF (E. Kim, K. Tada, H. Dong, Liu, A. Shinada)
2nd place – Butokuden A (K. Igarashi, J. Harasawa, H. Ariga, V. Kuo, H. Hsueh)
3rd place – PNKF B (V. Le, M. Blechschmidt, J. Higa, T. Imanishi, J. Frazier-Day)
3rd place – Microsoft (N. Sakamoto, S. Hino, S. Uchino, S. Wakizono, M. Ohara)

Individual Mudansha Individual Yudansha
1st place – Krystal McIntosh, PNKF 1st place – Chigusa Takeuchi, Youshinkan
2nd place – Sammi Cheung, Quebec 2nd place – Wendy Robillard, CKF
3rd place – Heidi Lin, Butokuden 3rd place – Betty Park, PNKF
3rd place – Kate Rice, PNKF 3rd place – Kianna Darbyshire, CKF
4th place – Ai Nakayama, PNKF
4th place – Jennifer DeJong, MWKF
4th place – Isabel Lorimer, SCKO
4th place – Rika Iketani, SCKO
Shinpan Cho - Jeff Marsten
Chair – Elizabeth Marsten
Translator – Ai Nakayama
Sportsmanship Pledge – Janell Frazier-Day

SHINKYU SHINSA

AUSKF IAIDO SHINSA, June 30, 2019, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon
3RD KYU: Lam Cao (SEKIF Salt Lake), Kaitlyn Fife (RMKIF ZenBuKan), Jonathan Hoopes (SWKIF Salt Lake), Carter Webster (RMKIF ZenBuKan), Michael Webster (RMKIF ZenBuKan).
2ND KYU: Breanne Leach RMKIF Zen Bu Kan), Sarah Scherr (MWKF Agassiz), Mika Shafer (NCKF Oakland).
1ST KYU: Kirill Buzinov (SWKIF Mushinkan), Shamina Chang (SUSKIF Chiba), Alex Cherry (SWKIF Salt Lake), Michael Curtis (RMKIF Rocky Mountain), Frauke Hachtmann (SWKIF Omaha), Zhuoran Long (AEUSKF Ken-Zen), Cierra Nix (RMKIF Castle Rock), Gilberto Perez (SEUSKF TokoBuKan), Tyler Peterson (PNKF Idaho), Remington Redell (RMKIF Castle Rock), Andy Webster (RMKIF ZenBuKan), Aojie Zheng ((AEUSKF Ken-Zen).
1ST DAN: Michio Kajitani (SWKIF Arkansas), Alberto Mera (CLAK Federacion Dominicana), Adam Sandor (MWKF Agassiz), Ben Senderling (SWKIF Omaha).
2ND DAN: Cheyenne Baker (SWKIF Dallas-Ft Worth), Jared Bowler (RMKIF ZenBuKan), Michael Jacobson (MWKF Agassiz), Eric Marquardt (PNKF Idaho), Gary Moulder (NCKF Palo Alto), Philip Sevin (RMKIF ZenBuKan), Dongying Song AEUSKF Ken-Zen), Alden Vanderspek (PNKF AiShinKai), Feng (Blade) Wang (SWKIF Mushinkan), Darryl Woods (SWKIF Mushinkan).
3RD DAN: John Baker (SWKIF Dallas-Ft Worth), Jordy Davis (RMKIF ZenBuKan), Celeste Rosell (RMKIF ZenBuKan), Allen Smith (SWKIF Mushinkan).
4TH DAN: David Chung-Pei Cheng (CKF SFU Shinbukan), Richard Flynn (MWKF Raccoon Valley), John Mullin (AEUSKF Ken-Zen), Levon Sukiassyan (SCKF Pasadena).
5TH DAN: Brian Beckford (MWKF Detroit), Takanori Furuta (AEUSKF Ittokai), Hiroaki Fukumoto (PNKF Seattle).
6TH DAN: Paul Shin (GNEUSKF Shidogakuin), Cynthia Tanabe (NCKF Salinas).

AUSKF JODO SHINSA, June 30, 2019, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon
1ST KYU: Cheyenne Baker (SWKIF Dallas-Ft Worth), John Baker (SWKIF Dallas-Ft Worth), Jonathan Berry (MWKF Minnehaha), David Cooper (SWKIF Dallas-Ft Worth), Nicholas Harrison (AEUSKF US Kobujodokai), Tomoyuki Hirasawa (SWKIF Dallas-Ft Worth), Cierra Nix (RMKIK Castle Rock), Julian Smith (RMKIF Castle Rock), Donying Song (AEUSKF Ken-Zen), Robert Stroud (PNKF Idaho), Kurt Van Horn (PNKF Hoshu).
1ST DAN: Amber Adams (SCKO Kobujodokai), Abigail Benoit (PNKF Tonbo), Lisanna Dettwyler (PNKF Hoshu), Sarah Scherr (MWKF Agassiz), Bob Schneider (SCKO Butokuden), Michi Takeda (SCKF Kubojodokai), Robert Tranchin (SWKIF Dallas-Ft Worth).
2ND DAN: Bradley Anderson (MWKF Agassiz), David Bressler (AEUSKF Ken-Zen), Michael Jacobson (MWKF Agassiz), Peter Kim (AEUSKF Doshikai), An Nguyen (SCKO Butokuden), Jaden Olah (SWKIF Yamakage), Judit Olah (SWKIF Yamakage), Adam Sandor (MWKF Agassiz), Michael Schuldt (MWKF Agassiz).
3RD DAN: Luis Adolfo Arancibia (CLAK Chile Jodo), Chris Dowling (PNKF Hoshu), Richard Flinn (MWKF Raccoon Valley).

PNKF KENDO SHINSA, August 10, 2019, Kent Commons Recreation Center, Kent
6TH KYU: Louis Liang (Northwest), Yuanchang Liang (Northwest), John Morse (Northwest), Atticus Slosson (Northwest), Koh Tapang (Highline).
5TH KYU: Madeleine Day (Kent), Hideaki Ito (Bellevue), Emerson Lau (Bellevue), Braeden Tapang (Highline).
4TH KYU: Keegan Hirata (Federal Way), Joe Kabeshita (Obukan), Brent Krupp (Cascade), Truman Lau (Bellevue), Yin Ouyang (Seattle), Denise Quach (Seattle), Rina Yuan (Bellevue).
3RD KYU: Nicholas Chu (Bellevue), Mi Jang (Tacoma), Taka Kabeshita (Obukan), Anthony Kelsey (Edmonds), Tory Kim (Northwest), Juah Paik (Tacoma), Rebecca Roland (Portland), Shen Ru (Everett), Hui Shen (Tacoma), Demetria Spinrad (Sno-King), Yi Sun (Bellevue), Michinari Tawara (Bellevue), Nina Underhill (Northwest), Fei Yuan (Bellevue).
2ND KYU: Andrea Calhoun (Portland), Aaron Fung (Seattle), Alex Kim (Bellevue), Sean Kim (Seattle), Seira Kojima (Bellevue), Yoji Konno (Meadowbrook), Juno Lee (UW), Dorrit Lin (UW), Aneurin Mabale (Seattle), Ju Young Oh (Highline), Conrad Slater (UW), Abigail Tan (UW), Brian Wong (UW), Alec Yuen (Seattle).
1ST KYU: Danny Chung (Cascade), Michael Ciesielski (Spokane), Espen Hellevik (UW), Taiki Miyamoto (Northwest), Connor Mulcahy (UW), Michael Rea (Spokane), Alexander Rossi (Spokane), Zhaoyuan Xu (Cascade), Derek Woodward (Everett).
1ST DAN: Tommy Espinal (AEUSKF U Rochester), Leo Gao (UW), Kyle Hale (Seattle), Eugene Kim (Seattle), Shoichi Kimura (Obukand), Elysia Midorikawa (UW), Matt Miyamoto (Northwest), Emilio Peralta (Obukan), Sung Won Ryu (Cascade), Michele Soleimani (Portland), Joshua Paik (Tacoma), Jin Pak (Northwest), Emilio Peralta (Obukan), Koki Takamatsu (Bellevue), Keiji Underhill (Northwest), Suepapone Vanasouk (Cascade).
2ND DAN: Athena Epilepsia (Bellevue), Kyle McDaniel (Seattle), Peter Palmer (Northwest), Blake Sprenger (Obukan), Shota Wetlesen (Obukan).
3RD DAN: Jacob Colter (Yamauchi) (Cascade), Dan DeLongChamp (Obukan), Soo-Hyung Kim (Seattle), Stephen Ting (Northwest), Andrew Yuen (Seattle).

AUSKF KODANSHA SHINSA, August 18, 2019, Eccles Student Life Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
5TH DAN: Guillermo Auvert (SEUSKF), Rex Joshua Hahn (WKF), Kenji Irie (SCKF), Kentaro Ninomiya (AEUSKF), Steven Sasaki (SWKIF), Takuro Yamaoka (SWKIF).
6TH DAN: Donghun Lee (AEUSKF), Nobuo Monji (CCKF), George Ogawa (NCKF), Charles C. Pak (SCKO), Joji Takada (MWKF).
7TH DAN: Jin-Kee Hyun (SEUSKF), Kohjiro Kinno (SCKF).
RENSHI: Akira Banchi (SCKO).

