Shindenkan's 50-year history in Denmark became a reality in 1967 when Soké Sensei Tonegawa decided to settle in Copenhagen and spread the knowledge of Gensei-Ryu Karate-do in the then Budokan on the street and for 20 years was a constant Sensei and great inspiration in Denmark and Japan. In 1988 SST founded Jokokan and Bujutsu Kodosokukai thus began to spread his family system Yashin Mon. Yakami no Taijutsu through a select few students, including Yamana-Itotani Sensei.
In the martial arts and martial arts organization Bujutsu Kodosokukai, SST has been through the last 30 years a fantastic martial arts, martial arts grandmaster and inspirer for Jokokan, Shindenkan and many other systems and great martial arts and martial arts masters.
50 years later, on March 31, 2018, it was time for Soké Sensei Tonegawa to retire at the age of 80. We knew this very well because it has always been the plan that SST would withdraw from the management of Bujutsu Kodosokukai and that this should happen after 30 years - in 2018.
In Shindenkan Denmark, we have shown this all the time and therefore Shindenkan and Kaidenkan with timely care became an independent branch in 2008 with Yamana-Itotani Sensei as leader and a license that has covered Europe, Scandinavia and Denmark. Following SST's retirement from the organizational leadership of the Bujutsu Kodosokukai, the Shindenkan and Kaidenkan have been elevated from being an independent branch of the Bujutsu Kodosokukai, with a European license, to a full and 100% independent organization with a World Wide license.
We are VERY proud of this - because it emphasizes that our fantastic journey in the world of multi-track martial arts continues positively and developing for all Shindenkan members who have been involved - a fantastic development and journey that I have been lucky enough to be a part of since 1988.
But it is important to state that SST's retirement only applies as head of the Bujutsu Kodosokukai. SST is of course still Soké for Yashin Mon. Yakami no Taijutsu, this has not changed. And SST of course still trains together with the 3 original main forces – the 3 original members and students including Yamana-Itotani Sensei.
Backtrace Shindenkan's 50-year history
Already in December 2012, we, in Shindenkan's management, had decided that when we arrived at the 2017/2018 season, it would be a perfect time to visit Japan and Tokyo to celebrate 50 years of Shindenkan's history in Denmark, as well as to follow in the footsteps after Kimu Sensei and his many training camps and training meetings with SST. We had therefore planned to visit many of the places where Kimu Sensei had met SST and where the training of Kimu Sensei had taken place since 1988.
Coming to Japan and Tokyo was for some of us the first time and a dream come true 😊 For others it was the 4th time, for Kimu Sensei it was the 89th time and the 5th time this year! But for myself, it was the 6th time and I was very much looking forward to it.
Japan - Tokyo, yes, it is NOT cheap to go to Japan because both plane tickets and hotels in Tokyo are expensive, but we had been very lucky to receive several different sponsorships because the 50th year of Shindenkan in Denmark coincided with the 150th year of trade between Japan and Denmark and this was an argument that could be used. The sponsorships totaled approx. 40,000 for this trip and since we had also decided on 50% self-payment, it all had to be planned well.
Of course, we flew in the cheapest economy class we could get and had booked a very cheap hotel outside Tokyo with 45 minutes of transport to the center - and we were, as always, ready to share rooms and do it cheaply to keep the budget down.
We left on Wednesday 9 May 2018 at 15.45 from Copenhagen airport and were very hopeful. Approx. 10 hours and 30 minutes later we landed at Narita airport at 10.30 in the morning – that is, the next day! Although I have been to Japan 5 times before, it was as always a surreal experience to arrive at Narita airport with the many Japanese characters and with the high level of service and I could hardly wait to get on to Tokyo.
With Kimu Sensei in Japan.
I have been to Japan with Kimu Sensei 3 times before and have experienced doors being opened without me knowing why and Kimu Sensei being treated as an SVIP (Super VIP) – and you only understand this if you are aware and aware of this – because it always happens very discreetly.
Nevertheless, it was once again a very big surprise for me to come to a country with such a long history and so many traditions and then be treated as a very important person, but I am not the one who has family with 2,600 years of influence either history in Japan, I'm only here as a humble guest and I'm allowed to be surprised 😊.
But Kimu Sensei HAS a Japanese family that goes back very far in history – 2,600 years in fact!
My previous Japan trips.
