By Anthony Deen

Start by reading Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

This essay was researched through personal interviews, blog posts, online chat forums, and numerous dojo websites. I am deeply indebted to conversations and interviews with Carl E. Long, Guy H. Power, Tom Smyth, Dave Drawdy, Nyle Monday, Pam Parker, Deborah Klens-Bigman, Douglas Firestone, as well as written histories and online posts by Kim Taylor, and Philip Ortiz.

*Standing: Kobaiashi sensei, Idzuka sensei, Ueki Seiji sensei, Hataya Mitsuo sensei, Bob Elder sensei, Carl McClafferty sensei; Seated: Mayumi Watanabe, Tom Smyth sensei, Sakaida Zenemon sensei*

Preface to Part 3

This is the last installment of a 3-part essay on the development of iaido and battodo in North America. Looking back on the post-war history of iai we’ve observed that in the 1960s, iai was taught almost exclusively through kendo dojo and then expanded through the interest of judoka like Donn Draeger sensei. Iai practice in the mid-1970s to mid-1990s expanded again through karateka and aikidoka whose maturing study of budo led them to both find Japanese sensei in America, and American sensei who had studied in Japan. This effort was also boosted in the 1990s by a small group of American budoka who in the model of Draeger, studied in Japan and returned to the US, bringing back an expanded knowledge of iai and other little known koryu budo.

The 1990s were a particularly important time for iaido as Americans connected to Japan in different ways and began to build networks across the country. Although the USAKF represented a large number of iaidoka here, as noted previously, there was no one overarching iai organization here as there is in Japan with the ZNIR and ZNKR. Therefore, the growth of a coherent iai community was based on personal relationships, shared interests, and open minds. Members of the JKI, IMAF, IBF, ZNTIR, ZNBDR and other ryuha came together in a spirit of shared interest and desire to learn. This final installment will chart how those connections coalesced to create today’s iai community.

Part 3: Iaido and Battodo in America 1990 to 2001(ish)

A Community Comes Together

*Hataya sensei on cover of the Aikido Center of LA’s July 1990 newsletter announcing the first Toyama-ryu embukai in the US*

Although Japan would soon experience what became a prolonged economic downturn known as The Lost Decade (Fukao Kyoji), in 1990 it was the world’s second largest economy on its way to becoming number one. Americans expressed their admiration and trepidation in books like Bill Emmot’s The Sun Also Sets (1989, Touchstone), and Stephen Cohen’s Cowboys and Samurai (1991, HarperCollins). In 1990 Japanese American cultural events were still celebrations that carried great weight.

On August 26, 1990, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles held its 50th anniversary Nisei Week Festival (the festival was started in 1934 but was suspended for several years during and after World War II). As a member of the JACCC, the late Rev. Furuya Kensho sensei invited a delegation of senior sensei from the Zen Nihon Toyama-ryu Iaido Renmei (ZNTIR) to demonstrate Toyama-ryū Battōdō during the festival.

Held at the JACCC’s Aratani Theater in Little Tokyo, this was the first ever public embukai in the US to feature Toyama-ryu Battojutsu kata, kumitachi and tameshigiri. The delegation totaled 16 highly ranked practitioners including Ueki Seiji, Hataya Mitsuo, and Sakaida Zenemon sensei. The event was not without incident, as is archived on YouTube, but it was a seminal event in the introduction of Toyama-ryu in the US.

Note: pending further research, the delegation at Furuya’s 1990 Los Angeles embukai consisted of Ueki Seiji, Hataya Mitsuo, Sakaida Zenemon, Sando Shugeru, Mitsuo Matsuhashi, Yoshinobu Masaharu Mukai. Yukio Iwasaki, Yoshiaki Kiguchi, Toshio Umezawa,Hisahira Uno, Kobayashi sensei, Idzuka sensei, sensei and six others who were not recorded.

*Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie poster featuring Obata Toshishiro (New Line Cinema).*

Furuya sensei, whose biography has been detailed earlier, was a highly ranked aikidoka; had studied with the pillars of Southern California kendo and iaido, and at that time was ranked Kyoshi in Muso Shinden-ryu iaido under Mitsuzuka sensei. Why did Furuya sensei invite senior sensei of the ZNTIR to perform at the embukai rather than those of the Southern California Kendo Association or the San Shin Kai?

