KENDO IS SHARING

Rod Nobuto Omoto By Tom Bolling

One day Omoto Sensei was lecturing on A Book of Five Rings to his class at Tacoma Community College when a student raised his hand and said, “Sensei, I’m not qualified, but may I make an observation?” Omoto Sensei replied, “Well, if it’s ‘qualified,’ I’m not qualified! But if it’s the spirit of sharing, then you’re qualified. And yes, you may make an observation.”

With that thought, some reflections are offered on the author’s personal hero, Omoto Sensei.

FROM WAHIAWA TO KYOTO

Wahiawa, Hawai’i is a land of pineapples and the hardworking people who nurture and harvest this prickly and delicious fruit, and it was here on October 9, 1918 that Rod Nobuto Omoto was born into a family which would include an elder sister Judy Yukiko, a younger brother Brian Tomio, and four younger sisters, Jean Hideko, Syllvia Miyako, Phyllis Takako, and Ruth Yoshiko. His parents were Shinichi Omoto of Kure-shi, Hiroshima-Ken, who had been a farmer in Japan, but was a blacksmith in Wahiawa, and mother Tameno (Toshie Oda, also of Hiroshima-Ken, a picture bride housewife. Here, too, he embarked at the age of 14 on his extraordinary life journey of Kendo, starting in 1932 with Miura Kenji Sensei.

Omoto Sensei remembers fondly his “small kid” days of Kendo, carrying his bogu through the pineapple fields for daily practice, tournaments with children from other Dojo, developing lifetime Kendo friendships, among them the late James Shinso Oka. Introducing Oka Sensei at Seattle Kendo Kai on one of his frequent visits a few years ago Omoto Sensei said, “He was that big kid who used to beat me up — still does!” In recent years Omoto Sensei often traveled to Oahu to enjoy Oka Sensei’s Mililani Taikai, and at the same time visit his sisters.

Leaders of Hawai’i Kendo in those days included Mikami Shuji Sensei, Furuyama Chuichi Sensei, Sugiura Yonematsu Sensei, and Wada Sensei.

At Wahiawa, Miura Sensei was the head. Later there was also Tsuda Sensei, who later adopted the name Kozaki by marriage. Fifteen years ago, Omoto Sensei met Kozaki Sensei up at the Steveston Taikai. Kozaki Sensei passed away after that.

In September 1938, after graduation from Leilehua High School, Omoto Sensei’s dad and Miura Sensei sent him to Japan to study at the Kodo Kan, the personal practice hall of the great Ogawa Kinnosuke, head of Busen — Budo Semmon Gakko. The Butokukai, an organization devoted to all the Budo, had been established in 1895 with

headquarters in Kyoto, and Busen was the Butokukai’s technical university for training professional teachers of the Budo.

KENDO IS MIND OVER MATTER

One day Omoto Sensei said, “Be proud of your body! Kendo is mind over matter. But first, you’ve got to get the body!”

Omoto Sensei was staying with his grandparents in Kure and attended the 4th and 5th grades at SeiHo middle school. With Sugiura Sensei’s recommendation he applied to Busen. The first year his Japanese wasn’t strong enough, so he attended Ritsumeikan to learn Japanese. He stayed in the change room at the Kodo Kan until he was admitted to Busen. During that period he waited on Ogawa Kinnosuke Sensei. Omoto Sensei had many tasks, including such things as making shinai. He learned tea ceremony by being a “practice dummy,” playing the part of the guest for Ogawa Sensei’s daughter Michiko. Michiko and her husband Ogawa Masayuki had two children, Hiroyuki and Michiko, and it was part of Omoto Sensei’s job to babysit them on a regular basis. Walking Ogawa Sensei’s dog Jiro was another duty. Ogawa Sensei’s wife also raised crickets, and she taught Omoto Sensei the intricate details of caring for them.

KENDO IS CHOOSING LIFE

“One of the boys committed seppuku. Ogawa Kinnosuke Sensei called us all together and said: ‘OK… it takes a lot of guts to commit seppuku. And if you have that kind of guts, you have to LIVE, and correct your mistakes.’ So that’s the ‘seppuku spirit’ …live, and correct your mistakes.”