THE LAST WORD

Hiroshima, 1945
We were so isolated in Kochi that we had lost communications with our base in Hiroshima. We didn’t know about the Bomb or the end of the War until few weeks after Japan surrendered. But we weren’t surprised. The old soldiers were tired and already felt defeated, and most of us had known for some months that the war was lost. We just didn’t know the form that loss would take.
We arrived in Hiroshima, completely unprepared for the devastation. We skirted the city. Shicho Tai, our base, had been evaporated. There are no words for what we saw. A bomb, yes, but what kind of a bomb? Annihilation of this magnitude was inconceivable! And the devastation assaulted us wherever we gazed. The central city was flattened. Only the skeleton of a few brick buildings to the west remained. The sky was still thick with smoke from smoldering buildings and funeral pyres where bodies could no longer be cremated separately with respect and proper ritual, but stacked in piles for mass disposal. There was no ability to dignify death. Nonetheless, bodies were everywhere, horribly maimed and decaying, magnets for millions of flies. And there were the injured and dying, waiting and hoping for help. Two hundred thousand people died after the initial explosion. The city was eerily quiet. The sobs and screams of children occasionally pierced the silence, but adults didn’t speak. What could be said? People continued to die. But there were no words. There was no time for mourning. There was little food. Drinking water was scarce with the rivers weaving through the city contaminated with dead bodies and the fallout from the bomb. There was neither help nor medical supplies. There were too few doctors. Shock and suffering, chaos and destruction …
Of course we, like the citizens of Hiroshima and the military leaders, did not know the nature of the bomb, only rumors. Many had heard the Emperor’s surrender speech, the first time he had spoken on the radio in a language that common people had difficulty understanding. A joint army-navy meeting on August 10, under the auspices of the Imperial Headquarters, confirmed that the Americans had dropped the atomic bomb. But the information filtered to the people more slowly and it was more than a week for most to hear the truth but it was almost impossible to understand. There was no comprehension and certainly no knowledge of the long-term effects of radiation. Moreover, the Allied Occupation GHQ issued a press code on September 19, 1945 restricting references to the atomic bomb in speech, reporting, and publications; GHQ had to give permission, and generally refused, prohibiting any publication of A-bomb information.
Kendo training teaches not to be afraid. Fear alters the body, creating tension and compromising response. Kendo training failed me at Hiroshima. This was a world gone mad, pure destruction and I felt a deep, dark, paralyzing fear beyond reason or action. But maybe Kendo training did help, because I did remember to breathe deeply, five meditative breaths to the hara, and regained some calm. At the Hiroshima railroad station, from where no trains were now dispatched, I turned to my soldiers and asked if they had a home. Their replies were immediate. “Hai, hai, hai!” Everyone had a home. “Go,” I said, and they all started walking toward home.
Then I realized I was alone. Did I have a home where I could return? The question was empty, an echo from nowhere. I had no home. I longed for Hawaii, but I could not return. But Wahiawa was where I longed to be, in the gentle islands smelling of plumeria and wild ginger. Even rotting mangoes have a fecund, sweet smell. All I could smell here was burnt flesh, and that smell is something I tried to forget. In fact, I try to forget everything about Hiroshima after the Bomb.
During the times when I had nearly been killed, I lost the capacity for fear. No flinching, no jumpiness. Instinct takes over; no thoughts of terrible possibilities or hopes of the future, or even dying. I just blocked everything. The War was finished but war is never finished just because one side surrenders. Hiroshima is proof of that. I turned toward Kure and my grandfather’s house. There was no other choice. I didn’t know whether the house was even there. But I was lucky. I was alive, not injured, and I had to respect this life I was given and get up, move, act.
I set out from Hiroshima Station to walk the ~50 miles to Kure. All I had was my soldier’s uniform to cover my skin, a military backpack, and my Japanese sword hung from my left side. I didn’t know whether I would get there or not. There was no time commitment for me. I didn’t care. I just walked at a slow pace chewing on the remains of hard crackers that I had left. It was the only food I had, and soon I had none. I had no water. And the Hiroshima in August is hot and humid.
I was thirsty and hungry. When I saw a green plant along the road, although most often it was only a blade of grass, I ate it. Fasting is said to enhance clarity. Perhaps, but starvation is just painful. I understood hunger. The gut feels like it is ripping apart, twisted and stretched. All I could think of was food, and then nothing. I just put one foot in front of the other.
The road was full of other soldiers and entire families leaving Hiroshima. There was no food for any of us. We were all helpless. We were all in rags. Nobody was in any position to give help. There was no shelter. People slept by the side of the road, under rags or lean-to’s made of debris or pieces of metal; abandoned vehicles gave some respite. It was cold at night, boiling during the day; at times it rained, at times the wind blew, but there was no shelter.
I turned east toward the shores. Along the shores between Hiroshima and Kure were seaweed, clams and some small fish. I scooped them up with both hands and stuffed them into my mouth, whole and raw. I ate everything raw. I told myself, “If anything moves, eat ‘um.” Living creatures are either prey or predator. I would live, but I no longer cared. Walk, walk, walk. Continuing to walk but no longer caring whether I got to Kure or not. One foot at a time. Walking, walking…
CHAPTER 4 Wind
To renew, when we are deadlocked with the enemy, means that without changing our circumstances we change our spirit and win through a different technique. (Musashi)
I don’t remember how many days it took me to reach Hayashi Yama (now Miharashi Cho), my grandfather’s village in Kure, but when I finally looked up it was sunrise, and I saw my grandfather working in the fields just as he had done when I had left for the army that morning in 1942. Unlike the 15 million homeless people throughout Japan, I had a home to live in and some food.
–Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 39-43. 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

Posted in Kenyu, Uncategorized

Kenyu – May/June 2019

Posted on 2019/07/01 by omb

Volume 33, number 5/6 May/June 2019

PNKF DATEBOOK

July 2019

7/6-7/13: North American Women’s Kendo Tournament and Seminar, led by Kendo Renshi 7th Dan Chinatsu Maruyama, five time All Japan Champion, Seminar 7/6-7/11 Sat-Thu. Championship 7/13 Sat, 9:30am-5pm, Renton Community Center, 1715 Maple Valley Hwy, Renton. https://womenskendo.com/ or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WomensKendo/ for full schedule.
7/14: Western Kendo Federation(WKF) 2019 ENGO Scholarship Junior Kendo Championship, Sat, John Burroughs High School Gymnasium Building 5, 1920 W. Clark Ave, Burbank, California. Registration deadline June 20, 2019.
7/20: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
7/28: Toubukan International Friendship Kendo Summer Practice, Sun, 9am-3pm, Toubukan Dojo, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan.
7/28-7/29: Hoshu Dojo Jodo Mini-Camp, Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 9am-12noon, Rain City Fencing Center, 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue.

August 2019

8/9-11: PNKF Summer Camp, Fri, Sat, Sun, Highland Community Center, Steve Cox Memorial Park.
8/9: Friday, 8-9:30pm, Highland Community Center (Bellevue Kendo Club). Content: kodansha shinsa – we will have a mock exam with feedback from sensei that sit on the AUSKF Kodansha Board. This mock exam is for 4D and above only.
8/10: Saturday, 9:30-11:30am, Kent Community Center (Kent Kendo Club). Content: 3 stations – bokuto kata, kendo kata and shinsa prep for 4D and below. This content will be flexible based on attendance. Saturday, 12:30pm-3pm – PNKF Shinkyu Shinsa 3-4:30pm -Open keiko
8/11: Sunday, 10am-3pm, Steve Cox Memorial Park (Highline Kendo Kai). Content: shimpan and shiai for jodan and nito – we will have matches to improve our shimpan experience with jodan and nito players, as well as shiai techniques for countering them. 12pm-1pm -Lunch break – you will need to provide your own. 1pm-3pm – Junior matches – shimpan practice for adults and coaching pointers from PNKF 2020 team coaches.
Please note, you need to be a PNKF member to participate in all events. Brandon Harada sensei, 7D, former Team USA member, is coming to lead our seminar, participate in the shinsa, and keiko with us as part of the AUSKF/Team USA Giving Back program.
8/16-8/18: AUSKF Summer Camp, Fri/Sat/Sun, George S. Eccles Student Life Center, University of Utah Campus, Salt Lake City. Event hotel is University Guest House and Conference Center, 110 S. Fort Douglas Blvd, Salt Lake City, Utah 84113. For info please contact Steven Sasaki phone 402-968-0615 stevensasaki@comcast.net

September 2019

9/7-9/8: Team USA Gasshuku, required to be considered for participation in 18WKC, Sat 8am-4pm; Sun 8am-12noon, Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance, CA. Attendance Fee: $50 (checks payable to “AUSKF Team USA”). Send all checks to: Spencer Hosokawa, 17 Amelia Aliso Viejo, Ca 92656.
9/14: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
9/27-9/29: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Tournament, and Shinsa. October 2019
10/5: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.
10/26: Tacoma Taikai, Sat, venue and time TBD.

November 2019

11/2: PNKF Taikai, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.
11/2-11/3: AUSKF Second Team USA Gasshuku, Sat/Sun, venue and times TBD.
11/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting.
11/10: AUSKF Kodansha Shinsa.
11/16: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.

December 2019

12/7: Kent Taikai, Sat, TBD, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.

May 2021

5/27-30: 18WKC, Thu-Sun, Paris, France.

TEAM PNKF HEAD COACH IS ELIZABETH MARSTEN

At their May 4, 2019 meeting the PNKF Board elected Kendo Renshi 6th Dan Elizabeth Marsten Head Coach of Team PNKF for the 2020 AUSKF Championships. The PNKF Head Coach oversees the assistant coaches of the men’s, women’s, and juniors’ Teams. For years she was the PNKF Advisor to UW, and has competed in many events, including at the World Kendo Championships in 2000, and in 2003, when her Team won the bronze medal in Glasgow, Scotland. She captained the PNKF Womens’ Team which won second place at the 2017 AUSKF Championships in San Jose, California.

TOUBUKAN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP KENDO SUMMER PRACTICE

In the early Meiji Era, Toubukan Dojo inherited Hokushin Ittouryu, the origin of the modern Kendo. Takaharu Naito Sensei, who was sent to Kyoto Budo Senmon Gakko (Busen) from Toubukan, later produced many Kendo instructors. Through them, Kendo was introduced to the rest of the world. Gordon Warner Sensei, who taught Kendo in the USA, and with Junzo Sasamori Sensei wrote This Is Kendo, also spent time at Toubukan, which appears in his book. Practicing Kendo at this historical Dojo in Japan would be an unforgettable experience.

Program:  
1) Opening
2) Demonstration
  - Iai
  - Hokushin Ittouryu
  - Shin Tamiyaryu
  - Naginata
3) Kodansha Tachiai
4) Keiko

Purpose: To nurture friendship through Kendo (Kou Ken Chi Ai). They are keen to hold a friendship Kendo match/keiko inviting Kendoists from overseas. Our friend Katsunori Osuga Sensei has practiced extensively overseas, including here in the PNKF, so they asked him to check if anyone is interested to come. The cost for the trip and stay in Japan will have to be borne by the participants. It will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2019, in Mito City, which is a two-hour bus ride from Narita. Practicing Kendo in this famous traditional Dojo will be an unforgettable experience. toubukan.or.jp Since time is pressed for planning, please let Osuga Sensei know if anyone is interested to come. The number of participants is not limited. Osuga Sensei’s address is: katsunoriosuga@hotmail.com

29th ANNUAL BELLEVUE JUNIOR KENDO CHAMPIONSHIPS – May 18, 2019


10 and Under                            11 and 12 Years
1st place – S. Johnson, Seattle         1st place – J. Yu, Northwest
2nd place – V. Chen, Oakland            2nd place – N. Chu, Bellevue
3rd place – E. Cocoro Marx, Federal Way 3rd place – I. DeBlieck, Sno-King
3rd place – O. Kaufman, Portland        3rd place – D. Chung, Cascade

13 and 14 Years                         High School Girls
1st place – J. Paik, Tacoma             1st place – B. Park, Bellevue
2nd place – A. Mabale, Seattle          2nd place – A. Fukuda, Cascade
3rd place – M. Ayers, Sno-King          3rd place – S. Kojima, Cascade
3rd place – E. Kim, Seattle             3rd place – H. Son, Federal Way

High School Boys
1st place – Keiji Underhill, Northwest
2nd place – Kengo Underhill, Northwest
3rd place – K. Takamatsu, Bellevue
3rd place – A. Yuen, Seattle

Junior Teams
1st place - Bellevue (M. Tawara, H. Koob, K. Takamatsu, J. Chu, L. Ohata)
2nd place - Seattle (A. Mabale, S. Kim, A. Fung, E. Kim, N. Orita)

High School Teams
1st place – Cascade (Da. Chung, K. Fukuda, A. Garr)
2nd place – Seattle (K. Hale, M. Hsu, A. Yuen)
Awesome Spirit Award – Kyle Fukuda, Cascade
Centurion Bellevue Highline Sno-King Youth Leadership Award – Issei DeBlieck, Sno-King
Head Shinpan - David Yotsuuye; Taikai Chair – Michi Ohata; Sportsmanship Pledge – Michi Ohata

