AUSKF
NEWSLETTER
Vol. 4 No. 1
February 10, 2001
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2001!
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2001-2002 OFFICERS: PRESIDENT: Charlie
Tanaka EXECUTIVE VP: Dr.
Walter Hashimoto VP-PROM & EXAMS: Atsushi
Hori VP-COMPETITION: Yoshiteru
Tagawa VP-EDUCATION: Koki
Ariga TREASURER & RECORDER Masaharu
Makino SEC-HISTORIAN: Norman
K.Otani, Esq. AUDITOR: Dr.
Ken Lorimer DIRECTORS: Kazuharu
Arima Daniel
Ebihara Morihei
Henmi Noboru
Kataoka Shozo
Kato Shinichi
Koike Maki
Miyahara Dr.
James Parker Takeshi
Yamaguchi Tim Yuge |
FROM
THE PRESIDENT: Report
submitted by Charlie Tanaka To
the Kenshi of AUSKF: Greetings! I am very honored to be recently elected
by the AUSKF Board of Directors to serve in the office of AUSKF
President. My goals as president are
as follows: #1. To make our national kendo federation
financially stable. #2. To promote the development of kendo in
the United States to be as good as that practiced in Japan, or better. My
kendo philosophy is first TADASHKIKU, second TANOSHIKU, and third NAKAYOKU. If we can put these three aspects
together, the kendo practiced in the United States will become the best in
the world. Sincerely,
Charlie
Tanaka, AUSKF President
________________________ Announcement: 1.
AUSKF Board of Directors meeting will be held on March 10-11, 2001, in Miami,
FLA. ________________________ Report From VP-Prom & Exams: In
accordance with the AUSKF Regulations For Kendo Promotional Examinations
Adopted October 25, 1998 [Updated May 21, 2000], Section I., Article 7. Each
member federation is requested to submit the proposed date(s) of their
regional federation promotional examination(s), and
an alternate date(s). This
information is to be submitted to the AUSKF VP-Promotions & Exams,
Atsushi Hori. Due date is February 28,
2001. The mailing address is: 3041 S. Bristol, Santa Ana, California
92704. Information can also be sent
by Facsimile: 714-557-1920. ------------------------------------------------- |
Announcement: 2001AUSKF
Kodansha Shinsha and Shogo Examination date and place will be determined at
the AUSKF Board of Directors meeting on March 10-11, 2001. ___________ Report From VP-Competition: 2002
AUSKF Championships Report: AUSKF
VP-Competition, Yoshiteru Tagawa, recently selected a committee consisting of
AUSKF Board of Directors Kazuharu Arima, Noboru Kataoka, and Shozo Kato to
begin developing plans for the 2002 AUSKF Championships. A
tentative date of August, 2002, has been selected. All interested regional member federations that would like to
host the 2002 AUSKF Championships are requested to submit their bids to AUSKF
VP-Competition, Yoshiteru Tagawa; deadline date is March 31, 2001. Mailing address is: 20860 Woodland Glen
Drive, Suite #204, Northville, MI. 48167.