We may surmise that rather than his participation in these organizations, it was his involvement in the Japanese Sword Society of America and a shared interest in the study of nihonto that suggested to Furuya sensei to reach out to Hataya sensei. Furuya sensei knew Hataya sensei and knew that the ZNTIR practiced a different iai from what audiences in the US may have experienced at the time. This was something “new” as few Americans had heard of Toyama-ryu or suemongiri, and fewer knew of the organizations Hataya sensei was affiliated with, the ZNTIR and the ZNBDR (Zen Nihon Batto Do Renmei). The dynamic kumitachi and suemongiri of the ZNTIR also allowed the enbukai to leverage some of the glow from an action movie that was all the rage at the time.

In March 1990, a few months prior to the enbukai, Japanese sword arts had experienced a jolt of new interest propagated by the big screen adaptation of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comic book, Teen Mutant Ninja Turtles (New Line Cinema). The comic had previously been adapted into an animated TV series in the US which ran from 1987 to 1996.

“However, a long-winded plot, broad characterizations and barely adequate fight scenes will prevent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from generating any breakthrough business. The movie should end up a limited box office success.”

— Henry Sheehan, The Hollywood Reporter, March 1990

Contrary to THR’s review, on a production budget of $13.8 million the film took in $135 million in the US and an additional $67 million worldwide making it at that time the most successful independent movie ever. It was released on VHS immediately after its theatrical run, enlarging its audience and income. This live-action rendition of TMNT was a great success at the box office, introducing yet another generation of movie goers to Japanese martial arts.

Although speaking little English, Obata Toshishiro sensei played the role of Master Tatsu, second in command to the evil Shredder. TMNT was quickly followed by TMNT Secret of the Ooze (1991) and TMNT III (1993) although Obata sensei only reprised his role for the second film. Obata sensei also used the momentum from these movie roles to publicly launch his Shinkendo ryuha.

The Advent of New Media

Media technology had an outsized impact on martial arts during this decade, produced by a combination of the growth of cable television; the ascendance of home video systems; maturation of personal computers, and most of all the launch of the World Wide Web.

Traditional media – movies and books – persisted throughout the decade. Much to the chagrin of many an iaido sensei, a significant source of motivation for Americans to study kenjutsu has always been Jidaigeki samurai and related martial arts movies. In the challenging economic climate of the mid to late 1990s Japanese films of this type were sparce as they had given way in popular culture to a resurgence of gritty, nihilistic Yakuza films such as Kitano Takeshi’s Boiling Point (Bandai/ Shochiku, 1990), Minbo (Toho, 1992) and Hana-bi (Nippon Herald, 1997), and even more so by high-tech and escapist animated, fantasy films, such as Patlabor (Shochiku, 1989); Sailor Moon (Toei, 1994); Ghost in the Shell (Bandai, 1995); Princess Mononoke (Studio Ghibli, 1997); Pokemon (Toho, 1998), and Spirited Away (SG, 2001). An exception in the anime market was Rurouni Kenshin, a samurai series based on the 1994 manga which ran from 1996 to ‘98 and was also made into an animated motion picture.

Toshiro Mifune passed in 1997 and of Akira Kurasawa and Yoshio Sugino both passed in 1998, and with Japan’s economic recession well under way this was a difficult time for expensive, Jidaigeki samurai films. A limited number of samurai films with international distribution came out in the ‘90s including Heaven and Earth (1990, Toei); yet another version of the 47 Ronin (Toho, 1994); the excellent After the Rain (Toho, 1999), and the controversial Gohatto (Shochiko, 1999). None of these had anywhere near the box office success of any of the TMNT movies.

*After The Rain (Toho, 1999) written by Kurasawa Akira and starring Akira Terao*

There were a few samurai-related films which caught American audience’s attention including the Wesley Snipes vehicle, Blade (New Line, 1998), based on the Marvel comic book in which Snipes played the katana wielding vampire hunter. Also, Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Artisan Entertainment, 1999) starring Forest Whitaker as a misguided, modern-day assassin for hire who lives by the “Bushido Code” as described in Inazo Nitobe’s book, Bushido, The Soul of Japan.

