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Thread: Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai / Nihon Kobudo Kyokai / Nippon Budokan

  1. #16
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    Hey guys, I went to the link but my work computer wont show kanji, who is doing the yagyu shinkageryu kenjutsu from aichi?
    Just curious, my old aikido sensei sugihara sensei use to do a shindo muso ryu demo there every year, but it looks like someone from tokyo is doing it this year.
    Paul Manogue
    Yagyu Shin Kage Ryu Hyo Ho
    www.yagyu-ryu.com
    Aikido
    www.renseikandojo.com

  2. #17
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    Enjoy Himeji! The castle is very good, there is a garden there as well. They filmed a bit of Last Samurai at Engyoji on Shoshazan, but it is still worth going to. Some of our ryu members will be wandering about, but obviously not demonstrating. If they knew about e-budo I am sure they'd welcome you. Wish I could be there, I miss it since this summer.

    I do know a couple of good izakaya and other things if you like to know. Not the best sword/antique shops, but a few overpriced ones on the covered mall before the castle.
    J. Nicolaysen
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    "I value the opinion much more of a grand master then I do some English professor, anyways." Well really, who wouldn't?

    We're all of us just bozos on the budo bus and there's no point in looking to us for answers regarding all the deep and important issues.--M. Skoss.

  3. #18
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    Wish I could be there. I'll be in Japan for April for Asakusa Riverside though. Hope to see some of the regulars then.

  4. #19
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    The photographs at the Hyogo Budokan site showed Yagyu Nobuharu Sensei demonstrating Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, so I guess the Yagyu Kai from Nagoya wil be demonstrating.

    Just a minor point: Yagyu Shinkage Ryu is classified as a type of kenjutsu, but members of the ryu do not call it kenjutsu, they call it "hyoho", the most popular translation of which seems to be "strategy" (this can also be pronounced "heiho").

    I have heard that Himeiji Castle is quite nice. I hope I can go see it someday.

    However, can anybody tell me why Wado Ryu karate is included? That's about as modern an art as you can find.
    Earl Hartman

  5. #20
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    Any suggestions on any traditional sites or areas worth visiting near the city?
    At the base of Shoshazan, near the tram ride to the temple, there is a city museum, Shosha Arts and Crafts Museum, which shows the traditional crafts of the area. Super pricy gift shop, but some very interesting crafts unique to the area. Among these are the famous "White Leather" goods and "Myochin-furin," chimes made by the famous armor-making family Myochin, who have been making among the best armor historically and live in Himeji for many generations. These chimes are very nice, but the Sankyo-depaato near the train station has them for a bit cheaper and they take Visa. A mom-and-pop kitchen knife store on Miyukidori, the covered mall between the train station and Himeji-jo, also sells Myochin furin for the best price, but cash only. There is a store just south of the station which also sells traditional goods, but they too are very pricy.

    Another museum that may be of interest is the Prefectural museum of history, but I didn't go, and I am not sure if they have English-language text. It is just beside the castle.

    Himeji-jo's garden, Ko-koen is nice and features 9 styles of garden techniques. There is a combo pass with the castle.

    Well here is a good website that talks a bit more of these attractions.

    Miyukidori has the requisite shops and I'm sure anybody will navigate it on their own and find what they can. Himeji is a bit of a backwaters, but it has some interesting things.

    Okayama is only 30-40 minutes away by shinkansen and they have quite the spectacular garden, "Korakuen". And some samurai districts, but their castle is a reconstruction and not quite as impressive as Himeji-jo. Still, it's a great view of the donjon from the garden. There is a thread in the history forum that has some of my pictures of these castles, just use "search".

    There is a whisky/fish-chips bar called "Hosanna" to the left off the main street before the castle. Fish/chips were decent, whiskey was stellar. They speak English, and one of the bartenders has visited England a few times and loves American football. Only in Japan would you have a fish/chips/whiskey place with a Jewish word/name and a barkeep who loves the Denver Broncos and Elway...
    Three Izakaya I liked quite a bit, but I can't find their meeshi right now. If you want them, I can look a bit harder. One is off Miyukidori, the other two require a taxi but are worth it. Japanese fluency is pretty much required, but that shouldn't be a problem for you folk.

    Sorry to hijack the thread, but I miss living there. Peter Rehse, an e-budo member, lives there full time and may have more suggestions.

    Have fun, raise a pint for me...

    edited to add: The rail station tourist booth has some english language maps and brochures for a lot of this stuff too, but you all are old hands, so I'm sure you'll find what you can.
    Last edited by nicojo; 10th February 2005 at 18:48.
    J. Nicolaysen
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    "I value the opinion much more of a grand master then I do some English professor, anyways." Well really, who wouldn't?

    We're all of us just bozos on the budo bus and there's no point in looking to us for answers regarding all the deep and important issues.--M. Skoss.

  6. #21
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    Mr. J. Nicolaysen,

    Thank you for all the information!

    I had searched the internet as well, but it really helps to hear the opinion from someone who knows the place better than I do. It has probably changed quite a bit since I was there last and I only had time to run to the castle and back on previous trips.

    I printed your suggestions and will be taking them down with me.

    I'm packing at the moment and so probably will not be able to reply until I get back on Monday.

    Thanks again for your help.

    Regards,

    Ron Beaubien

  7. #22
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    Hello,

    A recipe for disaster...