4th ANNUAL VANCOUVER KENDO TOURNAMENT – June 1, 2019, Byrne Secondary School


9 Years and Under                       10 to 12 Years
1st place – Y. Asaoka, Youshinkan       1st place – N. Son, Renbu
2nd place – A. Kobayashi, Youshinkan    2nd place – C. Liao, Renbu
3rd place – M. Ishizuka, Youshinkan     3rd place – B. Buckham, UVic
3rd place – M. Tanimura, Seattle        3rd place – Ke Yoshimura, Renbu

13 to 15 Years                          16 to 20 Years
1st place – K. Underhill, Northwest     1st place – K. Muramatsu, Renfrew
2nd place – B. Miki, Steveston          2nd place – H. Shim, Renbu
3rd place – K. Squance, Renbu           3rd place – G. Kitamura, Tozenji
3rd place – R. Nakano, Steveston        3rd place – D. Imanishi, Seattle

21 to 30 Years                          31 to 40 Years
1st place – K. Unzei, Aoi Budogu        1st place – K. Kobayashi, Yushinkan
2nd place – R. Asato, Vancouver         2nd place – G. Suzaka, Seattle
3rd place – T. Hamanaka, Tozenji        3rd place – J. Magaling, SFU
3rd place – A. Xie, Youshinkan          3rd place – A. Yen, Seattle

41 Years and Over                       Women
1st place – M. Rose, Renfrew            1st place – C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan
2nd place – HK Park, Century            2nd place – A. Fukushima, Vancouver
3rd place – F. Yoshimura, Renbu         3rd place – K. Darbyshire, Vancouver
3rd place – J. Schmidt, Youshinkan      3rd place – N. Fukushima, Vancouver

Junior Team
1st place – Renbu A (N. Son, K. Squance, H. Tominaga, A. Son, Y. Lee)
2nd place – Steveston A (A. Iwai, C. Robillard, D. Chui, B. Miki, R. Nakano)

Senior Team
1st place - Youshinkan (K. Takeuchi, A. Xie, K. Kobayashi, J. Chien, C. Takeuchi)
2nd place – Bellevue/Highline/Sno-King (E. Park, Y. Shim, F. Wessbecher, K. Unzei, L. Tsybert)
Fighting Spirit - M. Shirai, Youshinkan and M. Underhill, Northwest
Shinpan-Cho – Motoki Asaoka; Master of Ceremonies - Bill McMichael; Sportsmanship Pledge – John Leung

3rd TADAO TODA HAI MEMORIAL KENDO TOURNAMENT – June 16, 2019, Caldwell, Idaho


Lower Division (2 Dan and Below)        Upper Division (3 Dan and Above)
1st place – Jordy Davis, Zenbukan       1st place – Fumihide Itokazu, Covina
2nd place – Tyler Peterson, Idaho       2nd place – Jason Steick, Edmonton
3rd place – Yumon Wei, NYC              3rd place – Ryan Atagi, Idaho
3rd place – Blake Sprenger, Obukan      3rd place – Paul Winters, New York Kenshinkai

2019 ROSE CITY TAIKAI – June 22, 2019, Conestoga Recreation and Aquatic Center, Beaverton, Oregon


Women’s Open                            Juniors 12 and Under
1st place – A. Nakayama, Portland       1st place – J. Paik, Tacoma
2nd place – K. Croes, Portland          2nd place – J. Kabeshita, Obukan
3rd place – A. Epilepsia, Bellevue
3rd place – K. McIntosh, Federal Way

Juniors 13-15                           0-3 Kyu
1st place – J. Paik, Tacoma             1st place – L. Bobadilla, OSU
2nd place – T. Ting, Northwest          2nd place – A. Kim, Bellevue
3rd place – T. Kabeshita, Obukan
3rd place – D. Wildman, Portland

2-1 Kyu                                 1-2 Dan
1st place – A. Rossi, Spokane           1st place – Y. Paik, Tacoma
2nd place – M. Rea, Spokane             2nd place – Shun Wetlesen, Obukan
3rd place – T. Jaybush, Bellevue        3rd place – A. Law, Sno-King
3rd place – K. McIntosh, Federal Way    3rd place – G. Vielhaber, Portland

3 Dan                                   4 Dan and Above
1st place – K. Nakaya, Portland         1st place – I. Morgan, Kent
2nd place – D. Anzai, Obukan            2nd place – A. Nakayama, Portland
3rd place – N. Cook, Portland           3rd place – C. Ruiz, Spokane
3rd place – M. Price, Seattle           3rd place – E. Wain, Portland

Junior Teams
1st place - Tacoma (S. Johnson, Juah Paik, Joshua Paik)
2nd place - Obukan (I. Ohayashi, J. Kabeshita, L. Jesequel)

Senior Teams
1st place - Obukan (Shun Wetlesen, Shota Wetlesen, B. Sprenger, D. Anzai, M. Nakamura)
2nd place - Spokane (A. Rossi, I. Morgan, M. Nelson, M. Rea, C. Ruiz)
3rd place – Portland A (K. Nakaya, G. Nakayama, A. Nakayama, E. Waln, T. Toshima)
3rd place – Portland B (N. Cook, G. Vielhaber, J. Kaufman, A. Chervin, K. Croes)
Head Shinpan - Doug Imanishi; Competitors’ Pledge – Joe Kabeshita; Master of Ceremonies – Kenneth Gordon

LEEWARD OAHU KENDO TOURNAMENT – June 23, 2019, Mililani District Park Gym


Yonenbu 8-11 Years                      Shonenbu 12-15 Years
1st place – Leland Hara                 1st place – Devin Chung
2nd place – Takeshi Saito               2nd place – Abigail Mejia
3rd place – Zachary Yamamoto
3rd place – Ken Foltz

Seinenbu Open                           Women’s Open
1st place – Ai Fukuda                   1st place – Zidi Hiromoto
2nd place – Tom Fukuda                  2nd place – Aki Stachiewiez
3rd place – N. Shimabukuro              3rd place – Tina Kaku
3rd place – Gina Kishimoto

Yudansha 1-2 Dan                        Yudansha 3-4 Dan
1st place – Y. Park                     1st place – James Okada
2nd place – Kyle Fukuda                 2nd place – Keith Hui
3rd place – Jake Yamauchi               3rd place – Lonny Hancock
3rd place – Keone Rivers                3rd place – Koyo Yancey

Yudansha 5-6 Dan                        Yudansha Masters 3 Dan and Over 50 Years
1st place – Chris Goodin                1st place – Garrett Matsumoto
2nd place – Bryan Imanishi              2nd place – David Kikau
3rd place – Jack Yamada                 3rd place – Ken Sugano
3rd place – Grant Matsubayashi

Team Match                              Parents/Kids Team Match
1st place – Mililani (Mark Miyamoto, Wesley Fujimoto, Lonnie Hancock, Gina Kishimoto, Andy Fujimoto)
2nd place – Kenshikan (Jack Yamada, Nicklas Matsumoto, Kevin Chun, Zidi Hiromoto, Yuichi Miura)

Parents/Kids Team Match
Parents – 2
Kids - 4
James Oka Fighting Spirit Award – Abigail Mejia

THE LAST WORD

My final order was to return to Kochi to gather the supplies we had saved by scattering them in the hills in farmers’ warehouses. The roads were narrow, the drivers inexperienced and the trucks easily slid into the rice paddies. We had no towing tools so when a truck was stuck, everyone would work together to heave the truck upright and attempt to get it back on the road. But that was easy compared to rescuing our own men who would often become trapped inside the truck when it rolled. One time a truck rolled over and pinned a soldier. Gasoline spilled from the truck and covered his body. We finally rolled the truck off him, but he was in no shape to continue his duties. Due to the gasoline burns, his skin was peeling from his entire body. He suffered horribly, especially when he moved. I sent him back to Hiroshima. Then came the Atomic Bomb that released his pain completely! How perfunctory and cold my attitude now seems – he burned then died. No description of his unrelenting screams of agony, the calls to his mother, the terror in his eyes. But that is what happens in war. Too much suffering and death can drive a man insane unless the senses of pity and horror are numbed. Anger is acceptable. Soldiers are taught not to look in the eyes of an enemy if killing in close combat. Looking into the eyes creates a relationship. We are taught about relationship in Kendo. But there is no time in boot camp to learn how to create a life as well as take a life. In modern warfare, killing is, when possible, more distant. That is probably good for the mental health of soldiers, even though it avoids confronting the reality of death on a bloody battlefield. –Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 38-39. 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

Posted in Kenyu

Posted on 2019/04/15 by admin

Volume 33, number 3/4

March/April 2019

PNKF DATEBOOK

5/18: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am start time, Highland Park Community Center, 14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue.

6/1: Vancouver Taikai, Sat, gym open 9am, opening ceremonies 10am, Byrne Creek Secondary School, 7777 18th Street, Burnaby, BC. Registration is due by May 13, at https://www.learnkendo.org/vancouver-taikai/
Please note, registration fees and bento fee are now separate this year (Vancouver club will not sell
bento on tournament day). $12 per Bento (Donburi style lunch + water). Registered shinpan will get a free
bento (both competing and non-competing shinpan). The entry fees for competitors are as follows: $16 per
Junior Participants (15 and under), $20 per Senior Participants (16 and over). Tournament Categories: 9 Years
& Under (modified based on number of participants), 10-12 Years, 13-15 Years, 16-20 Years, 21-30 Years, 31-40
Years, 41 & Over, Womens (16+), Junior Team, Senior Team.

6/14-6/15-6/16: 12th Annual US Nito Kendo Summer Camp, Fri/Sat/Sun, College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho.
We are pleased to have the following sensei attend this year's camp:
Ryoichi FUJII, Kyoshi 8 dan, Yamaguchi Japan
Yoshihiro UGAJIN,Kyoshi 7 dan, Tokyo Japan
Futoshi SATO, Kyoshi 7 dan, Chiba Japan
Mitsuyoshi WADA, Renshi 7 dan, Tokyo Japan
Hisashi NAGASAKI, Renshi 7 dan, Oita Japan
Ako FUJII, Renshi 7 dan, Yamaguchi Japan

6/22: Rose City Taikai, Sat, Conestoga Recreation and Aquatic Center, 9985 S.W. 125th Avenue, Beaverton, Oregon 97008.

6/27-7/1: AUSKF Iaido Seminar, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.

7/6-7/13: North American Women’s Kendo Tournament and Seminar, led by Kendo Renshi 7th Dan Chinatsu Maruyama, five time All Japan Champion, Seminar 7/6-7/11 Sat-Thu, Championship 7/13 Sat, https://womenskendo.com/

7/20: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.

7/28: Toubukan International Friendship Kendo Summer Practice, Sun, 9am-3pm, Toubukan Dojo, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan.

8/10: PNKF Kendo Shinsa, Sat, TBD.

9/14: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.

9/27-9/29: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Tournament, and Shinsa.

10/5: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.