Information can also be sent by Facsimile to: 248-349-9718. -------------------------------------------------------- 2002
AUSKF Championships-Shimpan Selection AUSKF VP-Competition, Yoshiteru Tagawa, requests that each regional member federation |
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initially
submit a list of their regional tournaments to be held this year, and then
following the completion of the tournaments, to submit the results of the
tournament, and the names of the shimpans who participate in the tournaments. This information will be used to collect
data and information for a proposed shimpan classification system that will
be utilized to determine the shimpan to be selected for the 2002 AUSKF
Championships. Please
submit the above requested information to AUSKF VP-Competition, Yoshiteru
Tagawa, at the above address, or FAX number. ___________ Report From VP-Education: Report
submitted by Koki Ariga. As
the AUSKF VP-Education, I have recently
selected a committee consisting of AUSKF Board of Directors Tim Yuge,
Masaharu Makino and Dr. James Parker to assist me in beginning to develop
ideas for the 2001 AUSKF Summer Kendo Camp. I
would like to invite all regional member federations to consider being the
host for the 2001 AUSKF Summer Kendo Camp. If
your regional member federation would be interested in making a bid to host
the 2001 AUSKF Summer Kendo Camp, please send your proposal to me by the
deadline date of March 16, 2001. [Note: The only condition that the host
regional member federation wanting to host the 2001 AUSKF Sunmmer Kendo Camp
must meet, is that the site must be located near a major national airport] When
submitting a bid to host the 2001 AUSKF Summer Kendo Camp, please indicate the name of the contact person,
e-mail address, etc. If any further information is needed about the above matter, please contact AUSKF VP-Education, Koki Ariga, e-mail address: kariga@fandp.com, FAX: (937) 339-0065, or telephone: (937) 339-0212. |
Report From Treasurer: As
the AUSKF Treasurer, one of my current duties is to collect the annual AUSKF
Membership dues. I
have notifed each regional member federation to collect and submit each
dojo’s AUSKF membership dues to me by March 31, 2001. For
those dojo members who are asking the commonly asked question: What
benefits do I receive from being an AUSKF member? Please allow me to try to explain what the
benefits are to being an AUSKF member. First
of all, you should know that by being
an AUSKF member, each affiliated dojo in the member regional federation is
entitled to receive $1,000, 000 Liability Insurance coverage for their dojo
[Note: In the past dojos had been paying several hundreds of dollars per year
for this type of liability insurance coverage], and an additional $25, 000
per incident medical benefit coverage for the dojo members. In addition, AUSKF members are eligible to
participate in national promotional examinations, national kendo seminars,
national kendo tournaments and special events sponsored by AUSKF. If
you have any questions about the AUSKF membership dues, please contact
me by e-mail: MakinoMasaharu@aol.com or
mailing address: c/o JIT, 327 Towne Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90013. _______________________ REGIONAL
MEMBER’S NEWS: 1.
Report from the Central California Kendo Federation [CCKF] submitted by
Norman K. Otani. If you have any
additional questions about this news article contact: Mr. Otani by e-mail:
otaninorman@hotmail.com. 2001-2002
Officers: President Norman K. Otani 1st
VP George Sakazaki 2nd
VP Mike Kishihara Exec. Sec. Jerry Espiritu |
Treasurer Grace Arifuku Historian Toshio Livingston Sgt.
of Arms Kazuo Murata Social
Chairman Ray Arifuku 2001
Calendar of Events: April
29(tent.) CCKF Joint Practice May
20 CCKF Picnic Oct.
14(tent.) CCKF Joint Practice Dec.
8 CCKF Christmas
Party ============================== 2. Report from the Greater Northeastern
United States Kendo Federation submitted by Dr. Tsuyoshi Inoshita. If you have any additional questions about
this news article, please contact Dr. Inoshita by e-mail: pcancer@zoomnet.net The
13th Cleveland Kendo Tournament-Greater Northeastern Championships will be
held on April 21, 2001. ============================== 3. Report from the Midwest Kendo Federation
submitted by Yoshiteru Tagawa and Yukio Watanabe. If you have any questions about this news article, contact Mr.
Watanabe by e-mail: yuki_nabe@kdd.net The
2001 3rd Annual Michigan Open Kendo Rensei Tournament hosted by the Detroit
Kendo Dojo, will be held on February 17-19, 2001. Kendo
instruction will be lead by two instructors from Japan consisting of: Mr. Hiroyuki Tsukamoto 8th Dan, Kyoshi [the youngest 8th
Dan in Japan] Instructor at the Tokyo
Metropolitan Police
Department. 1988 All Japan Policemen Cup Champion. Mr. Naoki Eiga, 6th Dan, Renshi Instructor at Hokkaido Police Department. 2000 World Kendo Champion 2000 All Japan Emperor Cup Champion ============================== |
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4. Report from the Northern California Kendo
Federation submitted by AUSKF Executive VP,
Dr. Walter Hashimoto, Mike K. Minami and Yuji Onitsuka. The
Palo Alto Kendo Dojo (PAKD) proudly announces the following members have
recently been successfully promoted as follows: Mr. George Nishiura 6 Dan Mr. Shig Hamamatsu 5 Dan Mrs. Margaret Abe-Koga 3 Dan Mr. Yoon Chung 3 Dan Mr. Jin Echizenya Yamada 3 Dan Mr. Geoffrey Staniford 2 Dan Mr. Lance Kayashima 1 Dan Mr. Steve Taylor 1 Dan Ms. Hisako Ueno 1 Dan If
you are in the Bay area, please come by and visit us. We practice on Tuesday nights at the Palo
Alto Buddhist Church. For
further details about PAKD contact Dr. Walter Hashimoto at: Telephone: (510)
797-7010 or check our website: Sites.netscape.net/pakendo ------------------------------------------------- The
Salinas Kendo Dojo will be hosting their 31st anniversary tournament on March
18, 2001. The tournament will be held
at the Salinas Buddhist Temple gymnasium. For
further information contact: Mike K.
