Salinas Kendo Club
The Salinas Kendo Dojo was founded by Takuma Bunden (Hanshi 7-Dan) and Tomio Kurano in 1970 with the encouragement of the San Jose Kendo Dojo, where the pair had been traveling to practice. Current head instructor, Jimmy Eitoku (7-Dan), was the first student but many others including Jimmy Uchida, Glenn Kyutoku, Richard Uto, Henry Uchida and others soon joined to form a large club of almost 40 members. Among those were two other current sensei including brothers Yuji Onitsuka (7-Dan) and Shinji Onitsuka (6-Dan). Acknowledged among their peers for their accomplishments and dedication to kendo, these sensei continue to carry on a tradition of kendo excellence in Salinas and now also in Monterey, training numerous kenshi throughout the decades while participating at the highest levels of national and international events. For more information about the group, please visit the Salinas Kendo Dojo website.
Hikari no Gakko
Hikari No Gakko, “Shining School,” is a non-profit, parent cooperative program which explores the Japanese Culture through arts & crafts, cooking, language, music, history, and various live demonstrations. The program is open to students going into grades K through 7th and is held at the Buddhist Temple of Salinas in June. Email to Program Director, Robert Gatanaga at hikarinogakko_salinas@yahoo.com for more information.
Salinas Bonsai Club
The Salinas Bonsai Club holds classes at the Buddhist Temple of Salinas, every first Saturday of the month, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM. The instructor is Mr. Katsumi Kinoshita of Monterey. The club president is Mr. Scott Harlan. The class meets in the gym courtyard. For more information, email to salinasbonsaiclub@sbcglobal.net or visit their Facebook page: Salinas Bonsai Club.
Japanese Calligraphy and Japanese craft class
The Japanese calligraphy class is held on the first Wednesday of the month from 1:30 PM to 3 PM. Crafts class is held on the third Wednesday of the month 1:30 PM to 3 PM. This class is being taught by Mrs. Mihoko Dreyer. The class meets in the gym conference room. For more information, email to dreamkoistudio@gmail.com.
Chado Urasenke Tankokai Monterey Association
The study of Japanese tea ceremony is called “chadō” which means “the way of tea.” It involves the ceremonial preparation and presentation of a powdered green tea called Matcha. Matcha is made by using high quality tea leaves that are dried. The stems and veins are removed, and the tea is then ground into a very fine powder.
Chadō is somewhat unique in the Japanese cultural arts, in that although it is complex and ritualized, it is deeply rooted in an every day act. It is practical, and also philosophical. In going through the ritual, the host has time to center themselves on a single goal: To prepare the best tea that they can to express their feeling of friendship and respect for their guests. The guests for their part, by witnessing this ritual, have time to fully appreciate the gift of being the recipient of this effort, and can better appreciate the tea they are about to receive.
Chadō is a shared experience. The host and guest meet with the feeling that every time is a unique and unrepeatable encounter. In Japanese, this is called “ichigo ichie.” Although every human interaction is unique and unrepeatable, it is not always easy to remember to appreciate each other.
The Monterey Chadō group is affiliated with the Urasenke School of Tea which was founded by Sen Rikyu (1522-1591.)
The Monterey Urasenke group holds annual member tea events at the temple, and conducts tea demonstration during the Salinas Obon festival. If you are interested in learning more about Chadō, please contact Chado Urasenke Monterey.
Banner Photo by Salinas Californian, July 2014