The Urasenke tradition of tea ceremony in the San Francisco Bay Area is strongly affiliated with the Kobara family. Meiyo Shihan (Distinguished Master) Soko Kobara and her late husband Seiji Kobara co-founded the Chado Urasenke Tankokai San Francisco Association 55 years ago and have been an instrumental part of the Urasenke tradition of tea in […]
The Hazard family and martial arts in Northern California
April 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Those who have been around kendo (bamboo sword fighting) in the United States, fondly remember the name Benjamin Hazard. According to twin sisters Malyne and Alyne Hazard, two of the late kendo master’s four daughters, he had a hand in creating several kendo dojo in Northern California, as well as establishing kyudo (archery) and naginata […]
Shirley Muramoto’s ‘Hidden Legacy’ to explore arts in the wartime camps
April 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Each year, more and more stories from the World War II American concentration camps are shared, broadening the public’s awareness about the long-term effects mass incarceration has had on the Japanese American community. Stories about people like Fred Korematsu, the Heart Mountain draft resisters and the “No-Nos†are esteemed within the community for their strong […]
Seiichi Tanaka, the father of American taiko
April 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Surrounded by members of the San Francisco Taru Mikoshi Ren in the city’s 1968 Cherry Blossom Festival, Seiichi Tanaka pounded on a taiko borrowed from the recently opened Suehiro Restaurant in the newly opened Japan Center Malls, then called the Japanese Cultural and Trade Center. He was the sole drummer that year, but in the […]
BEATING OUT A NEW PATH: The proliferation of taiko in America
April 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The art of taiko drumming has had a presence in the United States for just under half a century. Several pioneers fostered and drove the art from its cultural roots to what is now an internationally recognized form of performance art featured in mainstream movies, television and music. Taiko Takes Root in the U.S. In […]
Japanese cultural classes
April 4, 2014 by 2 Comments
Taiko San Francisco GenRyu Arts Location: Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, 1840 Sutter St., S.F.’s Japantown Contact: (415) 420-3151, info@genryuarts.org, www.genryuarts.org Maikaze Daiko Location: Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St., S.F. Contact: (415) 513-7798, info@maikazedaiko.org, www.maikazedaiko.org San Francisco Taiko Dojo Classes: 212 Ryan Way South San Francisco, CA 94080 Contact: (415) 928-2456, […]
In karate, manners matter
April 4, 2014 by 1 Comment
On a Friday evening, the seven students in Sensei Naohiro Tomiyama’s Japantown-based Enshin Karate dojo spar with each other in two-minute battles, kicking, punching and pulling at each other’s uniforms. When Tomiyama-sensei’s timer dings, it’s always the same thing: A handshake, a bow and a polite thank you. Then onto the next classmate for another […]
MUSHAKOJI SENKE: The Third Way of Tea
April 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Following the creation of the Japanese tea ceremony by Rikyu Sen in the 16th century, the school eventually split into three. The most well-known of the three are the Omotesenke and Urasenke schools, both with branches in San Francisco. The third and smallest school, practiced only by a handful of people on the West Coast, […]
Finding rare books, inner peace at Forest Books
April 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Situated in the Buchanan Mall (Osaka Way) just a few stores away from Sutter Street is Forest Books, where the books are rare and the zendo floats. A 40-year zen Buddhist who studied writing, Forest Books owner Gregory Wood said he wanted to open a business that followed the Buddhist idea of right livelihood — […]
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THE BEAUTY OF BRUSHSTROKES: Akie Karahashi and the art of shodo
Akie Karahashi, a Bay Area Japanese language and shodo teacher, organizes a display of select works of calligraphy at the festival. Karahashi talks about her passion for the art and the beauty that she sees in the characters. Nichi Bei Weekly: What do you find beautiful about calligraphy? Akie Karahashi: We write on white paper […]