Minami: Telephone (831) 758-4903, or
e-mail: mkminami@yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------- The
43rd North/South Kendo Tournament,
hosted by the Northern California Kendo Federation, will be held on
Sunday, April 8, 2001 at Milpitas High School. For
further information contact: Yuji
Onitsuka, Vice President, Northern California Kendo Federation: Telephone
(831) 758-4996. ============================== |
5.
Report from the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation [PNKF] submitted by Tom Bolling,
PNKF Recording Secretary. For
further information about this news article contact: Tom Bolling. Telephone: Work (206) 616-3793; Home (206)
527-1190. E-mail:
http:/faculty.washington.edu/kendo.
Also, read PNKF’s Kenyu online at: http://www.kendo-pnkf.org/kenyu.html. DATEBOOK
2001 1. Feb. 10, Steveston Taikai, Sat., 10 am. 2. Feb. 24, PNKF Kendo Shinsa, Sat., at
Highline Kendo Dojo. 3. Feb. 25, PNKF Iaido Seminar and Shinsa,
Sun. 4. March 17, Highline Taikai, Sat., at Highline
Kendo Dojo. 5. March 23-30 Kenseikan Kamei Dojo visit to
Alaska. 6. April 7, University of Washington Taikai,
Sat. 7. April 8, PNKF Board meeting, Sun, 10am. 8. May 6, Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sun.,
11am, at Bellevue Kendo Dojo. 9. May 20, PNKF Board meeting, Sun., 10am. 10.
June 23, PNKF Women’s Team Taikai, Sat., Renton. 11.
July 15, PNKF Board meeting, Sun., 10am. 12.
Aug. 11, PNKF Iaido Seminar and Shinsa, Sat. 13.
Aug. 12, PNKF Kendo Seminar and Shinsa, Sun. 14.
Sept. 16, PNKF Board meeting, Sun., 10am. 15.
Oct. 14, PNKF Board meeting, Sun., 10am. 16.
Nov. 3, PNKF Taikai, Sat., 9:30am, Renton Kendo Dojo. ============================== 6.
Report from the Southern California Kendo Federation [SCKF] submitted by
Ichiro Murakami. If you have additional
questions about this news article contact: Mr. Murakami by e-mail:
ichirokendo@earthlink.net 2001-2002
SCKF Officers: President Ichiro Murakami 1st VP Brian Olson |
2nd
VP Jean Kodama 3rd
VP Minoru Sakae Exec.
Sec. Tom Tew Treasurer Janet Kurokouchi Asst.
Treas. Tony Garcia Rec.
Sec. James Yamasaki Corres.
Sec. Guy Urata Historian Joel Inden Jpnese
PR Takashi Shimizu Cert.
Chair Morihei Henmi Otsuka
Fund Brian Olson Equip.