    Take one just built high-tech budokan, add the Morishige-ryu and a dash of organizers that fail to fully plan ahead. Confused? Read on.

    The Kobudo Kyokai's 2005 Demonstration in Himeji was going quite smoothly. Sure they were running about 20 minutes late, but there were no major problems to report. Apparently, the demonstration was quite a big deal for the local people as they even had held a rehearsal the day before the demonstration. (In contrast, at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo there was a rehearsal for the first ever Nihon Kobudo Embu Taikai but there hasn't been a rehearsal held in years to my knowledge.)

    Their new budokan in Himeji was quite nice. It was only built three years ago and features the best in Japanese engineering. The main floor was apparently all natural and was not waxed if I understand correctly. If so, I imagine that Hyogo Prefecture might reconsider about sealing that floor after what happened today.

    The demonstration was winding down. Morishige-ryu, which was the last ryuha to demonstrate, had taken the floor and since they were facing away from us I decided to start packing up my camera gear. Have you ever wondered why the guys with the guns always go last? I always thought they just wanted to end on a "bang" but I was wrong.

    Anna Seabourne of Bitchuden Takenouchi-ryu was sitting next to me and as the shots rang out and the smoke began to rise, we suddenly heard this "hissing" noise, like compressed air being shot through small holes. No sooner than Anna said; "That sounds like the sprinkler..." Wham! We start getting hit with the water! Right from the ceiling above our heads the water just rains down all over half of the budokan. People running and screaming. General panic all around. I made a dash with my camera bag and jacket while my tripod was forced to fend for itself.

    Apparently the local people who run the Hyogo Prefectural Budokan failed to recognize that the smoke from hinawaju might cause the high-tech budokan's automated systems to assume that where there was smoke there was fire.

    I don't know if any of you have ever been in a building when there sprinkler system activates, but "sprinkle" is not an appropriate word for the situation. Water just poured out of the ceiling. Even though I only had to sprint up one flight of stairs, I got pretty wet and remained damp the rest of the day.

    On the lower seating level where we had been sitting, there was about an inch of water on the floor when I went back to rescue my tripod. We then wiped off and packed up for the long journey home. When we left, there were still thirty or so people down on the main dojo floor trying to clean up all the mess and a fire truck outside to add to the embarrassment.

    Making my way back to Tokyo on the Shinkansen, I was surprise to see that on the screen above the doors leading to other carriages, as the Asahi Shimbun's headlines flashed by they mentioned that the sprinkler system went off during the Nihon Kobudo Embu Taikai soaking the crowd and that it took the organizers three minutes to finally shut the water off. Ha! Nothing like some good media coverage to promote the classical martial traditions of Japan! I just smiled, closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep in my still damp clothes.

    Next time I go to an indoor koryu demonstration I think I am going to bring an umbrella.

    Regards,

    Ron

  8. #23
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    Lol, poor Himeji. I guess it is a little like Omaha, Nebraska getting to host the Olympics or something. Well I hope everyone had a good time in spite of the typhoon.
    J. Nicolaysen
    -------
    "I value the opinion much more of a grand master then I do some English professor, anyways." Well really, who wouldn't?

    We're all of us just bozos on the budo bus and there's no point in looking to us for answers regarding all the deep and important issues.--M. Skoss.

  9. #24
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    As the first guns started to fire we left the building to catch our train. Looks like I missed all the fun.

    There was no rehearsal. Or should I say there was but we were the only ones there. We took advantage of the whole small hall/dojo from lunch until around 4.p.m. used the time to help some our members visiting from Tokyo and did one embu in the main area to get the feel of it.

    I came upstairs to mingle a bit but was not sure where you were sitting Ron. I had a quick coffee with Peter Rehse and friend. Nice to see people in the flesh.
    Hyakutake Colin

    All the best techniques are taught by survivors.


    http://www.hyoho.com

  10. #25
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    Thanks Ron,

    I am no longer envious that I couldn't go to Hyogo now. LOL

  11. #26
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    Hello,

    Media coverage we did get! Take a look:

    http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0213/014.html

    Regards,

    Ron

  12. #27
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    Default Hilarious

    Ron,

    Ummm....Hmmm. So any chance they're gonna ask the musket guys back again to set off the sprinklers one more time?

    Wayne Muromoto

  13. #28
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    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    snerk, snurfle, gurk.....
    Earl Hartman

  14. #29
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    Ahh the beauty of antiquated, albiet proven, technologies- where only the locally effected sprinkler head would go off, thus minimizing water damage. The idea of the whole system activating from a single source such as a cigarette lighter was usually reserved for "B movie" idiot directors. In real life it almost never happens that you have wide spread activation unless the structure is seriously involved. Today,in various multi-story buildings the "loss" is not just fire and smoke anymore-its water damages. But water damage is cheaper then life anyday.

    But people love new technology, to the point that they will experiment with your money. As one fire captain recently said to me while reviewing plans "We don't have as many fires anymore-just false alarms. These systems have too many bugs- to be worked out at the owners expense.

    I'll be seeing him again this week. I need to tell him about shooting muskets off in a modern buiding. That request would have been a non-starter here. No one who was on his game would have entertained it.
    Too rich.............
    Cheers
    Dan
    Last edited by Dan Harden; 15th February 2005 at 02:56.

  15. #30
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    Brings a whole new meaning to the term, "up in smoke"

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