The curriculum at Busen consisted of Japanese history, Japanese literature, and intensive training in the Budo. For Kendo, that meant practicing about four hours a day, six days a week. For one year, practice consisted of nothing but “kirikaeshi till you drop.” Besides the hard training, there were many life lessons from Ogawa Sensei as well.

KENDO GIVES LIFE

“This reminded me of Naito Takaharu Sensei, the first Head Sensei of Busen. I remember reading Kensei Naito Takaharu Sensei by Takaoka Kenji. On page 20, I highlited it that said that Budo Ka should not have any desire for wealth. If you want to be rich, take another profession. Naito Sensei lived by this example.”

“I also read in a story of ‘Takasebune’ by Mori Ogai, introduction and translation by Kikuoka Tadashi, in The East Magazine, Vol. 37.4 November/December 2001. This story reminded me of ‘Katsu Jin Ken’ which is always in my mind, and Naito Sensei’s attitude of a Budo Ka.”

One of the phrases every student of Omoto Sensei’s has heard many times is “Katsu Jin Ken,” the sword that gives life. Omoto Sensei contrasts the Katsu Jin Ken with the Satsu Jin Ken, the sword that kills. For Omoto Sensei, the ethical implications of Kendo are what the art is really about.

TRADITIONS AND LINEAGES

When Omoto Sensei was studying in the pre-war and immediate post-war period, essentially all teachers were first and foremost practitioners of some Ryu-Ha or particular ancient lineage of Kendo. For example, Naito Takaharu Sensei and Ogawa Kinnosuke Sensei were in the Hokushin Itto Ryu, while Takano Sasaburo Sensei was in the Ono Ha Itto Ryu, Nakayama Hakudo Sensei was Shinto Munen Ryu, Miura Kenji Sensei was Hoki Ryu, and so on. Omoto Sensei explains that he had a clear sense of the signature or stamp of various Ryu-Ha showing though into their standard Dai Nippon Butokukai or Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei Kendo.

KENDO IS COMPOSURE

One day a student asked Omoto Sensei if a certain thing had surprised him. In a very simple and matter-of-fact way he replied, “Things don’t surprise me.”

“Like Oka Sensei used to say, ‘So far so good.’ That means a lot to me because, since the Japanese Army experiences, where I escaped close to death situations several times, and especially the Atomic Bomb! therefore, from the Atomic Bomb on, everything is BONUS to me. I am a very fortunate person.”

HIROSHIMA SURVIVOR

Ogawa Kinnosuke Sensei had arranged to have Omoto Sensei’s military obligation deferred each year, but as the war became worse, the situation at Busen suffered. Omoto Sensei’s classmates scattered, blown by the winds of war. Their ties were strong, and a few, such as Kendo Hanshi 9th Dan Horigome Keizo, are still in touch with Omoto Sensei to this day. But by 1942 the school was closed, all the teachers had been drafted, and Omoto Sensei was drafted too.

Omoto Sensei’s professional training from Ogawa Sensei and Busen was utilized and soon Second Lieutenant Omoto was teaching Kendo and Jukendo in the Japanese Imperial Army.

By the summer of 1945, Omoto Sensei was commander of a four-truck company whose mission was hauling logs from Shikoku to build fortifications. Hunger and starvation were widespread, but he and the men had a place to hide food at the farmers who befriended them. They heard that the war was over, and that there had been a “Pikadon” flash bomb but they didn’t believe it. When they arrived at Hiroshima there were flies all over the place and it was a living hell. He said goodbye to the other men, and walked to Kure, about 50 miles from there. As he approached Kure there were some people who had survived the bomb living in makeshift huts. Omoto Sensei says, “I was in perfect shock — I can’t say ‘Kendo spirit.'”

He arrived in his grandparents’ place in Kure and got a job at the city hall, working for one yen a day. One day just below his house he encountered an American and said “Hi” to him. The American said, “Hey, you speak English,” and ended up asking Omoto Sensei to come and work for them. So he became an interpreter for the U.S. Army CIC or Counterintelligence Corps. This appointment eventually led to further positions with

the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, and U.S. Army/Air Force Counterintelligence.

