Volume 36, number 9/10/11
September/October/November 2022
PNKF DATEBOOK
November 2022
- 11/30: Western Kendo Federation Year End Kendo Championship, Sun, 8:00am, doors open 7:00am, Buena Park High School, 8833 Academy Drive, Buena Park, California 90621. http://wkfapp102.azurewebsites.net
December 2022
- 12/3: Camas Workshop, Camas, WA.
- 12/3-4: AUSKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, Long Beach, CA.
- 12/10-11: AUSKF Zone 7 PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 9am-5pm, Sun, 9am-12noon, Tyee High School Gym, 4424 South 188th Street, SeaTac, WA, seminar fee $25, lunch for Sat $15, welcome dinner party Sat, Miyabi Sushi.
- 12/9-11, Fri, Sat, Sun AUSKF National Jodo Seminar and Shinsa, Grand Rapids, MI.
January 2023
- 1/14: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, via Zoom.
- 1/21: BHSK Inter-Dojo Taikai, Sat, Sno-King Dojo (big gymnasium), 13052 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133.
February 2023
- 2/11: Steveston Taikai, Sat, McMath High School, Steveston.
- 2/24-26: FIK America Zone Shinpan Seminar, Fri-Sun, Torrance, CA.
- 2/25: Iaido Godo Keiko, 1-4pm Sat, Fulton Community Center, 68 SW Miles St, Portland, OR 97219
March 2023
- 3/4: PNKF Kendo Shinsa, Sat, 12noon, Spartan Recreation Center Gym, 202 N.E. 185th S.E., Shoreline, WA 98155.
- 3/18: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, via Zoom.
- 3/24-26: PNKF Iaido Shinpan Seminar, Taikai, and Shinsa (up to 3 Dan), Fri-Sun, Rain City Fencing Center, Bellevue, WA.
April 2023
- 4/15: UW Taikai, Sat, Intramural Activities (IMA), UW campus, Montlake Boulevard NE.
- 4/15: AUSKF Junior Open, Edison High School, Huntington Beach, California.
- 4/29: Kendo Kata Seminar, Kent Commons, 11:30am-5pm
May 2023
- 5/13: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, via Zoom.
- 5/20: Bellevue Kendo Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am start time, Highland Park Community Center, 14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue.
June 2023
- 6/3 – Iaido Godo Keiko, Portland, OR 1-4pm.
- 6/24: Rose City Kendo Taikai, Sat, 9am, Conestoga Recreation and Aquatic Center, 9985 SW 125th Ave, Beaverton, OR.
- 6/30-7/2: AUSKF National Kendo Championships, Fri-Sun, Detroit, MI.
July 2023
- 7/14-16: Idaho Kendo Seminar, Boys and Girls Club of Ada County and Meridian Homecourt, Meridian, ID.
- 7/15: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, via Zoom.
August 2023
- 8/10-13: AUSKF National Iaido Seminar and Shinsa, Thu-Tue, Cyrpress, TX.
- 8/19: PNKF Summer Kendo Shinsa, Sun, Kent Commons, 1pm.
- 8/25-27: AUSKF Kendo Summer Camp and Shinsa, Fri-Sun, Las Vegas, NV.
September 2023
- 9/16: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, via Zoom.
October 2023
- 10/6-8: PNKF Fall Iaido Seminar and Shinsa with Shozo Kato Sensei, Fri-Sun, Rain City Fencing Center, Bellevue, WA.
- 10/21: Tacoma Kendo Taikai, Sat, time and place TBD.
- 10/28: PNKF Taikai, Sat, Kent Commons, 9am.
November 2023
- 11/11-12: AUSKF Board Meeting and Kendo Shinsa, Sat-Sun, Los Angeles, CA.
- * 11/18: PNKF Board meeting and General Election, 9-11am, Sat, via Zoom.
PNKF BOARD NEWS
At their November 19, 2022 meeting, the 2022/2023 Board was seated, and Officers were elected.
President – Doug Imanishi (Seattle), Vice President – An Giang (Northwest), Treasurer – Stephen Ting (Northwest), Membership Administrator – Naoaki Tanimura (Edmonds), IT Support – Mark Verrey (Sno-King), Secretary – Sue Vanasouk (Cascade).