Mgr. Ted Yoshimura Advisers: Maki Miyahara, Hisashi Higuchi,
Takeshi Yamaguchi, Tim Yuge, and Koji
Fukawa -------------------------------------------------- 2001
Calendar of Events: February
3 SCKF Board meeting March
3 SCKF Board meeting April
8 North-South Tourney April
14 SCKF Board meeting May
12 SCKF Board meeting June
9 SCKF Board meeting June
24 SCKF Championships July
8 Chuo Dojo-50th
Anniv. July
14 SCKF Board meeting August
11 SCKF Board meeting August
12 Nisei Week Tourney September
8 SCKF Board meeting September
23 SCKF Fall Team Tny October
13 SCKF Board meeting October
21 SCKF Shinkyu Shiai November
4 Oxnard Dojo Team Tny November
10 SCKF Board meeting December
1 SCKF Board meeting ============================== 7.
Report from the Southeast United States Kendo Federation [SEUSKF] submitted
by Dr. James Parker. If you have
additional questions about this news article contact: Dr. Parker by e-mail:
jimyuko@alltel.net Results
of the SEUSKF Annual Tournament held in October, 2000: Junior
Youth 1st
place Eddie Desch 2nd
place Yuki DeSouza 3rd Place Andrew Hamilton |
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Results
of the SEUSKF Annual Tournament held in October, 2000 (continued) Senior
Youth 1st
place Frank Nieves 2nd
place Eddie Desch 3rd
place Logan Murphy 3rd
place Yuki DeSouza Women’s
Division 1st
place Yatsuki Hoang 2nd
place Yumiko Arai 3rd
place Paula Cothren 3rd
place Reiko DeSousa Mudansha
Division 1st
place Valera Vulfson 2nd
place Jonathan Shumidt 3rd
place Stefan Locklair 3rd
place Nicholas Sarwark 1dan-2
dan Division 1st
place Frank Nieves 2nd
place Rogers Gossett 3rd
place Kazuto Yasuda 3rd
place William Collazo 3dan
& above Division 1st
place Naoki Hanaki 2nd
place Koki Abe 3rd
place Katsuyuki Tamura 3rd
place Dai Hiragi Senior
Division 1st
place James Parker 2nd
place Robert Terry 3rd
place Mike Meade 3rd
place Ken Strawn Team
Division 1st
place Salem-Teikyo Univ-A Team 2nd
place Georgia Kendo Alliance-A Team 3rd
place North Virginia Kendo Club ============================== IAIDO
NEWS: 1. Report submitted by AUSKF Iaido Committee Chairman Takeshi Yamaguchi. If you have additional questions about this news article contact: Mr. Yamaguchi, mailing address: 13434 E. Reis Street, Whittier, CA. 90605, or Telephone: (562) 693-0088. |
At
the AUSKF Board of Directors meeting held on December 2-3, 2000, AUSKF Iaido Committee Chairman Takeshi
Yamaguchi selected Shozo Kato and Tatsuhiko Konno to serve as members of the
committee. 2001
AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp Plans
are underway to finalize the details for the 2001 AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp. The tentative date and location is
as follows: Date: June 29-July 2, 2001 Place: Linfield College McMinnville, Oregon (near Portland, Oregon) Full
details and information regarding registration fees, etc. will be sent to
each regional member federation as soon as all of the details for the 2001
AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp are finalized. _____________________ AUSKF
WEBSITE Report
submitted by AUSKF Development Committee Chairman Norman K. Otani. The
AUSKF Internet Home Page is located at: http:\\www.kendo-usa.org Updates
of Dojo Information on AUSKF Website: Any
change in current dojo practice schedules, or names of new dojos, should be
sent to: AUSKF Webmaster, Curtis Marsten, e-mail address: kendo@kendo-usa.org Please
include the name of the regional member federation affiliation when
submitting new dojo or changes in dojo information. ____________________ BOOK
REVIEW: Samurai
Sketches,
by
Romulus Hillsborough. ($29.95)
Hardback. 236 pages. ISBN: 0-9667401-8-1 |
A. Ridgeback Press has recently released Samurai
Sketches, a sequel to Ryoma - Life
of a Renaissance Samurai. [Note: This book was reviewed in the AUSKF
Newsletter, Vol. 2 No.2 issued August 16, 1999]. The
overthrow of the Shogun in 1867 was one of the great events in Asian
history. As the Wall Street
Journal recently reported, Sakamoto Ryoma, a leader of the revolution, is the
idol of the financial and governmental elite in today’s Japan. Ryoma and his contemporaries are the
substance of Samurai Sketches, a new book by Romulus Hillsborough. The
final years of the samurai were an age of unpredented turmoil and
bloodletting in Japan. They heralded
the end of nearly three centuries of rule under the Shogun. The rule of law was deteriorating,
assassinationand murder were rampant, and inner-fighting among the samurai
embroiled the nation. Samurai
Sketches
are,
to quote the author, “accurate portrayals of the heart and soul of the
samurai, the social and political systems of whom have, like the Japanese
sword, become relics of a distant age, but the likes of whose nobility shall
never again be seen in this world.”