In 1948 at the Matsue City police station in Shimane-ken, he was interpreting for his commander Captain Parker when he noticed that the police had Kendo equipment there, and he asked them if they would keiko with him. They were afraid to do it and said no, because Kendo had been forbidden, but Omoto Sensei asked the commander, and he said go ahead. Thus they started practicing again.

Matsue City is the place where he encountered Ono Soichiro Sensei. They had a tournament of Shimane-ken vs. Tottori-ken. Ogawa Sensei was there too. Ono Sensei was Mori Torao Sensei’s sensei. When Ono Sensei died, his wife sent Omoto Sensei a calligraphy of “Sei Shin” or “Quiet Mind.” That “Quiet Mind” sums up Ono Sensei’s Kendo, and Mori Sensei had the same “Quiet Mind” as well.

Mori Torao Sensei is legendary in both Kendo and western fencing. Omoto Sensei encountered him in Wahiawa, in Japan, and again back in North America. He always seemed calm and cool, and his attacks, especially from jodan-no-kamae, were leisurely, but so perfectly timed there was nothing you could do. Omoto Sensei regards him as “…the world’s best. I had a very special opportunity to meet Mori Sensei three different times. First in Hawaii, in the 30’s, when he first visited Hawaii…long time ago. Then Steveston…when I used to go to Steveston Kendo Taikai, and the last one is here in California, when he was the president of U.S. Kendo Federation. But he had to die early of heart attack…while doing keiko in California.”

KENDO IS TRADITION

“You got to get the Kendo habit!”

RE-EMERGENCE OF KENDO

Kendo was underground, but Omoto Sensei pro-actively sought out places to do Kendo and people to practice with. Gradually, Kendo rose back to the surface. Omoto Sensei was active in the “Shinai Kyogi” movement, a version of Kendo practiced in western athletic clothes and de-emphasizing some of the more combative dimensions.

Meantime, Omoto Sensei also had to work out some challenges with regard to his US citizenship status. It took some time before he could return to the United States. When he did come back, it was to Corvallis, Oregon, and his bogu was packed and put away. He thought the most he would be able to do with it was set it up in the livingroom and look at it as a reminder of the past. In 1966 he got a B.S. degree in engineering from Oregon State University, and ended up in Tacoma, Washington.

KENDO IS COMPASSION

“Kendo is a really difficult concept. Even for Japanese it’s hard to get the philosophy. I don’t care about the skill — if they use the Kendo to raise their life that’s what it’s about. In ballroom dancing, the man is the leader, but who looks at the man?

The lady, who is the shitachi, is the real leader. The uchitachi has compassion to make the lady beautiful.”

“I just wonder what our Kendo people think ‘Teki’ is ! I remember very vaguely that Christians say ‘Love thy enemy.’ In Kendo I interpret ‘Teki’ in many ways, and finally I end up in defining for myself that ‘Teki’ is my Sensei forever.

The Tacoma Buddhist Temple brought about the rebirth of the pre-war Tacoma Kendo Club, which had been founded in 1931 by the Rev. Jokatsu Yukawa. In early 1967, the Temple had Boy Scouts of America Troop No. 115. The Scout Master was Tom Masao Tanabe at that time, and asked Omoto Sensei to teach the members of the troop some Kendo so that they could put on a demonstration at the Scout-O-Rama. Omoto Sensei agreed and taught them some simple basics of Kendo. The Scout Troop presentation won a Blue Ribbon. Tanabe Sensei was very happy and asked Omoto Sensei to continue teaching the kids Kendo. With the help of pre-war kenshi including Yoshihiko Tanabe, Del Tanabe, and Yosh Kawabata, plus the background support of other Temple members, the Tacoma Buddhist Temple Kendo Club became very popular. In the beginning there were kids, with a Kendo tournament almost every month in which the kid who won received a small trophy. This trophy was a perpetual trophy that went to the winner of that month. This encouraged people to practice harder, and led to more members, including adults. People from the surrounding area including Federal Way and even Seattle were drawn to join the Club.