Other Board members are: Jonathan Bannister (AiShinKai), Sean Blechschmidt (Bellevue), Julie Chen (Kirkland), Steve Choi (Portland), An Giang (Northwest), Richard Lei (Seattle), Tiarnan Marsten (Federal Way), Vicki Marsten (Federal Way), Motoya Nakamura (Obukan), Matthew Price (Seattle), Chris Ruiz (Spokane), Russ Sinclair (Spokane), George Nakayama (Camas), Frank Wessbecher (Highline), Andy Yuen (UW), David Yotsuuye (Bellevue).
8th PNKF NORTH AMERICAN WOMEN’S KENDO CHAMPIONSHIPS – October 2, 2022, University of Washington IMA, Seattle
1 Dan and Below 2 Dan and Above 1st place – Hiyori Tominaga, Renbu 1st place – Elizabeth Marsten, PNKF 2nd place – Yura Kawabe, Renbu 2nd place – Wendy Robillard, BCKF 3rd place – Sue Vanasouk, Cascade 3rd place – Melanie DeJong, PNKF 3rd place – Yuka Lee, Renbu 3rd place – Noelle Grimes, PNKF Team 1st place – PNKF A (Van Le, Melanie DeJong, Noelle Grimes, Elizabeth Marsten, Ai Nakayama) 2nd place – Renbu (Miyu Hashimoto, Hiyori Tominaga, Yura Kawabe, Anita Espiritu, Yuka Lee) 3rd place – Orange (Emi Ichimura, Chunyan Tinder, Karla De la Loza, Erika Hill, Pau De la Loza) 3rd place – PNKF B (Betty Park, Julie Chen, Janell Frazier-Day, Erica Tam, Masami Suzuki) Fighting Spirit - E. Ichimura, NCKF Shinpan-Cho – David Yotsuuye
6th HIROSHI KAMIO CUP KENDO TAIKAI – October 8, 2022, Sedena Sports Heroes of the Revolution, Mexico City
Women’s Yudansha Men’s 2nd Dan and Up 1st place – Noelle Grimes 1st place – Carlos Flores 2nd place – Olivia Enriquez 2nd place – Guillermo Flores 3rd place – Claudia Buitron 3rd place – Marco Polo Sanchez Kantosho – Paulina de la Loza Kantosho – Roberto Ramirez M. Women’s Mudansha Men’s 1st Dan and Below 1st place – Alexa Ruiz 1st place – Axl Gamez 2nd place – Reyna Farina 2nd place – Ignacio Canalizo 3rd place – Almaldianeli Ortiz 3rd place – Javier Ayala Kantosho – Nayelli Sumano Kantosho – Ivan Rivera Women’s Teams 1st place – Team Kitsune (Noelle Grimes, Karla de la Loza, Melisa Martinez) 2nd place – Team Karakasa (Olivia Enriquez, Mayra Orosco, Alexa Ruiz, Almaldianeli Ortiz) 3rd place – Team Nekomata (Claudia Bultron, Erica Tam, Elizabeth Hernardez) Men’s Teams 1st place – Team Byakko (Pedro Garcia, Emilio Porras, Leonid Tsybert, J. Roberto Ramirez, Jesus Garcia) 2nd place – Team Tanuki (Joan Gonzalez, Luis del Rio, Yaotl Gonzalez, Arno Burkholder, Marco P. Sanchez) 3rd place – Team Kappa (Darrick Lew, Darrian Yang, Mario Torruco, Ian Blas, Axl Gamez)
2022 PNKF IAIDO TAIKAI – October 8, 2022, Rain City Fencing Center, Bellevue
0 – 3 Kyu 2 Kyu – 1 Dan 1st place – Ian Agrela De Freites, Miami 1st place – Rae Podrebarac, AiShinKai 2nd place – Michael Mabale, Seattle 2nd place – Mario Nakane, Palo Alto 3rd place – Riku Todaka, Salt Lake City 3rd place – Derek Reynolds, Alaska 3rd place – Matthew Acevedo, Miami 3rd place – Wakako Maeda, Idaho 2 - 3 Dan 4 - 5 Dan 1st place – Hiroyuki Maeda, Idaho 1st place – Takanori Furuta, Ittokai 2nd place – Brian Burton, AiShinKai 2nd place – Orsolya Kiss, Cleveland 3rd place – Alden Vanderspek, AiShinKai 3rd place – Masayasu Ando, Alaska 3rd place – Jennifer Mayo, Castle Rock 3rd place – Monica Iwakabe, Rocky Mountain Competitor’s Pledge Brian Burton, AiShinKai
PNKF IAIDO SHINSA, October 9, 2022, Rain City Fencing Center, Bellevue
