2018 Shito-ryu Shukokai Union events in Japan

Report from the 2018 events in Japan

DISCLAIMER: This is a PERSONAL report with the views and experiences of the Greek team. Please consider it as such, instead of an “official” SSU report. 

Although a bit late due to professional obligations, here is the report from our trip to Japan where we had a great experience last March, organization was perfect and everything ran smoothly.

I am glad to say that this is thanks to Kamohara sensei who is based in Japan again, he managed to make a great impact on the quality levels of the seminars and of the overall organization of our events, along with Takeyama sensei!

Going to Japan is always a fantastic experience. Every time is as exciting as if it was the first time
one visits this beautiful country. However, as sensei Denis Casey said, this time, our experience would
be bittersweet. Our initial purpose was to go and celebrate the 80th birthday of Yamada sensei.
Unfortunately, on January 7th, our beloved Soke passed away. Therefore, instead of celebrating his
birthday, we were there to mourn for his loss.

We therefore had a full week that besides of course tourism in the beautiful country of Japan, included a
heavy schedule of seminars, dan gradings, a visit to Yamada sensei’s grave, dinners (including the
memorial dinner for Yamada sensei), socializing, training and of course, competition.

Let me start by offering a glimpse from our side, the side of the Greek team, as every team has a
different schedule, different arrival and departure times, different amount of days spent in Japan and
different places that we visit.

We reached the Osaka & Kobe area on Sunday the 18th of March, in the evening. Rion Duell, a student from
the US, was kind enough to pick us up from the airport and come along to Kobe for a drink at “The Harbour
Tavern” in Kobe, where we usually hang out together with everyone (Thanks a lot, Rion!). We had a late night and we slept at around 2 am.

MONDAY MARCH 19TH

Monday morning, after a mere 2 hours of sleep (!) we had to wake up at 4 am as we took the first train to
Tokyo, where we would spend the whole day for tourism and for meeting good old friends! We took the
Shinkansen at 5am and we reached Shinjuku area 9 am approximately.

The Samurai Museum of Shinjuku was only a few minutes walk from our hotel, so, it was a great opportunity
that we had to seize!

In the museum we saw a lot of samurai armours and artifacts. One of those armours, was also the actual
armour that inspired George Lucas to design Darth Vader’s “helmet”, for Star Wars™! Pretty amazing, huh? Here are some photos from the museum:

After the Samurai museum, we visited Shibuya Station where we had the opportunity to visit Hachiko’s
statue, the dog that is known all over the world for his loyalty to his master! This, is of course next
to the Shibuya Crossing, which is also very well known for the thousands of people crossing it every
minute!

Here are some photos from the popular Shibuya Crossing and the Hachiko statue, along with sensei Nikos Karaiskakis (7th Dan) and our good friend Kostas Alexakis, who joined us in this wonderful trip!

After we enjoyed a coffee in Shibuya Station, we moved on to the next station which was Harajuku, where
we visited “Owl Village Harajuku”, a “Fukurō cafe”. “Fukurō” means “owl” in Japanese and yes, this is exactly what this cafe was all about. You can enjoy your coffee, tea or other beverages and you can also spend some quality time in
the owls’ room, holding owls on your hands (yes, real ones!). What a great experience!

We closed the day by going for a drink at the “Hub” in Shinjuku, meeting with our good friends, Ryutaro &
Yumi, as well the famous drift driver “Zamurai” and Toshie san! On our way there, we met some troops of the Empire!

TUESDAY MARCH 20TH
Late night sleep again and an early wake up call the next morning (4am again!) in order to catch the
first Shinkansen to Matsumoto city (5am), to see the famous Matsumoto castle from up close! We
reached Matsumoto Castle at 9:05am!

“Matsumoto Castle (松本城 Matsumoto-jō) is one of Japan’s premier historic castles, along with Himeji
Castle and Kumamoto Castle.[1] The building is also known as the “Crow Castle” (烏城 Karasu-jō) due to its
black exterior. It was the seat of the Matsumoto domain. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in
Nagano Prefecture and is within easy reach of Tokyo by road or rail.

The keep (tenshukaku), which was completed in the late sixteenth century, maintains its original wooden
interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.[1]”

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsumoto_Castle

Here are some photos from our visit to the Matsumoto Castle:

We managed to complete our visit at 10:24 when we took the taxi to the train station and managed to gain
an extra hour and get an earlier train all the way to Amagasaki City, as we would have to be there at
4pm, in order to visit Yamada sensei’s grave. We reached Amagasaki station at 2:20pm and therefore, we
had enough time to get something to eat and to change our clothes, in order to wear our official suits.