10/19: Tacoma Taikai.

11/2: PNKF Taikai, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.

11/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting.

11/10: AUSKF Kodansha Shinsa.

11/16: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.

12/7: Kent Taikai, Sat, TBD, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.

TEAM PNKF HEAD COACH IS ELIZABETH MARSTEN

At their May 4, 2019 meeting the PNKF Board elected Kendo Renshi 6th Dan Elizabeth Marsten Head Coach of Team
PNKF for the 2020 AUSKF Championships. The PNKF Head Coach oversees the assistant coaches of the men’s, women’s,
and juniors’ Teams. For years she was the PNKF Advisor to UW, and has competed in many events, including at the
World Kendo Championships in 2000, and in 2003, when her Team won the bronze medal in Glasgow, Scotland. She
captained the PNKF Womens’ Team which won second place at the 2017 AUSKF Championships in San Jose, California.

TOUBUKAN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP KENDO SUMMER PRACTICE

In the early Meiji Era, Toubukan Dojo inherited Hokushin Ittouryu, the origin of the modern Kendo. Takaharu
Naito Sensei, who was sent to Kyoto Budo Senmon Gakko (Busen) from Toubukan, later produced many Kendo instructors.
Through them, Kendo was introduced to the rest of the world. Gordon Warner Sensei, who taught Kendo in the USA,
and with Junzo Sasamori Sensei wrote This Is Kendo, also spent time at Toubukan, which appears in his book.
Practicing Kendo at this historical Dojo in Japan would be an unforgettable experience.

Program:

Opening
Demonstration – Iai
- Hokushin Ittouryu
- Shin Tamiyaryu
- Naginata
Kodansha Tachiai
Keiko

Purpose: To nurture friendship through Kendo (Kou Ken Chi Ai).
They are keen to hold a friendship Kendo match/keiko inviting Kendoists from overseas. Our friend Katsunori
Osuga Sensei has practiced extensively overseas, including here in the PNKF, so they asked him to check if anyone
is interested to come. The cost for the trip and stay in Japan will have to be borne by the participants. It will
be held on Sunday, July 28, 2019, in Mito City, which is a two-hour bus ride from Narita. Practicing Kendo in this
famous traditional Dojo will be an unforgettable experience. toubukan.or.jp
Since time is pressed for planning, please let Osuga Sensei know if anyone is interested to come. The number of
participants is not limited. Osuga Sensei’s address is: katsunoriosuga@hotmail.com

PASSAGE

Four people related to our Kendo community have left us in recent days.

Ruby Ayako Yasui, the widow of the late head sensei of Seattle Kendo Kai, Kiyoshi Yasui, passed away peacefully on
April 3, 2019. Born February 17, 1921 in Lingle, Wyoming, she moved to Seattle with her family, where she lived
for over 70 years. Yasui Sensei predeceased her in 2012, and she is survived by sons Kenneth (Joann), Ronald,
daughter Alice, and grandchildren Shawn and Timmy.

Lorraine Kathleen Sako Pai lost a protracted battle with glioblastoma, including surgery, and following that a
devastating massive stroke. When we were encouraged by Peter Mizuki to begin Kendo in early 1979, a key person
Peter introduced us to was Lorraine, and for our 50th birthday in June 1981, she presented us with a professional
landscape drawing of the pond which is still gracing the southeast corner of the garden. At UW Lorraine studied
Landscape Architecture under Kenichi Nakano, and went on to study landscaping and garden building in Kyoto. With a
profound sense of social justice and advocacy, her life became deeply centered and involved in the Chinatown
International District and the intense programs of the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.
Her friends and allies included Cathy Honda Inouye, Mari Watanabe, Susie Kozawa, Manuel Cawaling, Frank Abe, Corky
Lee, Alan Chong Lau, Kazuko Nakane, Mayumi Oda, Stuart and Renko Dempster, Trisha Tsutakawa, Lori Matsukawa, Yoko
Murao, Sharon Maeda, Andy Mizuki, Dean Wong, Ken Mochizuki, Sharon Tomiko Santos, the late Donny Chin and Bob
Santos, to name but a few. A contributing author to the International Examiner, an organizer in the Pride movement,
an actor who played the mother in the film International House of Feet, and helped design, lead, and build the
Danny Woo Community Garden, she was introduced to artist John Pai by Ron Chew, who also officiated at their
marriage November 17, 1996. She died at home in the presence of her husband and daughters April 4, 2019. She is
survived by her beloved husband John, daughters Mirabai and Naima, sisters Elaine Posey and Melanie Sako, and
parents Saburo and Lillian Sako.

Ray Murao Sensei’s mother Kimiyo Murao, born in Steveston, BC, passed away peacefully on March 23, 2019, at the age
of 93, surrounded by her loving family. She was predeceased by parents Yasutaro and Miwa, daughter Toshimi, sister
Miwako and daughter-in-law Anne, and is survived by and will be dearly missed by her husband of 72 years, Toshio;
children, Kay (Kelvin), Ray, Louise (Peter), Ken (Janet), Joyce (Randy) and Dick (Debbie); 13 grandchildren and 6
great-grandchildren; sisters Chiyoko, Yachiyo, and Sazare; and many nieces and nephews.

As reported in a courtesy note from his sister Mrs. Mildred James, Highline member from the 1980s and continuing
Kenyu reader Jack Glen-don Nuckolls had died at age 84 on November 3, 2018. Jack was born November 29, 1933 in
Colusa County, California. He was a retired police officer, remembered for his quiet, unassuming steadiness.

43rd ANNIVERSARY HIGHLINE CHALLENGE CUP – March 16, 2019, White Center

Yudansha                                 Mudansha
1st place – K. Underhill, Northwest      1st place – B. Wong, UW
2nd place – B. Park, Bellevue            2nd place – L. Gao, UW
3rd place – S. Enomoto, Kent             3rd place – T. Miyamoto, Northwest
3rd place – C. Chan, Highline            3rd place – A. Rossi, Spokane

Teams
1st place - UW, 39 points 2nd place – Bellevue, 26 points

Shinpan Sho - Jeffrey Marsten, Highline
Sportsmanship Pledge – Nancy Harris, Highline

23rd HARVARD/RADCLIFFE SHORYUHAI INTERCOLLEGIATE KENDO TOURNAMENT – March 23/24, 2019

Individuals
1st place – Akira Fujii, UW
2nd place – Sungha Park, Columbia
3rd place – Victor Peng, NYU
3rd place – Gen Takahashi, UCLA

Teams

1st place - UW (Jason Nguyen, Leo Gao, Akira Fujii, Jane Higa, Brian Wong)
2nd place – UCSD (Angel Sambo, Kimi Sugino, Richard Garcia, Stephen Chang, Takashi Yubata)
3rd place – Stony Brook U A (Kyle Madison, J. Bolusi, Joshua Cho, Jirou Takahashi Duffy, Shay Hohokabe)
3rd place – UC Riverside A (Stanley Zhao, Noah Kim, Reid Watanabe, Robert Leevarinpanich, Andrew Gruhn)
Also 1st place in the round robin – Mixed A (Andrew Hamilton from Drexel, Jason Kuo, Elysia Midorikawa, Abby Tan, Keeley McManus)

9th AUSKF JUNIOR OPEN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – April 6, 2019, Cumming, Georgia

9 Years and Under                    10-11 Years
1st place – Luke Ido, SCKO           1st place – Kaiyu Sugiyama, SCKO
2nd place – Yamato Kongo, SCKF       2nd place – Kento Seto, ECUSKF
3rd place – So Otsuru, ECUSKF        3rd place – Issey Lancelot, NCKF
3rd place – Lei Tomatsu, SCKF        3rd place – Koki Mori, SCKO

Kantosho – Masahiro Otani, SCKO      Kantosho – Akimasa Hotta, ECUSKF
Kantosho – Bailey Shinada SCKF       Kantosho – Jioh Yun, AEUSKF
Kantosho – Jorge Rincon-Hayashi,     GNEUSKF Kantosho – Masamune Seki, ECUSKF
Kantosho – Takuma Sakuno, MWKF       Kantosho – Yoshihiko Shimada, SCKO

12-13 Years                          14-15 Years
1st place – Taro Ariga, SCKO         1st place – Tomohide Katayama, ECUSKF
2nd place – Eisuki Koike, ECUSKF     2nd place – Keita Tanabe, NCKF
3rd place – Keigo Ishida, MWKF       3rd place – Jonathan Huang, NCKF
3rd place – Jonathan Yu, Northwest   3rd place – Dave Nam, SCKF
Kantosho – Hugo Mizuhashi, SCKF      Kantosho – Jeffrey Choi, SCKF
Kantosho – Shosuke Arai, MWKF        Kantosho – Danny Chang, Cascade
Kantosho – Taisho Shiono, SCKF       Kantosho – Josh Kim, Federal Way
Kantosho – Alec Yuen, Seattle        Kantosho – Fumihiko Shimada, SCKO

16-18 Years                          13 Years and Under Girls
1st place – Tylor Wang, WKF          1st place – Sarang “Rachael” Yoon, AEUSKF
2nd place - Riki Okawa, SCKO         2nd place – Juah Paik, Tacoma
3rd place – Tyler Chao, WKF          3rd place – Shion Okawa, SEUSKF
3rd place – Elden Chao, WKF          3rd place – Miori Kino, AEUSKF
Kantosho – Changhao Hou              Kantosho – Stephanie Tada, SCKF
Kantosho – Tomoki Horiuchi, ECUSKF   Kantosho – Mai Sakamoto, SCKO
Kantosho – Musashi Clark, SEUSKF     Kantosho – Kanon Saito, SCKF
Kantosho – Daichi Sakuma, MKF        Kantosho – Kirsten Choi, MKF

14-18 Years Girls
1st place – Daphne Chen, SCKF
2nd place – Manami Hayashi, SCKF
3rd place – Sochiko Jinnaka, GNEUKF
3rd place – Hinako Yokohagi, AEUSKF
Kantosho – Catherine Ikeda, NCKF
Kantosho – Aika Onitsuka, NCKF
Kantosho – Emi Ichimura, NCKF
Kantosho – Carolyne Ikeda, NCKF

Youth Team                   Boys Team               Girls Team
1st place – ECUSKF A         1st place – SCKF A      1st place - SCKF A
2nd place – SCKO A           2nd place – SCKO A      2nd place - PNKF A (Maya Blechschmidt, Isabella Lee, Betty Park)
3rd place – SCKF B           3rd place – GNEUSKF B   3rd place – NCKF B
3rd place – SCKF A           3rd place – WKF B       3rd place – SCKO

43rd ANNUAL UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON INVITATIONAL KENDO TOURNAMENT – April 6, 2019

Women's                                  0-4 Kyu
1st place – W. Robillard, Steveston      1st place – S. Dang, UW
2nd place – K. Darbyshire, Vancouver     2nd place – R. Wang, UW
3rd place – M. Suzuki, Sno-King          3rd place – X. Liang, UW
3rd place – N. Grimes, Sno-King          3rd place – R. Long, UBC