The book is a collection of historical sketches from the bloody final
years of the Shogun, never before depicted in English. “While
these sketches are indeed authentic accounts of historical figures and
events, Hillsborough has written them in a literary style similar to the
short story,” writes distinguished Japanese historian Kiyoharu Omino in the Introduction
to Samurai Sketches.
“Accordingly, the reader’s perception of them will greatly depend on
his or her imagination, and each reader will certainly perceive these
sketches differently, depending on the subtle intricacies of his or her mind’s
eye. Similarly, just as the world
created by Akira Kurosawa belongs distinctly to that famous director of
samurai films, the world depicted by the author of Samurai Sketches is
uniquely his own.” In recounting what he terms “the great epic which was the dawn of modern Japan,” |
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Hillsborough
applies his long years of research and keen perception of things Japanese to
delve deeply into the psyche of the men of the samurai class. Brought to life are not merely warriors of
a distant age and culture, but also “human beings, both good and bad, who
suffer the same pangs of body and mind as all of us.” Hillsborough
spent 16 years in Japan, studying the language, history and culture. His extensive research includes 80 books
about this period of Japanese history.
He has travelled extensively in those areas of Japan where the
revolution unfolded, including the historical cities of Kyoto, Nagasaki,
Kagoshima, Kochi, and the picturesque fishing village of Tomo-no-Ura on the
Inland Sea. Samurai
Sketches
is available in hardcover at bookstores, online at barnesandnoble.com,
amazon.com, or directly from Ridgeback Press, 151 Valdez Ave., San Francisco,
CA. 94112; Telephone: (415) 841-0508.
E-mail: ridgebackpress@mindspring.com. Submitted
by Jeff Cohen, Publisher ------------------------------------------------- B.
AUSKF Newsletter, review by Norman K. Otani, Esq., Editor. This
reader was equally fascinated while reading Romulus Hillsborough’s book Samurai
Sketches as in my first encounter with his book Ryoma-Life of a
Renaissance Samurai, from which this sequel has been written. As a result of my reading these two very well researched books, I have uncovered personal connections with my own personal kendo experiences as noted in my review of Ryoma in August, 1999. In addition, a further relationship to my life has been found within the true stories and accounts written about the life of Sakamoto Ryoma and his contemporaries; the Tosa town of Kochi City just so happens to be a Sister City of my hometown of Fresno, California, and as a result I recently had an opportunity to meet and talk with several officials from Kochi City regarding the important contributions made to the development of |
Japan
by Sakamoto Ryoma. One
never knows how important the simple reading of two books such as Ryoma-The
Life of a Renaissance Samurai, and now, the sequel Samurai Sketches
can be for each of us, until you
begin to explore the well written stories about this historical figure and
his contemporaries that made such an important difference to modern day
Japan. I
strongly recommend reading Samurai Sketches to the kendoist who has
already read Ryoma-The Life of a Renaissance Samurai, as
this sequel will provide even more intellectual excitement and an in-depth
understanding about the details of the lives of the samurai contemporaries of
Sakamoto Ryoma. Even
those who have not read Ryoma-The Life of a Renaissance Samurai,
I recommend just reading this sequel, Samurai Sketches, as by itself
will provide the reader with an enjoyable reading experience about the
intriguing times lived by Sakamoto Ryoma and his contemporaries. Happy
reading. ============================== IN
MEMORIAM: KAWAGUCHI, TSUGIO [1922-2000] Kawaguchi
Sensei, at the age of seventy eight years old, 8th Dan, Honorary Hanshi,
passed away on December 8, 2000. AUSKF NEWSLETTER |
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