While pursuing his engineering career in the firms of Educators Manufacturing Company, Fentron, Lunstead Design, and Washington State Department of Corrections, Omoto Sensei was once again active in Kendo.

In 1967 Omoto Sensei heard that Kendo was being practiced in Seattle, and he visited the Seattle Kendo Kai, but it turned out to be the very day that Umajiro Imanishi Sensei had his stroke, and so he was never able to practice with Imanishi Sensei. However, he began a close association with Kaz Shoji Sensei, Kiyoshi Yasui Sensei, Paul Kurose Sensei and Joe Cuendet Sensei. Omoto Sensei also began helping the Kendo Club which formed in 1972 at the University of Washington, in association with a medical professor at the University, Dr. Hitoshi Mohri. Dr. Mohri was a specialist and pioneer in open heart surgery of infants, using a technique of lowering the temperature of the baby.

KENDO IS AWARENESS

“Be cool — don’t anticipate.”

The first Washington State Kendo Tournament was held in the early 1970s, before the Washington State Kendo Federation was even organized. The Tournament was actually originally conceived as the first University of Washington Tournament, and was in fact held on the campus, though it grew into the concept of a statewide event. For the event, Tacoma Buddhist Temple Kendo Club invited the Canadian Kendo clubs and Obukan Club from Portland. The Japanese Consul Generals from Seattle and Portland and the Canadian Consul General attended this Tournament.

In 1972, Omoto Sensei was elected to the Board of Directors of the Kendo Federation of the USA which had been formed by Mori Torao Sensei and of which Mori Sensei had been President until his death in 1969.

In 1973, Omoto Sensei took part in the 2nd World Kendo Championship in Los Angeles.

In 1974, Omoto Sensei, together with Yasui Sensei, Dr. Mohri, and Kurose Sensei among others, formed the Washington State Kendo Federation (currently known as the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation, with Omoto Sensei being the Founding Charter President when the official papers were filed in 1975.

Members from Tacoma and Seattle exhibited Kendo at the Expo ’74 World’s Fair inSpokane. Thesummerweatherwasveryhot,buttheparticipantsendured,withTanabe Masao Sensei and Omoto Sensei demonstrating the Kendo Kata using live blades, since there were no habiki available to them at that time.

KENDO IS SCIENCE

One day a student was keikoing with Omoto Sensei and suddenly said, “I made a mistake.” Omoto Sensei immediately took down his shinai and said, “Don’t say ‘I made a mistake.’ Say, ‘I did it that way. Now I know what happens when I do it that way. Next time I’ll try a different way.'” After practice, he continued on this theme, “Who do you believe more than yourself? If you always tell yourself you made a mistake, you’ll program yourself to be a person who makes mistakes. Give yourself credit! You know you are sincerely trying your best. Be objective. Be cool. Be positive.”

Next Omoto Sensei decided to extend Kendo to an academic audience. He had an involvement in teaching Japanese language, literature, and culture in several schools, including Pacific Lutheran University, Pierce College, Tacoma Community College, Charles Wright Academy, and Ford and Keithley Middle School. He began writing essays on Kendo in such journals as Sempo and Furyu, and for the Hawai’i Kendo Kenkyukai, and in about 1990 began teaching Kendo as a formal classroom subject in the program of Japanese language and culture at Tacoma Community College. The Kendo course was very exciting. He based the curriculum on A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, and related each of the five sections to the Nippon Kendo Kata. The “Ground Book” he related to Kata Number 1, the “Water Book” to Kata 1 and 2, the “Fire Book” to Kata 2, 3 and 4, the “Wind Book” to Kata 4 and 5, and the “Void Book” to Kata 5 and 6.

In his lectures, Omoto Sensei conveyed much fascinating lore transmitted directly to him from Ono Soichiro Sensei, Ogawa Kinnosuke Sensei, Miyazaki Mosaburo Sensei, Tsuzaki Kenkei Sensei, Sato Chuzo Sensei, Kurozumi Ryushiro Sensei, Wakabayashi Shinji Sensei, Sato Toyonosuke Sensei, and Shido Taisuke Sensei, among others.