3-1 Kyu                                  1-2 Dan
1st place – T. Miyamoto, Northwest       1st place – D. Yao, Steveston
2nd place – C. Slater, UW                2nd place – S. O’Sullivan, Steveston
3rd place – L. Gao, UW                   3rd place – E. Chui, Steveston
3rd place – A. Yorita, UW                3rd place – P. Lee, Steveston

3 Dan                                    4 Dan and Above
1st place – K. Nakaya, Portland          1st place – K. Unzei, UBC
2nd place – J. Ocada, Cascade            2nd place – T. Hamanaka, UBC
3rd place – B. Lin, Highline             3rd place – R. Asato, Vancouver
3rd place – F. Wessbecher, Highline      3rd place – SH Jung, Vancouver

Teams
1st place - UBC (E. Cheng, Y. Chen, C. Chiang, K. Unzei, T. Hamanaka)
2nd place - Kent (I. Morgan, K. McManus, J. Frazier-Day, T. McManus, S. Day)

Head Shinpan - David Yotsuuye
Taikai Chair – Jason Nguyen
Sportsmanship Pledge – Jane Higa
UW Most Improved – Abby Tan
Kazuo and Tomo Shoji Inspirational Award – Jane Higa

2019 WKF CHAMPIONSHIP – April 28, 2019, John Burroughs High School, Burbank

10 and Under                            11-12 Years
1st place – Luke Ido, Gardena           1st place – Taiyo Ariga, Butokuden
2nd place – Masahiro Otani, Butokuden   2nd place – Yoshihiko Shimada, Gardena
3rd place – Jonathan Lee, Jungnoo       3rd place – Euvene Kae, Ildo
3rd place – Christian Kawano, Torrance  3rd place – Nathan Park, Jungmoo

13-15 Years                             16-18 Years
1st place – Eugene Kae, Ildo            1st place – Riki Okawa, Long Beach
2nd place – Brandon Cho, Jo-Chun        2nd place – Shinnosuke Mizutamari, Gardena
3rd place – Han Yi, Las Vegas           3rd place – Nathan Lee, Ildo
3rd place – Haru Sakamoto, OSULA        3rd place – Elden Chao, Ildo

Girls 18 and Under                      Adult Kyu
1st place – Kotone Ariga, Butokuden     1st place – Fei Ou, Butokuden
2nd place – Seowoo Hong, La Canada      2nd place – Abraham Ruiz, Torrance
3rd place – Seo Young Hong, La Canada   3rd place – Jai Park, Las Vegas
3rd place – Cassie Kim, Jo-Chun         3rd place – Ki Wan Kim, UCLA

Women's                                 Senior
1st place – Sunmi Lim, Jungmoo          1st place – George Lee, Jo-Chun
2nd place – Ryoko Sato, Gardena         2nd place – Atsushi Kajioka, West LA
3rd place – Isabel Lorimer, Butokuden   3rd place – Michael Yoon, Tustin
3rd place – Haruna Ariga, Butokuden     3rd place – Dongsuk Park, Tustin

1-3 Dan                                 4th Dan and Up
1st place – Daniel Lee, Ildo            1st place – Munik Zo, Las Vegas
2nd place – Brendan Wang, Ildo          2nd place – Kenneth Song, Las Vegas
3rd place – Tylor Wang, Ildo            3rd place – Julian Williams, Torrance
3rd place – Jonathan Han, Las Vegas     3rd place – Arashi Steele, Torrance

Women’s Team Best 3
1st place – Butokuden A (Isabelle Lorimer, Filipa Ab Borges, Haruna Ariga)
2nd place – La Canada (SW Hong, S. Hong, HS Kim)
3rd place – Gardena (Shiori Segawa, Yumi Nagakashi, Ryoko Sato)
3rd place – Jo-Chun
Team Best 5
1st place – Torrance
2nd place – Ildo A
3rd place – La Canada
3rd place – Butokuden A (Steve Hsueh, Sean Park, Howard Kim, Justin Park, Taiyo Ariga)

SHINKYU SHINSA

AUSKF KODANSHA SHINSA, April 14, 2019, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac

5TH DAN: An Giang (PNKF), Noelle Elizabeth Grimes (PNKF), Bryan Yoshio Imanishi (PNKF), Nozomu Ishimori SEUSKF),
Jason Kim (SCKO), Suhyun Kim (AEUSKF), Younhwa Ko (AEUSKF), Sayaka Masuko (AEUSKF), Motoya Nakamura (PNKF), Ryo
Nameshida (AEUSKF), Hiromi Akaya Robinson (SEUSKF), Victor Shin (SCKO).
6TH DAN: Tomohiko Hayashi (MWKF), Robert Gene Peterson (MWKF).
7TH DAN: Shuntaro Shinada (SCKF), Kotaro Yoshida (MWKF).
RENSHI: Agustin Dionicio Martinez (NCKF), Elizabeth A. Marsten (PNKF), Naoaki Tanimura (PNKF).

PNKF IAIDO SHINSA, April 13, 2019, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Seattle

3RD KYU: Maurice E. Benas III (Tonbo).
2ND KYU: Shamina Chang (SUSKIF), Derek Reynolds (Alaska), James Thorne (AiShinKai).
1ST KYU: Abigail Benoit (Tonbo), Brian Burton (AiShinKai), Michi Kaifu (San Mateo/Palo Alto), Teran Manuel
(AiShinKai).
1ST DAN: Adam Clark (AiShinKai).
2ND DAN: Mikako Burton (Musokai), Khoi Duong (Musokai), Sean Horita (Musokai).
3RD DAN: Ahmed Gaballa El Sayed (Shidogakuin Miami), Steven Touchi (Palo Alto).

SCKO KENDO SHINSA, April 21, 2019, Butokuden, Irvine

3RD KYU: Insiya Bambot (UCLA), Heng Chen (UCLA).
1ST KYU: Kiwan Kim (UCLA), Akira Suzuki (UCLA).
1ST DAN: Steven Yang (UCLA).
3RD DAN: Hana Luciana Ariga (Butokuden), Isabelle Lorimer (Butokuden), Kimi Wang (UCLA).
4TH DAN: Daisuke Furukawa (UCLA).

THE LAST WORD

Once an intake sergeant came to me with a picture of a lady. He said one of the old soldiers who had just been
inducted a couple of days before had the photograph in his wallet. It was typical that the old soldiers were
harassed for trivial things. To try to “shape them up,” they were given a “Binta,” a hard whack on both sides of
the face. But taking the picture was psychological cruelty. I called for the old man and asked him to identify the
lady. “My wife,” he answered softly, shaking because he thought I would give him another Binta. “Okay.” I said.
“Put this back in your wallet and go back to your bunk.” Then I called the soldier who had taken the picture from
the old man. I reprimanded him, and came close to calling him a bully. “Don’t do that to the soldiers. They have
the right to carry their wives’ pictures in their wallets,” I barked. “And before you give Binta to any of them,
see me first. I want to know why, and it better be a good reason!” Long after the War when I was living in Matsue,
this nameless old soldier found me and came to thank me.
Early spring, 1945, I had full responsibility for the welfare of my troops; all were novices, the very young and
the elderly. My troop consisted of four six-cylinder Toyota trucks, and four squads, a total of eighteen soldiers
including two sergeants, a driver, an assistant, and two flaggers. We were assigned to serve in Kochi City in Kochi
Prefecture on Shikoku Island. We rarely stayed in the city, however, and usually camped in scattered places on the
hillside surrounding the city.
Our mission was tough, beginning before dawn and ending late at night; some days we worked around the clock. Our
rations were minimal, and we were always hungry, but we kept on moving and rested only when we were completely
exhausted. We cut and loaded logs from the mountains with no towing tools of any kind, and then hauled them to the
Kochi shoreline to furnish barricade materials for the infantry soldiers protecting the Japanese Mainland from
invasion. The Allies were at our borders. On the return trip, we hauled food and supplies from the Kochi warehouse
for redistribution to the farmers’ warehouses located throughout the hills. Food was critical and in this way we
tried to avoid losing all our supplies to bombs and create more access points.
We kept moving through the dark one night, long after we all wanted and severely needed to rest. One of the
sergeants asked me to allow the soldiers to sleep in the shoreline warehouse, where we had stopped for a few

minutes after loading for the return trip. The warehouse was now half empty and seemed luxurious compared to our
usual sleeping conditions. I rejected the request and after a rest of only a few minutes, started up the hill with
very unhappy soldiers. About midway, we heard B-52 bombers flying over very high, but they didn’t drop any bombs.
“Turn off the lights,” I ordered, “and sleep right where you are!” Shortly thereafter, from way out in the Pacific,
a swarm of P-151’s sprayed some kind of liquid flame accelerant on the Kochi warehouse. Then the second line
dropped flare bombs. In seconds the entire warehouse exploded, lighting the shoreline of Kochi. They ignored our
little convoy, or perhaps never spotted us. No one complained about lack of sleep that night! Once again, luck was
with us.
–Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 37-38. 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

Posted in Kenyu

Kenyu – Jan/Feb 2019

Posted on 2019/03/14 by omb

Volume 33, number 1/2

January/February 2019

PNKF DATEBOOK

March 2019

3/9: PNKF Jodan Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, featuring Kendo Renshi 6th Dan Harry Samkange, Bitter Lake Community Center (small gym), Sno-King Kendo Club, 3052 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle, WA 98133.
3/16: Highline Taikai, Sat, doors open 8:30am, opening ceremonies 9:30am, White Center Community Center, 1321 SW 102nd Street, Seattle.
3/23: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
3/23-24: Harvard-Radcliffe Kendo Club 23rd Annual Harvard Shoryuhai Intercollegiate Kendo Tournament, Sat-Sun.

April 2019

4/6: AUSKF Junior Open National Championships, Sat, South Forsyth High School, 585 Peachtree Parkway, Cumming, Georgia 30041 http://auskf-jrnationals.com/.
4/6: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake Boulevard NE.
4/13: PNKF Iaido Seminar and Shinsa, Sat, 9am-4pm, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Gym (Seattle Kendo Kai), 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
4/13-14: AUSKF Board meeting, Sat-Sun. Hotel is Radisson, 18118 International Blvd, Seatac, WA 98188. Gym for Saturday evening Godo Keiko 5-7pm, is Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street
4/14: AUSKF Kodansha Shinsa, Sun, 11am-5pm, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.
4/20: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake Boulevard NE.
4/21: Cherry Blossom demo, Sun, TBD, Seattle Center.
4/??: Vancouver Taikai, Sat, TBD.

May 2019

5/4: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
5/18: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, Highland Park Community Center.

June 2019

6/14-6/15-6/16: 12th Annual US Nito Kendo Summer Camp, Fri/Sat/Sun, College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho.
We are pleased to have the following sensei attend this year’s camp:
Ryoichi FUJII, Kyoshi 8 dan, Yamaguchi Japan
Yoshihiro UGAJIN,Kyoshi 7 dan, Tokyo Japan
Futoshi SATO, Kyoshi 7 dan, Chiba Japan
Mitsuyoshi WADA, Renshi 7 dan, Tokyo Japan
Hisashi NAGASAKI, Renshi 7 dan, Oita Japan
Ako FUJII, Renshi 7 dan, Yamaguchi Japan
6/22: Rose City Taikai, Sat, location TBD, Portland.
6/27-7/1: AUSKF Iaido Seminar, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.