As I said, I have been to Japan 6 times and my maiden trip was 28 years ago – in September 1990, when I worked for a Japanese company called Roland DG. This was together with my boss at the time and we stayed at the Hotel Palace - Tokyo, which is close to the Emperor's Palace. The places I visited were Tokyo in the areas of Ginza, Akihabara, Asakusa, the city of Kawasaki and the city of Hamamatsu where Roland had its headquarters - a total of 10 days.
After all, this was my first encounter with Japan and Tokyo, where I was introduced to SST for the first time – through Kimu Sensei. This meeting I was quite nervous about, as I had never met SST, only read and heard about him, and I had wondered a lot about what it would be like to meet him.
So it was with great awe that I called him, and waited anxiously while it rang... The phone was picked up and it was the SST's wife who answered. After introducing myself, I held my breath and waited! The SST's wife replied: "Yukio no home" and hung up...
Then I kind of sat there and didn't quite know what to do. I waited a while, then pulled myself together and called again. This time it was SST himself who answered the phone. He asked if we should meet and I humbly said yes, thank you. It was incredibly exciting to meet SST, who was both friendly, humorous and very accommodating. He took me around to various budo shops and bookstores with English-language books about Budo - I was incredibly happy about that.
September 1991 was my second trip to Japan, this time alone. I stayed at the hotel Tokyo station, which is located right next to Tokyu Eki (Tokyo station) - in an extremely small room. The places I visited were almost the same places as last time: Tokyo in the areas of Ginza, Akihabara, Asakusa and the city of Hamamatsu where Roland had its headquarters - a total of 10 days. This was my second meeting with Japan and with SST in Tokyo, and again I was met with both kindness, humor, and he took me around to various budoshops and bookstores and showed me the very beautiful Sensōji temple in Asakusa - where the dragon in the old Gensei-ryu school – Seiryukan's blue dragon comes from.
Although I met SST both in 1990 and 1991, both times on introduction from Kimu Sensei who had already trained and been taught by SST since 1988, it was only in 1992, when SST was in Denmark, that I was taught of SST and subsequently in Denmark again in 1994 and 1996.
September 1998 was my third time in Japan and my first training camp - and the first time with Kimu Sensei. It was a fantastic trip where I, together with Kimu Sensei and 6 other Danes, were on a training camp with SST. It took place up in Iwaki with the Nishiwake brothers and the senior members from their Jokokan School.
On this trip, Kimu Sensei had prepared a historical trip where we went to Nikko, stayed overnight in a ryokan and went to the onsen (hot baths), as well as visited Kyoto and saw the city from a historical perspective with the various palaces and temples, and gained insight in their meaning. Kimu Sensei and I later returned to Tokyo alone and trained with SST for a single afternoon in the park. The other 6 joined us later in Tokyo and we had another afternoon of SST training and a final dinner – the trip lasted a total of 10 days.
Since then I have visited Japan 3 times, visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and the stunningly beautiful and spiritual Hakone - all trips have been amazing and enriching for me.
Shindenkan's 50-year history, present and future.
The Yamana-Itotani family goes back more than 2600 years in history and such a family has of course shaped history, had temples and thus also sponsored many fighting systems and as religions along the way. These were often linked together because it was a necessity to ensure the survival of the family. It was also the case for SST's family, called the Noro family and their Shinto temple which was sponsored by the Yamana-Itotani family before about 1450, and was under their protection and helped to train the family's head for 200 years.
Yashin Mon can be dated back to the year 999 and Yakami no Taijutsu back to 1450, and the link between Kimu Sensei and SST is not accidental either, it goes back several hundred years and for the Yamana-Itotani family it is not a unique example.
The Yamana-Itotani family had several martial arts families that they sponsored throughout history, because sponsoring the best martial artists throughout history helped to ensure the family's survival, and therefore Yakami Shinsei-ryu is only part of the Yamana-Itotani family's periodic martial arts legacy.
Kimu Sensei's training with SST started in the summer of 1988 in Denmark on Hornevej in Amager at a training camp and continued intensively in a development chapter in the years 1991-2007, where Kimu Sensei lived at Hotel Okura. A new chapter started in the years 2007-2018 when Kimu Sensei lived at the Hilton hotel in Tokyo.
Survival is deeply rooted in Japan's cultural heritage and for those profound readers who may know something about Japanese history, it is no coincidence that Kimu Sensei lived at Hotel Okura. The name Okura has a historical connection to Kimu Sensei's family and the historical period around the Kamakura Shogunate, while Hotel Hilton Tokyo represents the new era. So a journey from the old to the new.