Another interesting aspect of this time was that through VHS and later DVD home video players, retail video rental companies made out-of-circulation films conveniently accessible again. Criterion Films launched The Criterion Collection which is to this day still licensing and distributing Jidaigeki samurai films including Kurosawa Akira’s entire oeuvre. Thanks to this new technology, films like Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Hidden Fortress among many others gained a second life.

Books on sword arts proliferated at this time with over 30 English language titles published between 1990 and 2001, double the amount produced in the previous decade. Interestingly, the specific iai being written about also changed with more books written on Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryū and koryu budo.

Victor Harris & Ogasawara Nobuo’s Swords of the Samurai was published in 1990. Thomas Cleary’s The Japanese Art of War: Understanding the Culture of Strategy (Shambhala); Kendo, The Definitive Guide by Ozawa Hiroshi sensei; Darrell Craig’s Iai, The Art of Drawing the Sword (Tuttle), and Don Harvey’s Real Iaido, Book I - ZNKR Seitei Gata and Real Iaido, Book II - Omori ryu, Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu were all published in 1991. In 1992 Kim Taylor sensei self-published Kim's Big Book of Iaido Vol. 1: The Manual; KBBI Vol. 2: Seitei Gata, and KBBI Vol. 3: The Omori Ryu. These were followed by KBBI Vol. 4: Eishin Ryu in 1993, and KBBI Vol. 5: Oku Iai in 1994.

Taylor sensei was not the only practicing budoka who would write several books at this time. Dr. Karl F. Friday, having recently earned his PhD in History and a menkyo kaiden in Kashima Shinryu wrote his first book, Hired Swords, The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan in 1992; Nicklaus Suino wrote his first book, The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship: A Manual of Eishin Ryu Iaido in 1994, and followed with Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship in 1995 and Arts of Strength - Arts of Serenity in 1996.

Although it was by no means his first book, Sato Hiroaki, known primarily as a translator, wrote Legends of the Samurai in 1995, and the same year another prolific writer, Dave Lowry, penned Sword and Brush: The Spirit of the Martial Arts on the connection between budo and shodo.

1995 was also an important year for Shimabukuro Masayuki with the publication of his first book, Flashing Steel: Mastering Eishin Ryu Swordsmanship (Frog Books), and the release of his seven-volume VHS series from Panther Productions. The series was subsequently converted to the new medium of DVD in 1998. Shimabukuro sensei created other books and video productions, but with the sales of both Black Belt Magazine in 1998 and Panther Productions in 2000, the products available on the market today no longer pay royalties to Shimabuko sensei’s estate. Also of note, the third edition of Flashing Steel was created without involvement by Shimabuko sensei’s estate or his organization, the KNBK. Upper level techniques are demonstrated incorrectly as Shimabukuro sensei never taught them to the co-author.

Another book and video combination published in 1995 was Howard Reid and Michael Croucher’s The Way of the Warrior, the Paradox of Martial Arts, which was a companion to a documentary made for National Geographic and the BBC. The was essentially a second edition to Reid and Croucher’s 1983 Fighting Arts: Great Masters of the Martial Arts.

In 1998 The Martial Arts, a two hour long documentary was made for cable television pioneer, The Arts & Entertainment Channel, and broadcast on The History Channel. George Takei is of course a famous Japanese American actor but is also a karateka and was an excellent choice to narrate the documentary. Rev. Furuya sensei was interviewed as the expert on budo, and Cary Yoshio Mizobe, an actor, kendoka and iaidoka, was the expert on kendo. While iaido was presented it was discussed specifically in relation to Zen practice. Unfortunately, given the broad topic of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean martial arts, even at two hours the documentary could only achieve a superficial survey of these subjects.

Perhaps the most important literary event for Japanese sword arts in 1996 was Meik and Diane Skoss’s creation of Koryu Books. Upon returning to the US in 1997 after having lived in Japan for over two decades for Meik and over a decade for Diane, they brought back with them experience in multiple budo, multiple sword arts (including Yagyū Shinkage-ryū kenjutsu, Yagyū Seigo-ryū battojutsū, jukendo and tankendo) and a love of scholarship. This kind of bu and bun might also be considered research through practice and was very much in the vein of Donn Draeger’s earlier studies. Diane sensei’s idea for Koryu books aligned with the arrival of a new digital medium, the World Wide Web, and so within the year they launched an imprint, an online bookstore, and the resource website koryu.com which published in-depth articles by numerous scholars and budoka including Dr. Friday, Toby Threadgill, Ellis Amdur, Dave Lowry, Stephen Fabian, and many others. In 1997, Diane Skoss sensei published the first of her three-volume series, Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan, an anthology on koryu. The entire series is highly recommended.