July 2019

7/6-7/13: North American Women’s Kendo Tournament and Seminar, led by Kendo Renshi 7th Dan Chinatsu Maruyama, five time All Japan Champion, Seminar 7/6-7/11 Sat-Thu, Championship 7/13 Sat, https://womenskendo.com/
7/20: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
7/28: Toubukan International Friendship Kendo Summer Practice, Sun, 9am-3pm, Toubukan Dojo, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan.

August 2019

8/10: PNKF Kendo Shinsa, Sat, TBD.

September 2019

9/14: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
9/27-9/29: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Tournament, and Shinsa.

October 2019

10/5: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.
10/19: Tacoma Taikai.

November 2019

11/2: PNKF Taikai, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.
11/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting.
11/10: AUSKF Kodansha Shinsa.
11/16: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.

December 2019

12/7: Kent Taikai, Sat, TBD, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.

TOUBUKAN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP KENDO SUMMER PRACTICE.

In the early Meiji Era, Toubukan Dojo inherited Hokushin Ittouryu, the origin of the modern Kendo. Takaharu Naito Sensei, who was sent to Kyoto Budo Semmon Gakko (Busen) from Toubukan, later produced many Kendo instructors. Through them, Kendo was introduced to the rest of the world. Gordon Warner Sensei, who taught Kendo in the USA, and with Junzo Sasamori Sensei wrote This Is Kendo, also spent time at Toubukan, which appears in his book. Practicing Kendo at this historical Dojo in Japan would be an unforgettable experience.

Program:  1) Opening
          2) Demonstration - Iai
                           - Hokushin Ittouryu
                           - Shin Tamiyaryu
                           - Naginata
          3) Kodansha Tachiai
          4) Keiko

Purpose: To nurture friendship through Kendo (Kou Ken Chi Ai).

They are keen to hold a friendship Kendo match/keiko inviting Kendoists from overseas. Our friend Katsunori Osuga Sensei has practiced extensively overseas, including here in the PNKF, so they asked him to check if anyone is interested to come. The cost for the trip and stay in Japan will have to be borne by the participants. It will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2019, in Mito City, which is a two-hour bus ride from Narita. Practicing Kendo in this famous traditional Dojo will be an unforgettable experience. toubukan.or.jp

Since time is pressed for planning, please let Osuga Sensei know if anyone is interested to come. The number of participants is not limited. Osuga Sensei’s address is: katsunoriosuga@hotmail.com

14th ANNUAL PACIFIC INTERCOLLEGIATE TOURNAMENT – January 19, 2019, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC


Non-Bogu                             2nd Kyu and Below
1st place – Daniel Vera, UBC         1st place – Brian Wong, UW
2nd place – Jiho Kim, SFU            2nd place – Espen Hellevik, UW
3rd place – Lily Zhang, UBC          3rd place – Abby Tan, UW

1st Kyu                              Shodan and Above
1st place – Tyas Kinati, UBC         1st place – Akira Fujii, UW
2nd place – David Wu, Langara        2nd place – Jane Higa, UW
3rd place – Jason Tang, Langara      3rd place – Michael Hong, SFU

Seniors 2nd Dan and Above
1st place – Ryota Kuki, Langara
2nd place – Tsuyoshi Hamanaka, UBC 
3rd place – Kentaro Komoto, UBC

University Team
1st place – UW1 (Jason Nguyen, Jane Higa, Akira Fujii, Elysia Midorikawa, Leo Gao)
2nd place - SFU (Sean Lu, Will Wu, Gina Gu, Gene Ju, Michael Hong)
3rd place – UBC (Tyas Kinanti, Kanami Suzuki, Rory Long, Lily Ruan, Sara Lowes)
3rd place – UW2 (Brian Wong, Espen Hellevik, Abby Tan, Esther Law, Connor Mulcahey)

Senior Team
1st place – UBC (Ellis Cheng, Andrew Chen, Kentaro Komoto, Joon Young Suk, Tsuyoshi Hamanaka)
2nd place – Langara (David Wu, Jason Tang, Noel Gardiner, Anthony Lee, Ryuta Kuki)

Fighting Spirit Award
Rory Long, UBC and Lily Ruan, UBC

Ted Davis Fighting Spirit Award
Gina Gu, SFU

2019 EAST COAST OPEN IAIDO TAIKAI – February 17,2019, CERC (Community Education and Recreation Center), Jersey City, NJ


Mudansha A                             Mudansha B
1st place – A. Zheng, Ken-Zen          1st place – P. Markunas, Ken-Zen
2nd place – S. Hess, Ken-Zen           2nd place – L. Thauvin, Ken-Zen
3rd place – P. Kim, Cherry Hill        3rd place – S. Stadtlander-Miller, Ken-Zen
3rd place – K. Ng, SeiZan              3rd place – C. Colbert, Ittokai
 Kantosho – Y. Seong, Cherry Hill       Kantosho – D. Darlington, Shidogakuin

Shodan                                 Nidan
1st place – D. Song, Ken-Zen           1st place – M. Buonadonna, Shidogakuin
2nd place – R. Higham, Ken-Zen         2nd place – H. Cousin, SeiZan
3rd place – J. Chen, Nichibukan        3rd place – F. Domingo, MuMonKai CKF
3rd place – P. Kim, Doshikai           3rd place – A. Milton, Ken-Zen
 Kantosho – C. Merizalde, Shidokan CKF  Kantosho – K. Kolodij, RaiUnKai CKF

Sandan                                 Yondan
1st place – W. Wagler, Kenshokan CKF   1st place – K. Miyamori, Ken-Zen
2nd place – W. Gallo, SeiZan           2nd place – D. Yang, Cherry Hill
3rd place – M. Botey, Doshikai         3rd place – J. Ni, Hichibukan
3rd place – S. Lee Goyne, Shidokan CKF 3rd place – S. Corchado, Nichibukan
 Kantosho – C. Matchuk, MuMonKai CKF    Kantosho – T. Furuta, Ittokai

Godan
1st place – P. Suen, MuMonKaiCKF
2nd place – P. Shin, Shidogakuin
3rd place – G. Hall, Zen-Ken
3rd place – M. Hodge, MuMonKai CKF
 Kantosho – S. Naji, Shidogakuin

57th ANNUAL STEVESTON KENDO TOURNAMENT – February 23, 2019, Hugh McRoberts Secondary School, Richmond, BC


10 Years and Under                   11 to 13 Years                       14 to 15 Years
1st place – L. Ido, Butokuden        1st place – J. Yu, Northwest         1st place – K. Underhill, Northwest
2nd place – Y. Onitsuka,NCKF         2nd place – R. Ido, Butokuden        2nd place – A. Son, Renbu
3rd place – K. Yoshimura, Renbu      3rd place – F. Benson, Youshinkan    3rd place – J. Kim, Federal Way
3rd place – D. Buckham, UVic         3rd place – N. Son, Renbu            3rd place – C. Robillard, Steveston

0-4 Kyu                              1-3 Kyu                              Women 1 Dan and Under
1st place – B. Wong, UW              1st place – L. Gao, UW               1st place – T. Huang, UVic
2nd place – S. Dan, UW               2nd place – A. Yorita, UW            2nd place – A. Tan, UW
3rd place – J. Kuo, UW               3rd place – A. Rose, Renfrew         3rd place – N. Harris, Highline
3rd place – J. Lee, UW               3rd place – J. Peters, Edmonds       3rd place – K. Onosato, Calgary

Women 2 Dan and Over                 1-2 Dan                              3 Dan
1st place – M. Kitamura, Butokuden   1st place – S. O’Sullivan, Steveston 1st place – A. Fujii, UW
2nd place – B. Park, Bellevue        2nd place – D. Yao, Steveston        2nd place – I. Miki, Steveston
3rd place – C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan  3rd place – S. Suda, Renbu           3rd place – H. Shim, Renbu
3rd place – H. Yamada, Vancouver     3rd place – R. Koyama, Vancouver     3rd place – M. Uto, NCKF

4 Dan and Above
1st place – K. Lee, Chinook
2nd place – K. Unzei, Aoi
3rd place – D. Ara, Renbu
3rd place – R. Asato, Vancouver

Junior Team                                    Senior Team
1st place - Butokuden (L.Edo,T.Miyamoto,       1st place - Hawaii (B.Fukutomi,C.Goodin,
             S.Imura,R.Ido,T.Ariga)                         D.Miura,G.Matsubayashi,G.Matsumoto)
2nd place – Steveston A (R.Nakano,C.Robillard, 2nd place - Youshinkan (K.Takeuchi,A.Xie,
             J.Hung,A.Chang,B.Miki)                         K.Kobayashi,J.Chien,C.Takeuchi)
3rd place - Northwest (N.Underhill,J.Yu,       3rd place - NCKF (K.Fukumoto,M.Uto,
             K.Underhill,J.Kim,T.Ting)                      K.Hamayama,M.Jao,S.Choi)
3rd place – Renbu B (N.Son,K.Yoshimura,        3rd place - Butokuden (R.Okawa,H.Ariga,
             Y.Kawabe,L.Cheung,I.Son)                       M.Kitamura,K.Ariga,T.Ariga)
Sportsmanship Pledge - Elliott Chui

16TH KENSHIKAN KENDO CLUB TOURNAMENT IN MEMORY OF SHIGEO YOSHINAGA AND KATSUMI YAMADA, March 3, 2019, Manoa District Park Gym, Oahu, Hawaii


Novice                    Yonenbu                       Shonenbu                      Seinenbu
1st place – Jesse Jong    1st place – Maiki Uda         1st place – Caden Matsumoto   1st place – Joshua Simpkins
2nd place – Andrew Kim    2nd place – Kosuke Toeda      2nd place – Zachary Yamamoto  2nd place – Neil Shimabukuro
3rd place – Kanon Park    3rd place – Andrew Tomas      3rd place – Brandyn Matsumoto 3rd place – Gariel Hart

1-2 Dan                   Women’s Open                  3 Dan                         4 Dan and Above
1st place – Yunsang Park  1st place – Mari Shiveley     1st place – Daiki Miura       1st place – Hyun Kim
2nd place – Andy Cheng    2nd place – Malia Stachiewicz 2nd place – Taiyo Kanemitsu   2nd place – Jack Yamada
3rd place – Kai Kikishita 3rd place – Tina Kaku         3rd place – Nicklas Matsumoto 3rd place – Billy Kang

Masters                   5 Man Team
1st place – David Kikau   1st place – Kenshikan A
2nd place – Bert Shibuya  2nd place – Aiea Taiheji
3rd place – Carl Nakamura

Katsumi Yamada Kantosho Award – Malia Stachiewicz

SHINKYU SHINSA


AUSKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 11, 2018, Dallas, Texas
5TH DAN:  Hiroki Fukui (ECUSKF).
7TH DAN:  Brandon Harada (SCKF), Yutaro Matsuura (MWKF), Song Choi Yang (SCKF).
 RENSHI:  Nathan Makino (SCKO), Song Choi Yang (SCKF).
 KYOSHI:  Brandon Harada (SCKF), Christopher Yang (SCKF).