3RD KYU: Matthew Krueger (Alaska), Hyuga Todaka (SWKIF). 2ND KYU: Matthew Acevedo (SEUSKF, Ian Agrela De Freites (SEUSKF), Wrennik Andrus (AiShinKai), Yuichiro Baba (Idaho), Christopher Campos (SEUSKF), Salvador Eng Deng (Musokai), Michael Mabale (Seattle), James Thieu (Musokai), Riku Todaka (SWKIF), Adalei Webster (RMKIF), Kathryn Webster (RMKIF). 1ST KYU: Yuriko Lee (RenMa), Wakako Maeda (Idaho), Carter Webster (RMKIF), Michael Webster (RMKIF). 1ST DAN: Teodoro Jose Boado (Musokai), Breanne Leach (RMKIF), Rae Podrebarac (AiShinKai). 2ND DAN: Mario Nakane (NCKF), Derek Reynolds (Alaska), Sarah Scherr (MWKF), Andy Webster (RMKIF). 3RD DAN: Michael Jacobson (MWKF), Jennifer Mayo (RMKIF), Ryuichi Shimizu (Seattle). 4TH DAN: Sardinas Benjamin (Miami Budokan). 5TH DAN: Anderson Bradley (Agassiz Dojo), Luis Cervantes Genaro (FIK Iaido Mexico Asia), Gunnar Goerlitz (Musokai), Heins Katherine (Mitsubachi Dojo), Jean Kodama (Norwalk), Susan Kozawa (Seattle).
46th PNKF TAIKAI – November 6, 2022, Curtis Junior High School, 3725 Grandview Drive West, University Place, WA
10 and Under Master’s 1st place – S. Ara, Renbu 1st place – C. Marsten, Kent 2nd place – R. Liao, Renbu 2nd place – F. Yoshimura, Renbu 3rd place – Y. Kobayashi, Youshinkan 3rd place – J. Kliem, Tacoma 3rd place – H. Johnson, Seattle 3rd place – B. Lee, Bellevue 11-12 1-2 Dan 1st place – M. Tanimura, Edmonds 1st place – K. Underhill, Northwest 2nd place – S. Johnson, Seattle 2nd place – K. Fukuda, UW 3rd place – H. Ara, Renbu 3rd place – A. Mabale, Seattle 3rd place – M. Chong, Steveston 3rd place – T. Espinal Highline 13-15 3 Dan 1st place – Ke. Yoshimura, Renbu 1st place – I. So, Hawaii 2nd place – N. Chu, Bellevue 2nd place – B. Pae, Northwest 3rd place – Ka. Yoshimura, Renbu 3rd place – S. Nichols, Renfrew 3rd place – C. Liao, Renbu 3rd place – A. Yuen, UW 0-4 Kyu 4 Dan and Above 1st place – M. Remmu, Seattle 1st place – H. Kim, Vancouver 2nd place – N. Le, UW 2nd place – KE Kobayashi, Youshinkan 3rd place – A. Fan, UW 3rd place – T. Marsten, Kent 3rd place – A. Hinman, Camas 3rd place – L. Hancock, Hawaii 3-1 Kyu Women’s Kyu 1st place – D. Chung, Cascade 1st place – J. Lee, Federal Way 2nd place – Al. Yuen, Seattle 2nd place – N. Underhill, Northwest 3rd place – T. Miyamoto, Northwest 3rd place – A. Tan, Cascade 3rd place – S. Kim, Seattle 3rd place – Y. Wu, UW Women’s Dan 1st place – A. Nakayama, Camas 2nd place – J. Paik, Tacoma 3rd place – V. Le, Kenchikai 3rd place – Y. Lee, Renbu Junior Team 1st place – Renbu A (Ka. Yoshimura, N. Son, C. Liao, Ke. Yoshimura) 2nd place – Steveston (M. Chong, E. Nakano, E. Chui, M. Lin, R. Kao) 3rd place – Bellevue (S. Faso, J. Paik (Tacoma), N. Chu, C. Burke (Kent), R. Kawamoto) 3rd place – Mixed Team 2 (Y. Kobayashi (You), J. Takeuchi (Cms), I. Ohashi (Obu), K. Pierce (Knt) S. Johnson (Sea)) Senior Team 1st place – Renfrew (K. Muramatsu, S. Nichols, T. Tsuchiya, W. Blades, M. Rose) 2nd place – Hawaii (I. So, S. Ishida, E. Hill, L. Hancock, I. Sato) 3rd place – UW (B. Liao, H. Hu, B. Park, A. Yuen, K. Fukuda) 3rd place – Steveston (E. Chui, R. Nakano, D. Yao, L. Takahae, D. Chui) Shinpan-cho – Shinichi Koike Sportsmanship Pledge – Juah Paik, Tacoma Shoji Inspirational Spirit Award for 2022 – Jonathan Yu, Northwest Shoji Inspirational Spirit Award for 2021 – Juah Paik, Tacoma Shoji Inspirational Spirit Award for 2020 – Josh Paik, Tacoma (accepted by Juah in Josh’s absence) Taikai Co-chairs – Sue Vanasouk and Taryn Imanishi Head Scorekeepers – John Kliem and Ikaika Yoshikawa