Iwata Norikazu’s Kiso Iai Kosa was translated in 1995 by Colin Hyakutake Watkin; and in 1997 Malcolm E. Cox’s Iaido: A Handbook; Dr. Friday’s Legacies of the Sword: The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture, and Nagayama Kohai’s The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords all came out. Stephen Turnbull’s The Samurai Sourcebook and G. Cameron Hurst’s Armed Martial Arts of Japan: Swordsmanship and Archery, both came out in 1998. The decade closed with David Millar’s Samurai Warriors, Scott Shaw’s Samurai Zen, Kenshi Nabeshima’s The Needle and The Sword: Health Strategies of a Samurai Acupuncturist, and Clive Sinclaire’s Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior on the art and armor of feudal Japan.

Many books on kenjutsu were published in Japan during the decade, but one of note was Nakamura Taisaburo sensei’s 1993 Nippon-to Tameshigiri no Shinzui (The Essence of Japanese Sword Test Cutting). To date this is the only book by Nakamura sensei translated into English, and we’re indebted to Nakamura sensei’s students who worked to have it translated and found a US publisher. The book is more than simply a battodo manual as in it Nakamura sensei shared his many insights on iaido.

Also in the physical media realm, there were several samurai inspired manga made during this time including Blade of the Immortal (1993), Ruruoni Kenshin (1994), Azumi (1994), Kaze Hikaru (1997), Vagabond (1998), Afro Samurai (1998) and Samurai Deeper (1999). Whether these manga influenced readers to explore actual budo hasn’t been surveyed although the film adaptations of these manga have been, and definitely did influence individuals to study kenjutsu (Deen 2022).

The decade was a golden time for martial arts newsletters and journals as now ubiquitous desktop computers and printers allowed almost every dojo, and certainly every budō organization, to publish one. From a previous dearth of information, now information about budō flooded into the market, not all of it accurate. A standout was The Journal of Asian Martial Arts launched by Michael DeMarco in 1992. JAMA was a scholarly yet accessible periodical that was published quarterly well into the next decade. There was also the Furyu budō journal focused on koryu which was edited and published between 1994 and 2000 by Wayne Muromoto, a Takeuchi-ryū Bitchuden Kobudo and MJER practitioner based in Hawaii.

Kim Taylor sensei was also still publishing his Iaido Newsletter which was a good resource for iaidoka as it maintained a list of US and Canadian iaidō dōjō as well as carrying advertisements that connected practitioners to resources such as seminars and product retailers like Honda, ECMAS and Tozando. The newsletter moved online in 1998 as The Iaido Journal, as part of Taylor sensei’s larger project, The Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences.

From the mid 1990’s the rising popularity of the Internet’s World Wide Web slowly led to the demise of printed journals and newsletters, and in exchange the creation of online bulletin boards such as e-budo and Sword Forum. By 1998 online chat sites became an admittedly mixed benefit as a resource for the kenjutsu community to coalesce around. They allowed iaidoka and other budoka to meet and learn about each other, but unfortunately, while online access was convenient it didn’t manage decorum very well then, and still doesn’t today. This is unfortunate in a practice where courtesy and respect – reihō - is so important. Nevertheless, there were many lengthy and interesting discussions on topics such as the nature of koryu, history of arts, and the purpose of budō. The participants in early years was a who’s who of martial arts – Dave Lowry, Ellis Amdur, Meik Skoss, Dr. Karl Friday, Guy Power, Carl Long, Kim Taylor, Joseph Svinth, Toby Threadgill, Nathan Scott, Rennis Buchner, Carl McClafferty, Bob Elder, Tom Smyth, Paul Steadman, Peter Boylan, Brian Stokes, Brian Dunham, Dave Drawdy, Earl Hartman, Diane Mirro, Paul Smith, Jason Chambers, John Lindsey, Jeff Cook, Douglas Walker, Raymond Sosnowski, Jay Vail, Margaret Lo, Elmar Schmessier, John Clements and many others.