These historical facts about Kamakura, the Onin War, the building of Edo and now modern Tokyo can be compared to Kimu Sensei's journey from the old to the new Shindenkan. Through a time of power struggle and destruction to a time of peace and building.
The martial art has ensured the survival of people and families for millennia by being optimized and expressing the essence, because the martial art is a necessary tool for life. So does the food! The link is perhaps that the Japanese seek to express the same essence through their food culture, their respect for purity and the simple, the simple and beautiful.
Survival also entails adaptation, a chapter ends so that a new one can be started.
The new Shindenkan, after SST has chosen to retire at the age of 80, will naturally reflect the fact that the Yamana-Itotani family has survived for 2600 years with a unique martial art heritage that has also included Yakami Shinsei-ryu before the year 1500. After all, that is what SST has asked Kimu Sensei to do.
Nothing is ever random - not even the choice of hotels or even the room number, which when Kimu Sensei chooses it for me, the cross sum is 9 - which means a full circle. This is a sign to me that it's time to end a chapter and start a new one, well he's still waiting for me 😊
The Japanese culture is reflected in everything they do.
Simple is beautiful – High quality, healthy, simple, good taste, aesthetically beautiful, and good service.
Japan is one of the most exciting countries I have tried to eat in, and on the 6 times I have been here, I have tried to eat food ranging from the most humble to some of the most excellent Japanese food you can imagine.
The top restaurants in Tokyo have more Michelin stars than Paris and New York combined. So that's not saying much - and yet.
Kimu Sensei has told me that when Michelin came to Tokyo to award Michelin stars, they discovered that there are over 300,000 restaurants in Tokyo, that's quite a lot isn't it? The 5 inspectors could not possibly try them all, and therefore only tried some selected restaurants over 5 years, but unfortunately not the best by Japanese standards. When the Michelin guide was subsequently published, it lacked all the best Japanese restaurants and therefore lost all its credibility in Japan and for the Japanese - and you can understand that - when the best restaurants are not mentioned at all!
The price of a meal in Japan varies in all categories and my experience is that I have never had a bad meal in Japan! I've never had a meal and thought it wasn't worth the money - regardless of price! I've actually always been excited!
On this trip following the footsteps of Shindenkan's 50-year history, we ate exclusively Japanese except for one instance where we ate Chinese food. This is also in the footsteps of the 50-year history where Kimu Sensei has also eaten Chinese with SST in Japan, and actually I have too 😊
Japan is an amazing food country.
Rounding off
In a country with such a long history, a history of conflict and jealousy, with 500 years of civil war. In a country where history, just like in all other countries, is about money, power and religion as a means of gaining power or maintaining it. In a country where the intensity and awareness of your own and your family's survival has been a main focus for millennia - as it has been for Kimu Sensei's family.
The last day was rounded off and was of course the end of a fantastic journey in the footsteps of Shindenkan's 50-year history. Told through the backtrace of Shindenkan's history, Kimu Sensei's family history, visits to historical areas as well as the culinary experiences that I have briefly described, where even the last morning meal in Japanese style with rice and soup was another fantastic experience that was served with high service, humility and aesthetics.
As I left the Tokyo Hilton with sadness and emptiness with the same extremely high level of service as when we arrived, I wondered if there is a line in that with the food, is there a connection? Is there a cultural-historical reason why food is important?
Because what is it that I like so much? Yes, the food is always of high quality, it's healthy, it's simple, it just tastes good, it's beautifully and aesthetically presented, and it's always followed by polite, humble and efficient good service by people who take pride in in doing their best.
Simple is beautiful – High quality, healthy, simple, good taste, aesthetically beautiful and good service.
The Japanese appear thrifty with respect for clean food products, which also means that the Japanese rice is of a higher quality than the other Asian grown rice, and the Japanese tea is always organically grown.
With respect for the meal - grounded in survival over millennia, of course because you die if you don't get anything to eat, but also with the respect that you don't know if you'll live long enough to eat your next meal, or if you're able to offer your family the next meal!
Why is it ritualistic around the food and service, how is it linked together with the story? What does respect for food and respect for service have to do with the wheel and the deep plate?
Well, it must be their cultural heritage. A people who for millennia have lived with civil war and natural disasters side by side in very little space. A people who take pride in doing their best regardless of where they are in the hierarchy!
What can I learn from it?
It is a really good starting point to be proud of myself – to be uncompromising about what I do, because it defines who I am! If I prepare well and do my best – then I also make myself proud. It is clear that the Japanese are a proud people - proud of their history and what it has created - perhaps downright proud of being able to survive for so long - and therefore do everything with pride, from the humblest task to the greatest and they appreciate each other for it.