We reached the honbu dojo of Yamada sensei at 3:29pm and it was a good half an hour during which, we met
with all our international friends again, after quite some time! Good friends from the Philippines, the
UK, Germany, Japan, Argentina, Botswana and so many other countries from around the world! How can you
not feel like you are in a big, worldwide family?

We left at 4pm to visit Yamada sensei’s grave. It was a cloudy, rainy afternoon. I believe the weather
reflected our feelings. The moment we all expected that would come, at some point in our lives, was
unfortunately a reality. One by one, we all went in front of Yamada sensei’s grave and bowed in respect.
No words, no expressions, just respect. A great respect for so many years of teachings and, allow me to
say, true friendship. Yamada sensei was family for us all. He was not that distant “Soke”. He was a
father for all of us. And that’s because of his always kind character. May he rest in peace…

We left the graveyard shortly after and we went straight to the Izakaya, as we had scheduled. 50 people,
50 friends, or, if you prefer, 50 brothers and sisters of the big Shukokai family, we all went there, to
have dinner together and to raise our glasses and shout “kampai” in remembrance of Yamada sensei.

In the evening, just like almost every other evening, most of us would end up to our usual place, “The
Harbour Tavern” in Kobe, where we are all used to hang out.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 21ST

Early wake up call again, as always, we woke up at 7 in order to catch the train at 8, so that we would
be at the Amagasaki Baycom Gymnasium by 9 am.

At 9:30am, we started our Japanese Calligraphy classes with NISHIHARA Kiyokazu (Rosan) sensei, a “Shihan”
in Japanese Calligraphy!

What a wonderful experience it was! And allow me say here, besides this being a great event, it was also
a great gesture that was organized by Kamohara sensei. Why? Because it was something that Yamada sensei
wanted to organize, before he died. He wanted to make this “gift” to all of us, it was his intention. So,
Kamohara sensei and Nishihara sensei respected his will. This is why, for THREE days, each and every one
of us only paid 1.000 JPY! This is something like 7 euros and it would only cover the cost for materials
(papers, brushes, ink etc). Normally, these seminars would have a cost of something like 70 euros per day
(if I am not mistaken)!

So, a HUGE thank you to Yamada sensei, Kamohara sensei and of course, Nishihara sensei! It was a
wonderful experience indeed! Thank you!

11:00 am and the first seminars started! Just like every year, we had a wonderful demonstration from the
students of Ashiya University who were kind enough to do a kata demonstration for us!

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After the kata demonstration, we were split into 2 groups:

Group A practiced with MIYANO Tsugo sensei (8th Dan) who taught Nipaipo kata and Group B practiced with
SUGIMOTO Hiroomi sensei (7th Dan JKF) who gave us a special seminar in KIHON. After the lunch break we
all switched groups.

THURSDAY MARCH 22ND

Again, we started in the morning with Japanese Calligraphy classes with Nishihara sensei at 9:30 sharp.

At 11:00am, Karate seminars started with MITSUMURA Yoshinori sensei (7th Dan) and SUGIMOTO Hiroomi sensei
(7th Dan JKF).

2 groups again, same system as the day before. Mitsumura sensei taught Kumite and Sugimoto sensei taught
Bassai Dai kata (shitei – JKF version).

We left the Baycom Gymnasium and we had a good night out with sensei Nikos and Kostas to eat some UDON!

FRIDAY MARCH 23RD

Same schedule as the previous 2 days, 9:30 to 11 o clock we had Japanese Calligraphy class and from
11:00am we had Karate seminars. This day, GROUP A was practicing with Denis CASEY sensei (8th Dan from
the UK) and group B was practicing with TAKEYAMA Fusaemon sensei (7th Dan). Unfortunately, I cannot say
much on the content of the seminars during Friday and Saturday, as I was absend because I had to work for matters of the organization.

At this point, I believe it is essential to mention that many members of our union successfully passed
their dan gradings (On Tuesday) and many others, were honoured with special titles. So, I would like to
congratulate the following:

Sensei Eva GAUNA from Argentina for receiving her 6th Dan
Sensei Steve BEVERIDGE from the UK for receiving his 6th Dan
Sensei George POLITIS from Greece (living in Wales) for receiving his 6th Dan
Sensei Andrew PLUMB from the UK for receiving his 5th Dan
Sensei Paul LOMAX from the UK for receiving his 5th Dan
Errol LACHICA from the Philippines for receiving his 2nd Dan
Nadia Christian FORMENTERA from the Philippines for receiving her 2nd Dan
Jarmaine Babe MORENO from the Phillipinesfor receiving her 1st Dan

For the titles received:

Sensei Denis CASEY for receiving the titles of TASSHI and SHIHAN
Sensei Nelson VIDAL for receiving the titles of KYOSHI and SHIHAN
Sensei Tony GRAINGER for receiving the titles of KYOSHI and SHIHAN
Sensei Marco WONG for receiving the title of JUN SHIDOIN

Congratulations to you all!