PNKF KENDO SHINSA, February 16, 2019, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, Washington


6TH KYU:  Hideaki Ito (Bellevue), Owen Kaufman (Portland), Emerson Lau (Bellevue).
5TH KYU:  Keegan Hirata (Federal Way) Truman Lau (Bellevue), DongYun Ryu (Cascade), Jonathan Yu (Northwest), Rina Yuan (Bellevue).
4TH KYU:  Issei DeBlieck (Sno-King), Seohee Jeon (Bellevue), Anthony Kelsey (Edmonds), Timothy Kim (Northwest), Tory Kim (Northwest), 
Juah Paik (Tacoma), DongHyun Ryu (Cascade), Shiori Tano (Obukan), Daniel Theophanes (Obukan). 
3RD KYU:  Thabit Ahmed (Edmonds), Lucas Bobadilla (OSU), Jeremy Chu (Bellevue), Devin Chung (Cascade), Aaron Fung (Seattle), 
Ashley Garr (Cascade), Lucian Jesequel (Obukan), Alex Kim (Bellevue), Yeoun Hee Kim (Bellevue), Jason Kuo (UW), Alexander Lam (Bellevue), 
Ethan Law (Portland), Juno Lee (UW), Maoyang Li (Bellevue), Dorrit Lin (UW), Emily McCracken (Bellevue), Mara Poor (Tacoma), Sung Won Ryu (Cascade), 
Daniel Shilov (Highline), Conrad Slater (UW), Hoeun Son (Federal Way), Dan Terao (Cascade), Brian Wong (UW).
2ND KYU:  Matheus (Kai) Bandur (Honda) (Cascade), Danny Chung (Cascade), Espen Hellevik (UW), Esther Law (UW), Taiki Miyamoto (Northwest), 
Connor Mulcahy (UW), Kate Rice (Portland), Neo Smith (Bellevue), Willard Wiseman (OSU), Derek Woodward (Everett), Zhaoyuan Xu (UW), Brandon Yorker (Kent).
1ST KYU:  Robin Allen (Portland), Yue Chen (Seattle), Justin Davis (Northwest), Helen Fukuda (Cascade), Tom Fukuda (Cascade), 
Leo Gao (UW), Yuning Gao (OSU), Kyle Hale (Seattle), Noah Larson (Federal Way), Isabella Lee (Federal Way), Gen Li (OSU), 
Krystal McIntosh (Federal Way), Matt Miyamoto (Northwest), Nagato Orita (Seattle), Jin Pak (Northwest) Emilio Peralta (Obukan), 
Jonah Redaja (Edmonds), Dan Rosanova (Seattle), Michele Soleimani (Portland), Suepapone Vanasouk (Cascade), Anthony Yorita (UW).
1ST DAN:  Kamia Acoba (Everett), James Faulkner (Edmonds), Jin Ho Jeon (Bellevue), Josh Kim (Federal Way), Daniel Lee (Tacoma), 
Simon Lee (Federal Way).
2ND DAN:  John Kliem (Tacoma), Yuriko Lee (Obukan), Hien Nguyen (Edmonds), Bryant Pae (Northwest), Young-ki Paik (Tacoma), 
Edward Park (Sno-King), Shun Wetlesen (Obukan).
3RD DAN:  Nicholas Cook (Portland), Trinh Ho (Northwest), Van Le (Obukan), Mahya Okita (Seattle), Jason Yu (Northwest).
4TH DAN:  Taryn Imanishi (Cascade), BumSoo Lee (Bellevue), Richard Lei (Seattle), Takao Yamashita (Seattle).

2019 EAST COAST IAIDO SHINSA, February 17, 2019, CERC (Community Education and Recreation Center), Jersey City, NJ


4TH KYU:  E. Kwak (Cherry Hill), J. Kwak (Cherry Hill), S. Kwak (Cherry Hill).
3RD KYU:  J. Burton (Wahsinkan), A. Fromqel (Shidogakui), J. Kwak Jr (Cherry Hill), D. Lin (Cherry Hill), Zhuoran Long (Ken-Zen), 
C. Lu (Cherry Hill), S. Scherr (Agassiz), Y. Seong (Cherry Hill), Tom Wendling (Ken-Zen), A. Zheng (Ken-Zen).
2ND KYU:  P. Kim (Cherry Hill), I. Kuznetsova (Shidogakui), J. Kwak Sr (Cherry Hill), D. Ovsyannikov (Nichibukan), E. Seong (Cherry Hill).
1ST KYU:  Sean Hess (Ken-Zen), K. Ng (SeiZan), J. Xie (Cherry Hill).
1ST DAN:  SC Bang (Cherry Hill), C. Colbert (Ittokai), D. Darlington (Shidogakuin), K Ding (Cherry Hill), Nathalie Jaspar (Ken-Zen), 
C. Kim (Cherry Hill), Philip Markunas (Ken-Zen), Joshua Stadtlander-Miller (Ken-Zen), Louis Thauvin (Ken-Zen).
2ND DAN:  D. Abrams (Cherry Hill), J. Chen (Nichibukan), Richard Higham (Ken-Zen), P. Kim (Doshikai), H. Maeda (Idaho).
3RD DAN:  M. Buonadonna (Shidogakuin), David Ducek (Ken-Zen), Alec Milton (Ken-Zen).

THE LAST WORD

When I returned, I trained more new recruits. But this time, they were old, feeble men, often disabled and sick. All the men, college students and young men had already been drafted, leaving only the “Han” squad, these sad old men. The Japanese army was obviously in poor condition, and it was becoming apparent that Japan was losing the war. These old soldiers were throwaway men. I thought that training these old people to fight, some of whom actually belonged in a nursing home, was absurd, a waste of energy, and cruel. So I gave them time to rest and recuperate. I would lead them out of the barracks with great gusto for training, but as we approached the training field, we just lay down and rested. If I had been caught doing this, I would have been court-martialed. But I guess the happy-go-lucky Hawaiian boy had emerged, and I thought, “What the heck! These old people can’t fight. They need rest more than anything else to merely survive.” I felt very sorry for the old soldiers.

–Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 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

Posted in Kenyu

Kenyu – December 2018

Posted on 2018/12/12 by omb

Volume 32, number 12

December 2018

PNKF DATEBOOK

December 2018

12/15: PNKF Juniors practice, Sat, 5-8pm, cost $5, Seattle Buddhist
Temple, 1427 S Main Street Seattle 98144.

January 2019

1/12: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
1/26-1/27: FIK Shinpan Seminar, Sat/Sun, Dallas, TX.

February 2019

2/2: PNKF Kata Seminar, Sat, CANCELLED.
2/9-10: Boise State University 5th Annual Iaido Seminar, with Iaido
Kyoshi 8th Dan Kazuhiza Kaneda, from Tokyo, Japan. BSU Kinesiology
Gym, 1404 Bronco Lane, Boise, Idaho 83706.
```
     Schedule:  Saturday, Feb 9; 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
                Sunday, Feb 10; 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
```
2/16: PNKF Kendo Shinsa, Sat, 12noon-5pm, including godo keiko at the end of the Shinsa, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.
2/23: Steveston Taikai, Sat, 9am, Hugh McRoberts Secondary School, 8980 Williams Road, Richmond BC. PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE

March 2019

3/3: UW Kendo Prom, Sun, 6:30-9:30pm, UW Waterfront Activities Center Great Room, 3710 Montlake Blvd, Seattle, Washington 98195. Prom Tickets will be $20 per person and $35 per couple. For students (high school or college) tickets will be $10 per person and $15 per couple. They will also be having a raffle ticket drawing with AMAZING prizes! PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE
3/9: PNKF Jodan Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, featuring Kendo Renshi 6th Dan Harry Samkange, Broadview Elementary School (small gym), Sno-King Kendo Club, 13040 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle, WA 98133.
3/16: Highline Taikai, Sat, doors open 8:30am, opening ceremonies 9:30am, White Center Community Center,
1321 SW 102nd Street, Seattle..
3/23: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S.
King Street, Seattle.
3/30: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, TBD.

April 2019

4/6: AUSKF Junior Open National Championships, Sat, South Forsyth High School, 585 Peachtree Parkway,
Cumming, Georgia 30041 http://auskf-jrnationals.com/.
4/6: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake Boulevard NE.
4/13: PNKF Iaido Seminar and Shinsa, Sat, 9am-4pm, St. Peter’s
Episcopal Church Gym (Seattle Kendo Kai), 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
4/13-14: AUSKF Board meeting, Sat-Sun. Hotel is Radisson, 18118 International Blvd, Seatac, WA 98188. Gym
for Saturday evening Godo Keiko 5-7pm, is Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located
right off I-5 at S. 188th Street
4/14: AUSKF Kodansha Shinsa, Sun, 11am-5pm, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located
right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.
4/21: Cherry Blossom demo, Sun, TBD, Seattle Center.
4/??: Vancouver Taikai, Sat, TBD.

May 2019

5/4: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S.
King Street, Seattle.
5/18: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, Highland Park Community Center.

June 2019

6/14-6/15-6/16: 12th Annual US Nito Kendo Summer Camp, Fri/Sat/Sun, College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho.
We are pleased to have the following sensei attend this year’s camp:
Ryoichi FUJII, Kyoshi 8 dan, Yamaguchi Japan
Yoshihiro UGAJIN,Kyoshi 7 dan, Tokyo Japan
Futoshi SATO, Kyoshi 7 dan, Chiba Japan
Mitsuyoshi WADA, Renshi 7 dan, Tokyo Japan
Hisashi NAGASAKI, Renshi 7 dan, Oita Japan
Ako FUJII, Renshi 7 dan, Yamaguchi Japan
6/22: Rose City Taikai, Sat, location TBD, Portland.
6/27-7/1: AUSKF Iaido Seminar, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.

July 2019

7/6-7/13: North American Women’s Kendo Tournament and Seminar, led by Kendo Renshi 7th Dan Chinatsu Maruyama, five time All Japan Champion, Seminar 7/6-7/11 Sat-Thu, Championship 7/13 Sat. https://womenskendo.com/
7/20: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S.
King Street, Seattle.

August 2019

8/10: PNKF Kendo Shinsa, Sat, TBD.

September 2019

9/14: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S.
King Street, Seattle.
9/27-9/29: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Tournament, and Shinsa.

October 2019

10/5: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.
10/19: Tacoma Taikai.

November 2019

11/2: PNKF Taikai, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.
11/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting.
11/10: AUSKF Kodansha Shinsa.
11/16: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S.
King Street, Seattle.

December 2019

12/7: Kent Taikai, Sat, TBD, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent.

PNKF BOARD NEWS

At their November 17, 2018 meeting, the 2018/2019 Board was seated, and Officers were elected.

President – CJ Chaney (SnoKing), Vice President – Doug Imanishi (Seattle), Treasurer – Mary DeJong (Highline), Secretary – Tom Bolling (Bellevue), UW Advisor – CJ Chaney.