KENDO AND IAI ARE ONE

“Iaido – that’s the original! Then comes Kendo Kata… one step away from the original. Lastly there’s Shinai Kendo, the furthest removed from real shinken shobu.”

“The UWKC is doing Kendo first, followed by Iaido and Kata. That’s excellent, just so the theory portion, which is the Iaido and Kata, are done. There might be a reason for this sequence: like, see, you do Shinai Kendo this way, but let’s relate Iaido to what we just did, or the Kata. What kind of waza from Iaido or Kata that we use in Shinai Kendo are effective? Just a stimulation of thought.”

In his writings and discourses relating the Kendo Kata with A Book of Five Rings, Omoto Sensei stresses the concepts of Sen (“before” and Relationship, explaining that Sen is a state of mind creating a relationship with the opponent before any physical action takes place. The term Sen figures prominently in A Book of Five Rings, and Omoto Sensei analyses the ten Kendo Kata and categorizes them in terms of Miyamoto Musashi’s threekindsofSen. Thekeytoallofthem,accordingtoOmotoSensei,istheRelationship one actively creates, allowing one have the Sen to win by a slight margin no matter what the opponent does. Relationship is based upon one feeling the opponent’s spirit, using a soft gaze, and extending one’s sixth sense.

Omoto Sensei asks, “Who creates the relationship and when? If the Teki creates the relationship, I am under his control.” He teaches that according to Takano Sasaburo Sensei, the Shitachi is the main character and the Uchitachi has the supporting role. The Shitachi pressures the Uchitachi so that the Uchitachi has to respond to Shitachi’s pressure.

Omoto Sensei points out that most of the footwork in present day Kendo is stamping, jumping, kicking, etc., but that the movements in Kata are suri-ashi, all in smooth, gliding ayumi-ashi or tsugi-ashi, without any abrupt exciting movements. However, because the Kata are a predetermined form, and the Uchitachi is the leader, the Uchitachi must have compassion towards the Shitachi as though saying “Are you ready for the next move?” And because the Shitachi is in a position to pressure the Uchitachi, he would have a bold attitude as if to say, “I am ready anytime you are. Go ahead, make your move and I am with you on the spot.”

In Omoto Sensei’s analysis of the Kata, he points out that here are two ways to cut: non-blade contact and blade contact. Three of the waza have no blade contact, where our seme is so strong that the Teki freezes, and we simply walk into the Teki and strike. The seme is strong enough that one forces the Teki to make the first move, then uses debana Sen and strikes, or uses nuki waza, and lets the Teki attack first and then make the strike. Kinds of waza using blade contact in the other seven Kata include nayashi, kaeshi, suri-age, suri-otoshi, suri-nagasu, and suri-kome waza.

Omoto Sensei notes that in the Kata there are no harai waza, maki-otoshi waza or kiri-otoshi waza. These waza could be interpreted as “The opponent’s sword is in the way and bothering me. Therefore I must first do something with his sword before I execute a waza.” There could be numerous waza with harai, maki-otoshi or kiri-otoshi, like harai-

men, harai-kote, etc. However, both harai and maki-otoshi could be a seme having sword contact without datotsu. Therefore, “I must wait for my Teki to respond to my sword contact seme.”

Breath control in relationship is very important. “Can I synchronize my Teki’s breath to my advantage so that I can detect his movement before he makes his move?”

KENDO IS SEN

“I believe, of course, that there is only one Sen to remember. If I create the relationship, then I am in control; if I am in control, I can create any one of the three Sen. If I am in control, I can win. So, practice Kata to learn relationship, to create Sen, to apply to Shinai Kendo, and win.”

Omoto Sensei teaches that Sen and relationship are very effectively learned by practicing the Kendo Kata continually, and studying them deeply. At the ultimate level of understanding, the Uchitachi supports the Shitachi so totally and with such compassion that the two beome “Itchi” or one and in harmony. According to Omoto Sensei, Iai is an extention of this using a live blade in harmony with an invisible Teki/Sensei.