More photos from sensei Nelson Vidal:

SATURDAY MARCH 24TH

From 9am until 12 o’clock, we had seminars with KAMOHARA Tsutomu sensei (9th Dan) and Denis CASEY sensei
(8th Dan) and TAKEYAMA Fusaemon sensei (7th Dan). We were split again into 2 groups and Group A was the
instructors’ course, where an in-depth analysis was given on all the kata of the SSU syllabus, in order
to identify all the differences between the katas, from one country to another. This was very important,
in order to minimize the differences we all have around the world and in order for us all to follow the
same line.

After the seminars, from 1:30pm until 4:30pm, we all had the Annual General Meeting with all national
representatives, where we all discussed matters of the world union.

When the General Annual Meeting was completed, we all headed to Miyake Hotel New Archaic in Amagasaki, to
attend the memorial dinner for Yamada sensei.

I could very easily say that there is a lot to say about the dinner, but at the same time, I wouldn’t
like to say much. The feelings were weird and mixed. From one perspective, we were all very sad to attend
such a meeting, as it was a memorial dinner, where we all gathered to mourn the loss of Yamada sensei.
But at the same time, from another perspective, we all “celebrated him”. We watched 2 videos with photos
and memories of Yamada sensei that made us all smile. In a way, we all raised our glasses to shout a loud
“kampai” to Yamada sensei.

A lot of important people honoured Yamada sensei with their presence. Some of the ones I remember, where
the president and the honorary president of the JKF (who also sang a “dirge”, a “funeral song” if I am
not using the wrong expression in English that was very touching and emotional), the president of JKA and
representatives from many known organizations, including (but not limited to) Shitokai, Hayashi-ha,
Kusano-ha and many others. I am very happy to see that so many people showed their respect to Yamada
sensei by being there, to honour him with their presence.

More photos from sensei Nelson Vidal:

SUNDAY MARCH 25TH

Sunday was the competition day for the 45th Gishinkan Cup and the 2018 Shito-ryu Shukokai Union World Cup
in Amagasaki Baycom Gymnasium. Approximately 1.500 participants (if I am not mistaken again).

Competition was great as always and some of the international students achieved some good positions,
despite the very high level! Congratulations to all the participants!

I don’t think there is much to say here, apart from posting a few photos and videos from that day. Special thanks go to Becky Hartshorn from the UK and to sensei NelsonVidal from Argentina, for kindly allowing us to use their photos:

After the tournament, we all went to an Izakaya, where Kamohara sensei and Takeyama sensei, on behalf of the world Shito-ryu Shukokai Union, promised to buy us all a good dinner, as a “thank you”. It was a wonderful gesture indeed! So, a huge THANK YOU goes to Kamohara sensei, Takeyama sensei and the world union for their kind gesture!

MONDAY MARCH 26TH

Monday was maybe the first free day we had after this whole week with our heavy schedule. So, we decided
to go to Kyoto and visit “Kinkakuji”, also known as “The Golden Pavilion”. What a jewel!

“Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, literally “Temple of the Golden Pavilion”), officially named Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺,
literally “Deer Garden Temple”), is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan.[2] It is one of the most
popular buildings in Japan, attracting a large number of visitors annually.[3] It is designated as a
National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape, and it is one of 17 locations making up
the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which are World Heritage Sites.[4]”

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkaku-ji

Here are some photos from our visit to Kyoto and specifically to Kinkaku-ji, as well as the Higashi Hongan-ji Temples:

This marked the end of our visit to Japan. Unfortunately, time was up and the next day, we had to travel
the long way back home.

All in all, visiting the land of the rising sun, was for once more, as always, an unforgettable experience. We were very happy to see you all again, to spend some great time together, to do what we all love doing (practicing Karatedo), to socialize, to get together with each other, to meet new people, to meet old friends again, to relax with some tourism and so much more!

Personally, I am very thankful to be a member of this union. Or should I say, this big, international
family?

A big thank you again to our senseis, especially Kamohara sensei, Casey sensei and Takeyama sensei for
your efforts. A big thank you to all of you as well, the international instructors and students! I think the best times we all had, were all these years, that we enjoyed the presence of Yamada sensei. But there are still, many more, great times ahead, to experience together! A bit more poor, as Yamada sensei won’t be with us, yet still priceless.

Until next time then! I will be looking forward to seeing you all again soon, somewhere in the world!

Respectfully yours,

Dimitris Petrakis, 4th Dan
General Secretary, Shito-ryu Shukokai Union
World governing body for Yamada-ha Shito-ryu Shukokai Karatedo

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