Yokota Kendo Club

Founded on April 17^th, 1992 the Yokota Kendo Club is both the longest continuously running martial arts club in the 57 year history of Yokota Air Base and the only on-base entity that maintains ongoing community relations with Akishima City. Part of the base property is incorporated into Akishima.

The club is part of the Akishima Kendo Federation, which is in turn part of the Akishima City Sports Federation. The federation is strongly supported by members of the local government and civic leaders. Many of the local government leadership are directly involved both in practicing kendo and managing the federation’s activities. Further, the Yokota Kendo Club is actually a branch of Keitenkan Dojo which is owned by the Ito family and lies within the family estate in Akishima. Mr. Ito is active in kendo, iai, is an accomplished artist and author as well as the former mayor of Akishima.

The head instructor at Keitenkan and Yokota is Mr. Miura Kazuto. His father Seiichi is the president of the kendo federation and the Akishima Rotary Club. Our assistant instructor is Mr. Masakatsu Sano from the city of Akigawa. Both instructors hold 7^th dan ranks. Mr. Sano came to join us while the company he works for, Ishikawa Jet Service Co. Ltd., was executing a maintenance contract on Yokota. For the time being, we have lost the regular services of Mr. Sano due the heightened security concerns on the base and current rules that prohibit our getting him a long term pass and bringing his car on the base regularly. We hope that some day soon we will be able to have both instructors joining us regularly again.

In February of 1994, the Yokota Kendo Club was featured in the magazine Kendo Nippon.

In the summer of 1994, first, and so far only, Yokota Japanese/American Friendship Kendo Tournament was held at Yokota. There were 800 participants in 40 teams of 5 people each plus 100 support personnel. Teams came from every community surrounding the base as well as local police and fire departments. Next to the annual base open days, this was to date the most successful single community relation’s event in the history of the base. Local media and community reaction was very positive, but support from the base for such a large event vanished after the wing commander at the time, who was also a member of the club, Brigadier General Michael J. McCarthy, left for a new assignment.

Club members regularly participate in events with the Akishima community. These include kendo tournaments, training, and summer camps. We also sponsor the children of Keitenkan and their families for an annual cookout/picnic on the base.

For 9 of the past 10 years we have sent a team to the Midorinohi Shiai on Mt. Mitake. We are the only team of foreigners participating and while we have so far been eliminated in the first round each time, we continue to try our best and act as good examples foreigners enjoying some of the best Japan has to offer.

In 2000 and 2001, the two senior members of the club were asked to perform kendo kata at one of the largest children’s kendo tournaments in the region. This was quite an honor as the kendo kata demonstration, which is a normal part of such tournaments, is normally performed by a pair of senior instructors. We were asked again in 2002 but were unable to participate.

Recently, the club was featured in an article run in the base newspaper, The Fuji Flyer, as well as in a base television news segment which has been shown throughout all US military activities (bases and ships) throughout the pacific region.

Today the club continues bringing together Americans stationed there with the Japanese staff and local communities in a spirit of friendship, sportsmanship, and camaraderie. We have 15 regular members today and are trying to attract more. Our members are from Akishima, on-base Japanese staff, American airmen and soldiers, housewives, and children.