THE LAST WORD
My translating job with the CIC expanded and became more exciting as well. I became a spy to a small degree. I found several informers, listened to the information they provided about the JCP and then reported to the CIC. I was to find the facts: who participated, when and where meetings were held and what was discussed. Captain Parker was especially interested in the gun trade. All the information I reported, checked out to be correct. I accompanied the Matsue police and CIC when they went to parties, to interpret, of course, but to also keep my eyes and ears alert. This duty included trips to Tamatsukuri Onsen, a hot spring town near Matsue. I did get to know the hot spring hotels and geishas quite well, an activity that was usually restricted to the wealthy, but I had to be on the alert. Visit to the Tamatsukuri Onsen My next assignment was more dangerous. I took the girls to buy ice cream cones at a little shop in town. One of the informant agreed to let me hide and listen to a meeting of the JCP planned to take place at his house. I went to listen, hidden in a small closet and heard first hand all the plans for a coming demonstration. I had to remain still, cramped and hardly breathing for a long time. I had learned to do this at Busen. If I had been caught, I could have been killed. My two daughters, Kazumi (Charlotte) on the bicycle and Miyuki (Norma) in the background at the public housing. That short stint was the end of my career as a spy. Captain Parker was transferred. Major Cassidy then hired me to continue to work for the CIC at Miho Air Force Base in the small town of Oshinozu near Matsue in the adjoining Tottori Prefecture. I was promoted to Head Translator/Interpreter, and `managed to instruct all the translators, who were mostly Japanese, and couldn’t interpret, or interpreters, who did not know enough Japanese to converse freely with Japanese. This gave me more time to associate with Major Cassidy. I could still play kendo when I went back to Matsue. Housing was scarce so Dr. Kanno, who owned and operated a hospital in Matsue got me public housing for my family in Matsue. Every day, I used my collapsible bicycle from Matsue Station to Yonago Station, then changed trains from Yonago to Oshinozu Station. Then I unfolded my bicycle and peddled my way to Miho Air Base. Dr. Kanno ran for Matsue city council, and I campaign for him. After winning a seat on the city council, Dr. Kanno asked me to teach his sons English. I accepted it, and after work, I stopped by at Dr. Kanno’s house and taught English to his two sons and another boy who was a son of Dr. Kanno’s friend, and also a doctor. After teaching them, I got to bathe in his nice big bath tub and enjoyed a great meal. The public housing that we had did not have baths so bathing was in a public bath, though in the summer time, we bathed our daughters in an outside cement square tub. Of course, food was still scarce so me eating at Kanno’s gave more food to my wife and daughters.
–Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 51-52. 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