Extra notes for those who have food interest in it 😊
Japan is a fantastic food country - try reading on.
Lunch – Tonkatsu Curry (Curryhouse)
One of the things that I have loved since I first tasted it is Japanese curry. Most of us have tasted different types of curry and found them good or not so good, and we may have our favourites. The Japanese curry differs from the other curries by being particularly tasty, and it is available both mild and strong. On the recommendation of a Shindenkaner, we had gone to Curryhouse to taste their curry. Here we had Tonkatsu, which is breaded pork fillet with really good and reasonably strong curry, and it tasted fantastic.
Breading is not originally Japanese, but came to Japan with the Portuguese in the 16th century, and has been "japanized" so that it is adapted to Japanese tastes and preparation.
Curry is not originally Japanese either, although this is found in several surrounding countries. Curry came to Japan with the Indians in the 1900s and has again been "japanized" so that it is adapted to the Japanese taste and preparation.
Although Curryhouse is a fairly humble place, the service was excellent, very polite and efficient.
Evening – Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu (Nabese Shinjuku)
For dinner, Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu were on the menu, and Kimu Sensei had found a good place where we could have both. Both of these dishes are of recent date and developed in 1945 – 1950 for the American occupying power, but with traces back to the 1860s, when Japan was forced to open up to the outside world, but have since been perceived as typically Japanese outside of Japan.
Both dishes are extremely tasty and are prepared in a low, wide pot that stands on a hob on the table. Preparation of the food is done at the table and can be done either by yourself and those you eat with, or by the waiter.
Shabu Shabu are briefly described various, very fresh and crisp vegetables, and delicious, very thinly sliced beef that is cooked in boiling water and poured into 2 bowls of dressing, respectively. a sesame dressing for the meat and a soy/vinegar dressing for the vegetables. As the food is cooked in the water, it forms a good soup which is eventually eaten with rice.
Sukiyaki is briefly described various very fresh and crisp vegetables, glass noodles and delicious, very thinly sliced beef cooked in a sauce made of sweet soy, water and sake. As the food is finished, take it out of the pan and into a bowl where you have a beaten raw egg into which the food is dipped before you eat it.
Our very polite waitress showed us how to do it and watched us figure it out. It tasted super good and was another good experience with high quality ingredients and really good service.
Kimu Sensei had stayed at the hotel and had to fix various things with the other 10thdan from the lab, so he ate Udon noodle soup with Tempura instead. Both Udon noodles and Tempura preparation originate from the Tokyo area and are from before the Edo period (1600) where the soup is typically made of dashi (fish stock), soy sauce and mirin (sweet sake) which is topped with very thinly sliced spring onions. Udon noodles are then added to this, which are thick Japanese noodles - based on buckwheat. Finally, Tempura is added, which is vegetables and fish or shellfish fried in a very light batter. This dish is super delicious, tasty and healthy.
Traditional Japanese breakfast buffet (Hilton Hotel Tokyo)
Image result for Japanese breakfast A traditional Japanese breakfast is healthy, pleasing to the eye and very varied. The typical composition with colors and different flavors make it a pleasure to consume.
Kimu Sensei has taught me how to put it together and choose the right things from the breakfast buffet.
There must be seaweed, rice, soup, pickled vegetables, umaboshi – pickled and very sour plums, grilled fish, tofu and fresh vegetables. All very healthy and tasty ingredients that bring your body back into balance and bring out the well-being in you. A really good way to start your day – of course accompanied by green ocha tea.
Traditional Japanese Lunch (Kamakura)
After walking in Kimu Sensei's footsteps out in Kamakura where we saw the temple of the god of war, we got hungry and after a bit of searching we found a very interesting traditional Japanese lunch restaurant. The guests were all middle-aged Japanese, and after looking at the menu, we were tempted.
I was really looking forward to tasting this and I was not disappointed, it tasted amazing and felt very authentic and as you can see from the pictures we were all really excited - or almost everyone 😊
Evening – Serenya Teppanyaki restaurant
Friday night was very special, once again Kimu Sensei had pulled in his network and called a friend - just for us. This meant that he had got us a dinner at Tokyo's absolute best meat restaurant at the top of the Mitsubishi building in Shinjuku - with some of the best chefs in Tokyo, from the 6th dan up to the 9th dan, and a view from the 51st floor - all over Tokyo. Not only that, we had arrived at just the right moment at 18.00, so we could see Tokyo, going from light with sunset to darkness settling over the city. It was crazy!