Other Board members are: Masa Ando (Alaska), Jonathan Bannister (AiShinKai), Sean Blechschmidt (Bellevue), Steve Choi (Portland), Sean DeBlieck (SnoKing), Mary DeJong (Highline), Rory Elliott (Everett), Karin Fedderson (Tacoma), Mark Frederick (Northwest), Jane Higa (UW), Michael Mabale (Seattle), Curtis Marsten (Kent), Tiarnan Marsten (Kent), Vicki Marsten (Federal Way), George Nakayama (Portland), Ed Olson (Tonbo), Chris Ruiz (Spokane), Russ Sinclair (Spokane), Blake Sprenger (Portland), Stephen Ting (Northwest), Frank Wessbecher (Highline).

2018 NORTH AMERICAN IAIDO PARTNERSHIP EVENT – December 2, 2018, Canadian Kendo Federation, Etobicoke, Toronto


Pan-American Iaido - National Team Taikai
1st place - USA
    Senpo - Thane Mittelstaedt (AiShinKai Fudo Myoo-Ji Dojo)
   Chuken - John Mullin (Ken Zen Institute)
   Taisho - Paul Shin (Shidogakuin)
2nd place - Canada
    Senpo - Greg Fenton (Mu Mon Kai)
   Chuken - Warren Wagler (Kenshokan)
   Taisho - Juan Vasquez (Shidokan)
3rd place - Chile
    Senpo - Cristian Zumelzu (Asociacion Metropolitana de Kendo)
   Chuken - N/A
   Taisho - Julio Villareol (Asociacion Metropolitana de Kendo)
3rd place -  Mexico
    Senpo - Ireneo Rodriguez (Asociacion de Kendo de Nuevo León)
   Chuken - Saul Rocha (Asociacion de Kendo de Nuevo León)
   Taisho - Oscar Mendez (Asociacion de Iaido y Kendo del Instituto Politecnico Nacional)

Pan-American Iaido – Goodwill Taikai

1st place - Atsuki’s Fantasico
    Senpo - Oscar Mendez (Mexico)
   Chuken - Flavia Silva (Chile)
   Taisho - Hanna Ikeda-Suen (Canada)
2nd place - Senshin
    Senpo - Jennifer Mayo (USA)
   Chuken - Ignacio Lorca (Chile)
   Taisho - David Cheng (Canada)
3rd place - Olivia’s Fantasico
    Senpo - Saul Rocha (Mexico)
   Chuken - Sandy Lee-Gonye (Canada)
   Taisho - Gordon Hall (USA)
3rd place - Espados Hermanos
    Senpo - Ireneo Rodriguez (Mexico)
   Chuken - Edward Vierk (USA)
   Taisho - Guillermo Vargas (Chile)

Pan-American Iaido – Embu Taikai

  3rd Dan - Darwin Chan (Mu Mon Kai, Canada)
  4th Dan - Tak Furuta (Ittokai, USA)
  5th Dan - Patrick Suen (Mu Mon Kai, Canada)
  6th Dan - Carole Galligan (Mu Mon Kai, Canada)

KENT TAIKAI – December 8, 2018, Kent Commons Recreational Center, 525 4th Avenue N., Kent


10 Years and Under                     11-12 Years
1st place – K. Maxfield-Matsumoto, Highline   1st place – A. Mabale, Seattle
2nd place – Y. Ryu, Cascade            2nd place – J. Yu, Northwest
3rd place – K. Ayers, SnoKing          3rd place – J. Paik, Tacoma
3rd place – O. Kaufman, Portland       3rd place – S. Kim, Seattle

13-15 Years                            0-4 Kyu
1st place – J. Kim, Federal Way        1st place – A. Kim, Bellevue
2nd place – K. Underhill, Northwest    2nd place – YI Sun, Bellevue
3rd place – D. Chung, Cascade          3rd place – J. Lee, UW
3rd place – L. Ohata, Bellevue         3rd place – A. Lam, Bellevue

3-1 Kyu                                1-2 Dan
1st place – T. Miyamoto, Northwest     1st place – KE Underhill, Northwest
2nd place – N. Smith, Bellevue         2nd place – D. Imanishi, Seattle
3rd place – E. Midorikawa, UW          3rd place – K. Fukuda, Cascade
3rd place – H. Su, Bellevue            3rd place – A. Yuen, Seattle

3-4 Dan                                Women’s
1st place – I. Morgan, Kent            1st place – T. Imanishi, Cascade
2nd place – Y. Shim, Highline          2nd place – B. Park, Bellevue
3rd place – R. Ono, Cascade            3rd place – R. Ono, Cascade
3rd place – M. Yoneda, Kent            3rd place – M. Blechschmidt, Bellevue
4th place – T. Marsten, Kent
4th place – T. Patana, SnoKing
4th place – F. Wessbecher, Highline
4th place – B. Shieh, Cascade

Junior Teams
1st place – Bellevue (H. Koob, K. Takamatsu, L. Ohata, J. Chu, C. Park)
2nd place – Northwest (Ju. Paik, N. Underhill, J. Yu, Jo. Paik, K. Underhill)
3rd place – Seattle (A. Yuen, E. Kim, A. Mabale, S. Kim, K. Hale)
3rd place – Mixed (S. Johnson, M. Day, O. Kaufman, L. Jesequel, F. Mabale)

Senior Teams
1st place – Northwest (K. Underhill, T. Miyamoto, B. Pae, X. Wang, V. Vulfson)
2nd place – Bellevue (B. Park, M. Blechschmidt, L. Tsybert, M. Ohata, H. Su)
3rd place – SnoKing (D. Lew, M. Suzuki, A. Zee, T. Patana, N. Grimes)
3rd place – Kent (S. Day, J. Orwig, M. Yoneda, I. Morgan, T. Marsten)

Shinpan Sho – Curtis Marsten
Sportsmanship Pledge – Terry McManus

SHINKYU SHINSA

AUSKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 11, 2018, Dallas, Texas
5TH DAN:  Satoko Boettcher (ECUSKF), Hiroki Fukui (ECUSKF), Eui Rae Ro (SEUSKF), Mark Masakuni Sasaki (MWKF), Mitsukuni Yoshida (MWKF).
6TH DAN:  Masanao Fukuno (SCKO), Pau H. Shin (GNEUSKF).
7TH DAN:  Yutaro Matsuura (MWKF).
 RENSHI:  Russell M. Ichimura (SWKIF), Nathan Makino (SCKO), Song Yi Yang (SCKF).
 KYOSHI:  Brandon Harada (SCKF).

MWKF FALL SHINSA, October 21, 2018, Oveland Park, Kansas
2ND KYU:  Nick Karstens (Moline).
1ST DAN:  Kate Classy Duffus (Moline).
4TH DAN:  Seong Kim (Moline).

2018 NORTH AMERICAN IAIDO PARTNERSHIP SHINSA, December 2, 2018, Canadian Kendo Federation, Etobicoke, Toronto
6TH DAN:  Jonathan Bannister (PNKF).

CKF WEST SHINSA, December 8, 2018, Steveston 
5TH DAN:  Jakob Schmidt (Vancouver).

THE LAST WORD

I thought that training these old people to fight, some of whom actually belonged in a nursing home, was absurd, a waste of energy, and cruel. So I gave them time to rest and recuperate. I would lead them out of the barracks with great gusto for training, but as we approached the training field, we just lay down and rested. If I had been caught doing this, I would have been court-martialed. But I guess the happy-go-lucky Hawaiian boy had emerged, and I thought, “What the heck! These old people can’t fight. They need rest more than anything else to merely survive.”

I felt very sorry for the old soldiers. Once an intake sergeant came to me with a picture of a lady. He said one of the old soldiers who had just been inducted a couple of days before had the photograph in his wallet. It was typical that the old soldiers were harassed for trivial things. To try to “shape them up,” they were given a “Binta,” a hard whack on both sides of the face. But taking the picture was psychological cruelty. I called for the old man and asked him to identify the lady. “My wife,” he answered softly, shaking because he thought I would give him another Binta. “Okay.” I said. “Put this back in your wallet and go back to your bunk.” Then I called the soldier who had taken the picture from the old man. I reprimanded him, and came close to calling him a bully. “Don’t do that to the soldiers. They have the right to carry their wives’ pictures in their wallets,” I barked. “And before you give Binta to any of them, see me first. I want to know why, and it better be a good reason!” Long after the War when I was living in Matsue, this nameless old soldier found me and came to thank me.

Early spring, 1945, I had full responsibility for the welfare of my troops; all were novices, the very young and the elderly. My troop consisted of four six-cylinder Toyota trucks, and four squads, a total of eighteen soldiers including two sergeants, a driver, an assistant, and two flaggers. We were assigned to serve in Kochi City in Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku Island. We rarely stayed in the city, however, and usually camped in scattered places on the hillside surrounding the city.

Our mission was tough, beginning before dawn and ending late at night; some days we worked around the clock. Our rations were minimal, and we were always hungry, but we kept on moving and rested only when we were completely exhausted. We cut and loaded logs from the mountains with no towing tools of any kind, and then hauled them to the Kochi shoreline to furnish barricade materials for the infantry soldiers protecting the Japanese Mainland from invasion. The Allies were at our borders. On the return trip, we hauled food and supplies from the Kochi warehouse for redistribution to the farmers’ warehouses located throughout the hills. Food was critical and in this way we tried to avoid losing all our supplies to bombs and create more access points.

We kept moving through the dark one night, long after we all wanted and severely needed to rest. One of the sergeants asked me to allow the soldiers to sleep in the shoreline warehouse, where we had stopped for a few minutes after loading for the return trip. The warehouse was now half empty and seemed luxurious compared to our usual sleeping conditions. I rejected the request and after a rest of only a few minutes, started up the hill with very unhappy soldiers. About midway, we heard B-52 bombers flying over very high, but they didn’t drop any bombs. “Turn off the lights,” I ordered, “and sleep right where you are!” Shortly thereafter, from way out in the Pacific, a swarm of P-151’s sprayed some kind of liquid flame accelerant on the Kochi warehouse. Then the second line dropped flare bombs. In seconds the entire warehouse exploded, lighting the shoreline of Kochi. They ignored our little convoy, or perhaps never spotted us. No one complained about lack of sleep that night! Once again, luck was with us.

How perfunctory and cold my attitude now seems – he burned then died. No description of his unrelenting screams of agony, the calls to his mother, the terror in his eyes. But that is what happens in war. Too much suffering and death can drive a man insane unless the senses of pity and horror are numbed. Anger is acceptable. Soldiers are taught not to look in the eyes of an enemy if killing in close combat. Looking into the eyes creates a relationship. We are taught about relationship in Kendo. But there is no time in boot camp to learn how to create a life as well as take a life. In modern warfare, killing is, when possible, more distant. That is probably good for the mental health of soldiers, even though it avoids confronting the reality of death on a bloody battlefield.

Hiroshima, 1945

We were so isolated in Kochi that we had lost communications with our base in Hiroshima. We didn’t know about the Bomb or the end of the War until few weeks after Japan surrendered. But we weren’t surprised. The old soldiers were tired and already felt defeated, and most of us had known for some months that the war was lost. We just didn’t know the form that loss would take.

–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

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