This was also the period when video games came on the scene, initially in video game arcades and then with home video game console systems. Samurai-oriented RPG games began with the dice-based Bushido created by Tyr Games, Inc. in 1979 which was transmuted to the DOS platform in the late 1980s as Bushido: The Way of the Warrior by Fantasy Games, Inc. This was followed by another comic book inspired game, Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo for the Commodore 64, then Kenseiden for Sega in 1988, and Sword of the Samurai for DOS in 1989. First Samurai was released in 1991 and Conquest of Japan in 1992, both for the DOS, Amiga, Atari, and Commodore 64 platforms. Samurai Shodown of 1993 by SNK was initially released in arcades only but has since migrated to almost all computer-based platforms and the series is still going strong today. Hagane: The Final Conflict was released in 1994 for Super Nintendo, but it was Sony that dominated the market for samurai-oriented games with a number of them made for its PlayStation console including Dynasty Warriors and Bushido Blade in 1997; Brave Fencer Musashi in 1998; Seven Blades in 2000, and Way of the Samurai and Onimusha: Warlords, both in 2001. Whether video games influenced people to try sword study in the real world remains an open question.

The Gear

During the decade there were other developments that made iaido more accessible to Americans, and particularly so for those iaidoka that practiced suemongiri / tameshigiri. In 1991 budoka Rick Polland of the Beikoku Rembukan Dojo in Maryland, a student of Donn Draeger, opened The Sword Store offering iaito in a variety of sizes with custom selection of koshirae. TSS also offered “steel iaito” and shinken with similar customization. TSS was by no means the only martial arts supplier selling iaito and shinken, but they were among the first to offer mogito in personalized sizes and koshirae. They were also among the first retailers to go online, back in 1996. While the Internet led to the demise of many local martial arts supply stores, TSS and several others were able to thrive due to their online presence. I also note that in this fledgling market, some instructors such as Shimabukuro and Elder sensei imported shinken for their students.

*The Practical kata (Hanwei/ CAS Iberia)*

Also in 1991, Taiwanese sword importer and restorer, Chen Chao-Po, aka Paul Chen, launched the Dalien Hanwei Metal Company in Dalian, China. His Hanwei Forge offered Japanese style shinken that were both functional and affordable. Hanwei’s first production sword sold for $1,000 but it was followed by their Practical Katana in 1993 made from 1055 high-carbon steel with a tempered blade, selling then and now for between $300 and $400. Hanwei initiated what became a cottage industry of sorts, the manufacturing of non-Nihonto shinken. This is now done not only by several forges in China, but also by forges in Indonesia, Cambodia, and South Korea, producing surprisingly high-quality monosteel blades.

“Mr. Inami outbid all competitors to acquire a 19th-century magnolia-decorated sword guard, called a tsuba, for $88,000 and a 17th-century small auxiliary sword, called a kozuka, embellished with an image of Mount Fuji, for $104,500. Both prices were records. He also bought some of the most important larger swords in the sale, including a 13th-century Kamakura long sword, or tachi, for $340,000; a 14th-century dagger, or tanto, for $154,000, and a 15th-century long sword for $132,000.

The most expensive sword at yesterday’s sale was a 13th-century Kamakura blade that was sold for $418,000 to a European collector who was not identified.”

— The New York Times, April 1, 1992

The obvious downside of lower-cost and unregulated manufacturing is and was the proliferation of potentially dangerous, sharp swords not made to the necessary standards that are in the hands of untrained users. Nevertheless, they’ve also been a boon to the practice of iaido.

In 1993 budoka James Williams opened the Bugei Trading Company, and working with Hanwei’s US importer, CAS Iberia, guaranteed a higher-quality Hanwei product with a selection of custom furniture. Eventually this led to Bugei having their own production line at the Hanwei factory. Bugei was another purveyor to go online shortly after the World Wide Web was launched.

Genuine nihonto were more popular than ever with local token kai opening around the country, and new sword shows becoming another opportunity for kenshi to perform embu. At the same time interest in auctions of antique nihonto and tosogu swelled.