Yes, it might sound strange that there are chefs with dan degrees, but it is nevertheless the case - in Japan outside the Michelin guide.
Teppanyaki is a meal where you sit, and the chef stands right in front of you and prepares the food while you watch – that is, you see everything! The food is prepared on a large completely flat pan of approx. 120 x 60 cm, where each area of the pan has different temperatures that the chef must control to perfection, while carving and creating small works of art.
It was a full house this Friday night and after we had been there for 10 minutes our junior chef 6th dan was replaced - which made him a bit nervous - and the job was taken over by the head chef with 9th dan who came to our table to, with a discreet bow, greet Kimu Sensei. He prepared the first part of the meal for us and everything was perfectly cooked and served to us, it was clear to see the perfection he sought.
For this fantastic dinner, we were served a very delicious cold sake which tasted fantastic - the sake I've had is usually hot and boozy - but this was not at all, it was instead pleasant and tasty.
We had an amazing meal consisting of seafood and VERY delicious beef perfectly cooked and served like little works of art - what we saw and experienced was amazing, aesthetically beautiful works of art that tasted amazing, and once again with amazing, super good and polite humble service.
Traditional Japanese morning Obento
In Japan, you see many people walking around with a lunch box, which is a traditional wooden box, and one morning we had another fantastic food experience from the restaurant in the hotel.
We were served an Obento - made from the kitchen in the very fine restaurant. As you can see it was very delicious and beautifully decorated.
An Obento is a traditional Japanese lunch box or lunch box that has different compartments where the food is aesthetically arranged with colors and shapes. A traditional Obento contains rice or noodles, fish or meat, with pickled and boiled vegetables, and of course miso soup.
Again it was a fantastic meal with the service and serving absolutely top notch in the same humble way that we experienced, indeed all the time.
Humble Beef Curry (Kappabashi)
On our trip in the footsteps of Shindenkan's 50-year history, we of course had to pass by the very beautiful Sensōji temple in Asakusa, and it was for me just like the other times a fantastic place to visit. The temple can be dated all the way back to the year 628, and you can easily sense the rush of time from both ancient Japan, the greatness of the Edo period and modern Japan as it is today.
Of course, we also got hungry, and here we tried something quite special. Where we came from the best Japanese teppanyaki in Serenya on top of the Mitsubishi building to the humblest curry served in a very old authentic setting by two old - exclusively Japanese speaking women in the cheap area called Kappabashi in Asakusa.
This was a curry made from scratch with a great taste that comes from a recipe that has been passed down for generations - of course with very friendly and polite, efficient service in this humble place. A completely fantastic experience.
Sushi and Sashimi from the local supermarket
Once again on the recommendation of Kimu Sensei, we had gone to the local supermarket to buy our lunch, which should be very fresh and very tasty.
There were many different options and it was very interesting to come to a local supermarket.
It had to be tried and after sound deliberation we bought a lunch consisting of a tray of Sashimi which is raw fish and a tray of Sushi.
In Denmark, Sushi is a delicacy and has become very popular in the last 20 years, but in Japan Sushi is really the Japanese answer to fast food created in the Edo period.
What we bought in the local supermarket was completely fresh and tasted fantastic - classes better than what is available in Denmark and significantly cheaper.
Traditional Chinese at Dynasty (Hilton Hotel Tokyo)
In the footsteps of Shindenkan's 50-year history, Chinese food also belongs! As mentioned earlier, SST was fond of Chinese food - and I could understand from Kimu Sensei that it is common for the Japanese to think that Chinese food is a delicacy. When I was in Japan for the second time in 1991, I ate Chinese with SST! I wondered about that and asked Kimu Sensei when I got home.
It was a bit strange because in Denmark, Chinese food is nothing special - so there had to be an explanation why the Japanese, who themselves have such a delicate cuisine, thought that Chinese food was a delicacy.
We ate at a Chinese restaurant called Dynasty, which is one of SST's favorite restaurants when it comes to Chinese food – Kimu Sensei told us that he had eaten here several times with SST.
It turned out that Chinese food in Japan is a delicacy which, in the good places, is made like in the old days of China – that is, in the time before the Cultural Revolution in 1949. This was a fantastic meal that I have never tasted like before. Exquisite, deliciously prepared small meals with taste and graceful aesthetics.
Funnily enough, the service at this Chinese restaurant was not quite as polite and humble as we otherwise experienced it - something was lacking 😊.
