Monday mornings, 7am-830am: practice with shinai & bogu
Tuesday mornings, 7am-830am: practice with bokuto
Wednesday mornings, 7am-830am: practice with shinai & bogu
Thursday mornings, 7am-830am: practice with bokuto
Saturday evenings, 730pm-9pm: practice with shinai & bogu
E-mail Shishido if you have any questions.
Not including closures due to COVID-19, the dojo will be closed (no kendo practice) on “Complete lockdown” days, but we will continue to practice on “Partial lockdown” days:
Besides the above “Complete lockdown” days, we will have kendo practice on all other weekday mornings.
Posted by Shishido.
This is the first time we’re trying to do an all-online fundraiser. I’m not spending any money to promote this thing so it’s not likely to generate many (any?) donations to Meikyokan and the HKF, but I think it’s still worth trying. Like I mentioned to the HKF Board of Directors, in the future someone may come up with a good fundraising idea and it’d be nice to have online shop/fundraising as an option. Maybe. Anyway let’s see what happens.
Here’s a flier. If you’re reading this and are open to supporting kendo in Hawaii, please take a moment to download it and send it to any "kendo people” or “cat people” you know.
Thank you,
Shishido
Did you know that there is a magazine entirely dedicated to women’s kendo? (I didn’t, until 5 minutes ago.) The website is here:
This is exciting! : )
Posted by Shishido.
…………………………………
Update: The magazine is shipped from the UK, so I decided to do a digital subscription. (It was around US$15 for two issues, no shipping fee.) So I’ve been reading articles all evening. It’s a good magazine - I hope a lot of people subscribe and support this important project.
Finally updated the digital version of this flier. Click here for a PDF version.
Posted by Shishido.
Not including closures due to COVID-19, the dojo will be closed (no kendo practice) on the following days in 2020:
HOLIDAY : DATE OBSERVED
New Year’s Day : Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day : Monday, January 20, 2020
President’s Day : Monday, February 17, 2020
Prince Kuhio Day : Thursday, March 26, 2020
Memorial Day : Monday, May 25, 2020
King Kamehameha Day : Thursday, June 11, 2020
Independence Day : Thursday, July 4, 2020
Hawaii Statehood Day : Friday, August 21, 2020
Labor Day : Monday, September 7, 2020
Veteran’s Day : Monday, November 11, 2020
Thanksgiving Day : Thursday, November 26, 2020
Day After Thanksgiving : Friday, November 27, 2020
Christmas Eve : Thursday, December 24, 2020
Christmas Day : Friday, December 25, 2020
New Year’s Eve : Thursday, December 31, 2020
New Year's Day : Friday, January 1, 2021
Besides the above days, we will have kendo practice on all other weekday mornings.
Posted by Shishido.
The dojo will be closed (no kendo practice) on the following days in 2019:
HOLIDAY : DATE OBSERVED
New Year’s Day : Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day : Monday, January 21, 2019
President’s Day : Monday, February 18, 2019
Memorial Day : Monday, May 27, 2019
Independence Day : Thursday, July 4, 2019
Labor Day : Monday, September 2, 2019
Veteran’s Day : Monday, November 11, 2019
Thanksgiving Day : Thursday, November 28, 2019
Day After Thanksgiving : Friday, November 29, 2019
Christmas Eve : Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Christmas Day : Wednesday, December 25, 2019
New Year’s Eve : Tuesday, December 31, 2019
New Year's Day : Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Besides the above days, we will have kendo practice on all other weekday mornings.
Posted by Shishido.
The dojo will be closed (no kendo practice) on the following days in 2018:
January 1, 2018 (Monday) : New Year's Day
January 15, 2018 (Monday) : Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
February 19, 2018 (Monday) : President's Day
May 28, 2018 (Monday) : Memorial Day
July 4, 2018 (Wednesday) : Independence Day
September 3, 2018 (Monday) : Labor Day
November 2-5 (Friday, Monday) : JCCH “Things Japanese” sales event in the dojo
November 12, 2018 (Monday) : Veteran's Day (observed)
November 22 & 23, 2018 (Thursday & Friday) : Thanksgiving Day and “day after Thanksgiving”
December 24 & 25, 2018 (Monday & Tuesday) : Christmas Eve & Christmas Day
December 31, 2018 (Monday) : New Year’s Eve
January 1, 2019 ((Tuesday) : New Year’s Day
Besides the above days, we will have kendo practice on all other weekday mornings.
Posted by Shishido.
It's finally done. I started last December and finally collected the last bit of information on March 25. I've asked L. Makiya (Kenshikan Kendo Club) to double check my math so there's a small possibility of minor (I hope) corrections, but otherwise the report is complete with 100% of HKF dojos returning information. Thank you to all of the dojo heads for supporting this project. Let's do this every year. :-)
Posted by Shishido.