For over twenty years the present author traveled from Seattle down to Tacoma every week to practice with Omoto Sensei. Omoto Sensei’s preferred curriculum for every practice was first Iai, then Kendo Kata, and then Shinai Kendo. Every student was required to do all three, and Omoto Sensei would give some kind of lesson out of the Iai or Kendo Kata that he wanted to bring out in the Shinai Kendo keiko that evening. At the end of keiko, he would reiterate the particular lesson from Iai or Kendo Kata that we were supposed to have been gaining.

The author had not been training very long when one day he happened to say to Omoto Sensei that he liked Iai because it was more meditative and not as aggressive as Shinai Kendo. “Hm! Not as aggressive!? Well, actually it’s just the opposite,” Omoto Sensei replied. He then went on to explain that in Shinai Kendo, the decision to fight has already been made, and the swords are out, whereas Iai studies the crucial transition from a peaceful situation to an understanding that one is under attack, and the decision to defend against the attack.

In 1999, a colleague opened an Iai class at Everett Community College north of Seattle and asked the author if he would help with this class. At first it was not a conflict, but later the college switched the evening to the same one as Tacoma practice. At that time, the author consulted with Omoto Sensei about the conflict, and was urged in the strongest terms to go and help Everett with their program. Omoto Sensei expressed great satisfaction that Iai was being propagated, and wanted to give it his highest priority.

KENDO IS RELATIONSHIP

“Kendo is two people. Your brainwave has to synchronize with your partner’s on the other end, and with breath control you will be itchi.”

One day a student was long-windedly explaining to Omoto Sensei why he hadn’t been coming to Kendo any more. Omoto Sensei said, “If Kendo supports your life priorities, that’s what it’s for — not the other way around.”

One day a lady visited the Tacoma Dojo a few minutes before practice began, bringing along a small boy. The lady said, “I’d like my son to learn Kendo.” Omoto Sensei replied, “I’m sorry, we don’t accept children whose mothers want them to do Kendo.” Then he asked the boy, “Are you interested in learning Kendo?” The boy nodded and said “Yes.” “Fine, then. You’ll be very welcome to study Kendo here.”

KENDO IS ENDLESS STUDY

“And also a never-ending studious Kenshi who always try to increase Kendo knowledge through such phrase like: ‘Sun Shi To Ho’ that I mentioned last Monday night. This is my interpretation on Chiba Shusaku Sensei’s phrase ‘Sun Shi To Ho.’ ‘Sun’= One inch. (pronounced soon, cut short, not like sun or moon, which is a bit longer than our inch. ‘Shi’= Stop. ‘To’= Sword. ‘Ho’ = Style, method, law. In another words, the way to stop my sword one inch from the target. However, what I explained and demonstrated was to let the sword stop, not ME trying to stop the sword. This requires many years of ‘Suburi’ practice. It is not clobbering force and trying to brake the sword to stop at one inch before the target. The demonstration was to stop one inch before the target, right on the target, finally one inch below the target, and the “Teki” is dead. Not he or she, the ‘Teki’ (no gender.”

On Saturday, June 10, 2000, Omoto Sensei participated in a 12 km run. He wrote that “it sprinkled about three times and even had sun coming out during the run. According to the morning Tacoma NewsTribune, there were 12,000 runners. The runner who came in first place was Eric Tollefson of Tacoma, 36 minutes 42 seconds. A lady, Joanne Templeman of Tacoma came in 45 minutes 44 seconds. I thought I would be the last one in, but there were quite a few more behind me. I came at 2 hours 24 minutes 14 seconds. I stopped and took about 16 pictures along the way. Not bad for an 81 year old. And I don’t have any sore legs or anything. I think I’ll continue to participate in the annual event, the Sound to Narrows funrun. I ran the first one 28 years ago.” Shortly after that, he left for Hawai’i to attend the Mililani Taikai and practice in various Dojo there.

One day a visitor remarked to the author, “Oh, is that your Kendo teacher? I know him… he jogs past my house every morning.”