BUTOKUDEN Kendo Members:

Takanebe Sensei, all Japan Champion will be visiting the southern CA area from 11/18 – 11/22. There are some practices scheduled.

There is a joint practice with SCKO, SCKF and WKF on Monday 11/21 at Norwalk Dojo. Other than that, there may be a practice on Saturday 11/19, but location and time is still to be determined.

If you have the time, it will be a great experience to see one of the best Kendo player in the world live.

Taro

Takanabe Sensei’s schedule in Southern CA.

Norwalk Dojo:

Southeast Japanese Community Center

14615 Gridley Road

Norwalk CA 90650

It is our honor to welcome Maki Miyahara Sensei at BUTOKUDEN Kendo Dojo for a special practice on May 22.

Date: May 22, 2011, 10AM – 12 Noon (Refreshment will be served after practice)
Location: Butokuden Kendo Dojo (1581 Browning, Irvine, CA 92606)

I think it will be a great opportunity to meet a Sensei that knows so much about Kendo and the Kendo History here in the USA.

Please use the form at the bottom of this post to respond your participation (RSVP May 20)

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Taro Ariga

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Information regarding Miyahara Sensei
Recently turned 90 years old, Maki Miyahara sensei has an incredible depth of knowledge and experience in kendo, and he is a generous teacher still practicing 4 times a week. In 1971, he was inducted into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame for being the youngest to achieve the rank of hachidan (8th dan) in the U.S., and is on record as winning tournaments as early as 1934 at the age of 12 (see attached link to an article about pre-WWII kendo in the U.S. Black Belt Magazine). He was a student of his father Hiroji Miyahara (Hachidan), even practicing while they were both intern at the Hart Mountain, Wyoming Japanese-American relocation camp during WWII. His father, Hiroji Miyahara, is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Kendo in the U.S.A., as well as Mori Torao (Hanshi Hachidan), an accomplished kendo sensei and European fencer who coached the 1964 United States Olympic team. Miyahara sensei embodies the spirit and history of Kendo in Southern California and the U.S.A.

Black Belt Magazine 1971 article (page 27)

http://books.google.com/books?id=sdcDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=black+belt+1971&hl=en&ei=He3NTcuQEIHrgQfcvfXLDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=maki%20miyahara&f=false

Black Belt Magazine 1965: Samurais of Southern California (Page 32) Also has a group picture before  a 1934 tournament, that states in the captions the Maki Miyahara “won the trophy.”

http://books.google.com/books?id=A9kDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=print+article+on+Maki+Miyahara+kendo&source=bl&ots=jKUuf8zOOe&sig=kbRL3xp6JK1_dOkP1QqZkYDS7UE&hl=en&ei=aenNTez0BI6tgQeTkcyyDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

This picture is from the from page of Chou dojo’s website, 3^rd in the 2^nd row is Miyahara sensei. Second from the left in the front row is his father.