The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii closes the dojo on all U.S. Federal Holidays (except for so-called "Columbus Day"), and sometimes for JCCH events or repairs. In 2017 Meikyokan Dojo will not practice on the following days:
Monday, January 2, 2017 : dojo closed in observance of New Year
Monday, January 16, 2017 : Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday, February 20, 2017 : Washington's Birthday
Monday, May 29, 2017 : Memorial Day
Tuesday, July 4, 2017 : Independence Day
Monday, September 4, 2017 : Labor Day
Thursday, Friday, Monday November 2-6 : JCCH “Things Japanese” sale in the dojo
Friday, November 10, 2017 : Veterans Day
Thursday, November 23, 2017 : Thanksgiving Day
Monday, December 25, 2017 : Christmas Day
Monday, January 1, 2018 : New Year's Day
We practice all other weekday mornings, including State Holidays and other special days like Earth Day, May Day, Halloween, or whatever.
Posted by Shishido.
Several weeks ago, while driving back to Honolulu after nighttime practice at Wahiawa Kendo Club, Hayashi and I saw the car in front of us stop in the middle of the road. The driver got out and picked a cat off the road that had been hit by a car (I don't know if it was him or someone else that did it) and then carried it off to the side of the road, leaving it next to a tree. As the driver was returning to his car I asked him if the cat was dead - he said, "No, but it's pretty bad; it's going to die." He drove away.
We like cats so I went to go check on the cat. It was a kitten and although obviously injured (bleeding from somewhere) and very disoriented (kind of slowly crawling around in a circle), I couldn't tell if it was going to die just by looking at it. I put it in the car and we took it to an animal hospital.
The hospital report was that he had been hit in the head, lost some teeth, and his right eye didn't seem to be working properly. Beyond that the doctor couldn't tell if he had received any life-threatening internal injuries - she said if he lived for another 24-48 hours that he had a pretty decent chance of surviving.
The kitten on the second day of his hospital stay - cleaned up and also a little drugged up with pain killers.
Two months later the kitten is still alive and is getting stronger and larger every day. I think he lost some vision in his right eye but besides that he seems healthy and happy.
His name is T.C., which is short for "Theoretical Cat." Does anybody want to give him a good home? (I already have 5 cats.)
Anyway, I'm posting these cat photos on this kendo website because 1) I think he's cute and I enjoy looking at him; and 2) it seems to me that if Sato sensei didn't hold kendo practices on Wednesday nights, Theoretical would have probably died on the side of the road that night.
Yet another unanticipated example of how good kendo is.
Posted by Shishido.
The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii closes the dojo on U.S. Federal Holidays, and sometimes for JCCH events or repairs. In 2016 Meikyokan Dojo will not practice on the following days:
Friday, January 1 , 2016: New Year’s Day
Monday, January 18, 2016 : Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, February 15, 2016 : Washington’s Birthday
Monday, May 30, 2016 : Memorial Day
Monday, July 4, 2016 : Independence Day
Friday July 8 to Friday July 15, 2016 : Meikyokan at PNKF Seminar & Taikai (Seattle, WA)
Monday, September 5, 2016 : Labor Day
Monday, October 10, 2016 : Columbus Day
Thursday, November 3, 2016 : dojo closure due to JCCH "Things Japanese Sale" event
Friday, November 4, 2016 : dojo closure due to JCCH "Things Japanese Sale" event
Friday, November 11, 2016 : Veterans Day
Thursday, November 24, 2016 : Thanksgiving Day
Monday, December 26, 2016 : Christmas Day
We practice all other weekday mornings, including State Holidays and other special days like Earth Day, May Day, Halloween, or whatever.
Posted by Shishido.
Nozawa sensei's kendo is the most natural and expressive that I have ever seen with my own eyes. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever see in my lifetime another person do kendo in a way that appeals so directly to my sense of what is beautiful. I have been studying his kendo for about 20 years, and although I do feel like I've learned a lot from him, I also remain completely unable to comprehend the depth or essence of his art. Sometimes I feel frustrated but the only thing I can do is to continue to practice according to his example and try to think carefully about the things he told us.
It's so easy to see how important good teachers are - even brief encounters with them can make us want to change ourselves for the better. Thank you Nozawa sensei.
P.S. Tiny side-note - the kendo cat we've been using as the informal mascot of our dojo is named Haru-chan, after Nozawa sensei. :-)
Posted by Shishido.
Meikyokan Dojo was very honored to have Dr. Noboru Akagi visit us yesterday. At the end of practice I asked Akagi sensei what he thought are the most important things for someone to hold in their mind and heart while they learn kendo. He mentioned the importance of creating specific objectives and desires and to try to learn in a broad way - not only the physical aspects of kendo but also manners, how to talk to people, culture, the arts, and so on.
His reply also prompted me to revisit the Aiea Taiheiji Kendo Manual from 1995, which includes many sections authored by Akagi sensei.
"In my early years, I learned many things, but my understanding was not complete. Gradually however, through long and difficult training I began to make the knowledge gained through training a part of my life.
I learned that one cannot hurry, but must persevere within one's ability. There can be no doubt. There must be total acceptance of training. Ken is a man. His character can be detected in how he wields his sword.
KIGURAI is "pride." It is one of my favorite words. One must remember this world while living each day. But do not forget that KIGURAI also has its limitations, and can cause people to misunderstand the purpose of training. The proverb, "The moonlight comes through the cracks in the log cabin," must be well understood and cherished. FAITH, JUSTICE, WISDOM, HARMONY, and RESPECT are my other favorite words. As long as we live in this world, we must also realize the importance of the word PEACE."
- Akagi sensei, from ATKM, page 83.
Posted by Shishido.
Here is our (slightly) improved flier. Incremental improvements!
1) Our old flier used to say "Practice: Monday to Friday 7am-8am (every weekday morning!)." We changed it to say "Practice is held every weekday morning...", so that people will know that they don't HAVE to come every day if they can't for some reason - examples: schedule conflicts, physical limitations, and so on.
2) Finally added our contact e-mail address. (Oops.)
3) The cat looks a little different. Can you tell?
This flier is also available as a downloadable PDF. Click here to download.
Posted by Shishido.
Would you like to start learning kendo?
Meikyokan Beginner's Classes will start on Thursday, April 2. Thereafter, classes will be held every weekday morning, from 7am to 8am.
If you're not quite sure if you'd like to learn kendo or not, you can just come to the first class on April 2nd and I will do a small demonstration and talk a little about what kendo is and how we practice. You're welcome to come even if you only very vaguely know what kendo looks like.
We won't be pressuring anyone who comes to our opening class to join anything, buy anything, or anything like that. It's just informational. And if you do decide to give kendo a try, there's no fees during the trial period (~1 month) and you don't need any special clothing or equipment. Just come wearing comfortable clothes.
Our goal isn't to have lots and lots of students. In fact, if you decide that you'd like to start learning kendo but would prefer to join a different kendo school, that's completely fine with us. We want everyone who joins Meikyokan to feel like our dojo is the right one for them. In fact, I think it's actually a very good idea to visit as many dojo as possible before choosing one to join. (The HKF list is here.)
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me (English or Japanese is fine). Or, if you prefer telephones, our dojo telephone number is 808.989-3068.
Take care.
Posted by Shishido.
This morning was our first open practice at Meikyokan. The hour zoomed by. It was a small group: David Sato sensei (Wahiawa), Sang Oh sensei (Kenshikan), Lori Chun sensei (Kenshikan), Ellen Takemoto (Wahiawa), and Hayashi and myself (Meikyokan). There were some awkward moments (my fault - still some kinks to iron out) but it felt nice to have guests. Thank you to everyone who woke up early to come to practice with us. Next open practice is Friday.
Posted by Shishido.
Here is the final version of the flier that dojo administrator Hayashi made. (I drew the cat for her, though.)
And here are some of her rejects...
Posted by Shishido.
Sent to HKF President Kathy Nekomoto for distribution to HKF members:
I would like to announce the opening of Meikyokan dojo. All HKF members - with permission from your sensei of course - are welcome to practice with us!
Location: Kenshikan Dojo (JCCH, first floor)
Hours: Every Wednesday and Friday morning, beginning March 4, 2015. Practices will start at 7 a.m. and end promptly at 8 a.m. We will open the dojo at ~6:30 a.m. so that people can change clothes, etc.
For the time being, our practice schedule will be:
Wednesday / Friday mornings will be OPEN PRACTICE (everyone is welcome).
Monday / Tuesday / Thursday mornings are CLOSED PRACTICE (only for beginners).
As some of you may already know, Meikyokan dojo is brand new, only voted into affiliation with the HKF on February 8, 2015. I wish to offer my deepest gratitude to my late teacher, Yoshinaga sensei for his encouragement and guidance, and of course Mrs. Yoshinaga and family, who have been so kind to me for many years. Many thanks also to HKF President Kathy Nekomoto and Yamada sensei of Kenshikan Kendo Club for their support during the organization phase of this dojo.
Sincerely yours,
Jon Shishido
<end>
Posted by Shishido.
As of today Meikyokan Dojo has a new home at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii. I signed a Lease Agreement with Caroline Okihara, Director of Finance and Administration, to use Kenshikan Dojo every weekday morning for our practices. I am pleased to practice in the space that Yoshinaga sensei worked so hard to help create.
I had originally requested a 6am-7am practice time but for various reasons this could not be accommodated by JCCH. We will instead practice from 7am-8am; I sincerely hope that this will turn out to be a good time for people. Dojo administrator Hayashi and I will begin practicing for practice at Kenshikan starting next Monday, and hopefully begin training students in April. Open practices will begin in March.
I have to find students.
Posted by Shishido.