Building the Foundation

Following Furuya sensei’s 1990 Los Angeles embukai, the elements necessary for US iaido practitioners to create a coherent iai community were coming into place. At the same time, for numerous reasons the nature of iai practice both in Japan and in the U.S. was expanding. What had been primarily although not exclusively a practice of Muso Shinden-ryu and Zen Ken Ren iai, now began to include a range of ryuha including Muso Jikiden Eishen-ryu and the previously little-known Toyama-ryu Battojutsu.

As mentioned previously American students were studying in and returning from Japan throughout the 1980s and 90s. These included Nick Suino who studied MJER with Yamaguchi Katsuo sensei in Japan between 1988 and 1992 and won regional kata competitions in Kanto four times.

As of 1990 Guy Power was stationed at Camp Zama in Japan. Power sensei continued his training, as he studied MJER with Onozaki Mitsuhiro sensei and met a number of budo luminaries including Shimazu Kenji and Sugino Yoshio. He traveled to Machida and met Hataya sensei, but it was through Hirota Ietada sensei, a co-worker at Camp Zama, that Power sensei was introduced to Nakamura sensei, becoming one of Nakamura’s American students along with Ron Zediker and Art Miles. On a foundation of outdated Toyama-ryu learned from Obata sensei, Power sensei was able to quickly practice with senior students Sato Seiji and Kunio Suzuki while Nakamura sensei oversaw his training.

Power, Miles and Zediker sensei were followed by other Americans including Dave Drawdy, Carl Jenkins, Carl McClafferty, Roberto Siqueira, Pat Cassidy, and Jose “Jay” Mijares. Like Power sensei, while living in Japan, Drawdy sensei studied MJER with Onozaki sensei. Other students like McClafferty sensei, studied several sword arts. Some foreigners “dropped in” and took a few classes while other stayed for years and trained diligently. Zediker sensei probably trained at Nakamura sensei’s dojo the longest of any American, spending over ten years there.

In 1993 Nakamura sensei made his second visit to the US at the invitation of karateka Demura Fumio, this time coming to Los Angeles. Nakamura sensei had been Demura sensei’s kendo instructor in grade school and Demura studied sword with him throughout Nakamura sensei’s life. Demura sensei held advanced rank in Toyama-ryu and offered training through his network of karate dojos. Unfortunately, due to Demura sensei’s recent passing, we don’t have details on this visit.

At the end of the year in November 1993 Nakamura sensei’s school was invited to perform a Toyama-ryu embu at Meiji Shrine during the Nippon Kobudo Shinkokai annual demonstration. Power sensei performed with them at the shrine, a first for an American.

Upon Power sensei’s return to the US in 1994, Nakamura sensei asked him to represent the IBF in the US. Power sensei was given a kanban assigning him responsibility to promote both Nakamura-ha Toyama-ryu and Nakamura-ryu in the US. This was something Power sensei did conscientiously as the role had previously been assigned to Obata sensei. In 1995 Power sensei opened the Kenshinkan Dojo, originally located in Mountain View, CA.

I note here that in the 1990s Nakamura sensei experienced something many other ryuha had. Advanced students who had priorities different from the founder left to form their own organizations. These splits within organizations are not common, but they happen. As mentioned previously, one of the most famous and impactful was between Kono and Masaoka sensei in 1956. For Nakamura sensei those who left included Obata sensei who established Shinkendo in 1990 and Mitsuhiro Saruta sensei, who established Ryu Sei Ken Battodo in 1993. The butt of light humor, these partings seem to go with the territory of martial arts and in most cases in no way diminish the practice of the founder or of those senior sensei.

These separations aren’t limited to the Japanese. Russell McCarthy created Ishi Yama Ryu Battojutsu in the late 1990s, which he’s stated has its foundation in Toyama-ryu and Nakamura-ryu, but it seems that McCarthy was a student of Mitsuhiro sensei’s Ryu Sei Ken and not of Nakamura sensei.

Also of note, Nakamura sensei was known for giving honorary rank to honored guests and foreign students, but it was generally understood within the organization that these rankings were either an honorarium as in the case of honored guests such as Miura hanshi, or in the case of foreign students, motivation for them to continue their studies. Drawdy sensei notes that upon leaving Japan among other generous gifts, he was given a fourth dan rank but understood that Nakamura sensei was setting a goal for him, and he continued to train and to test from his then rank of shodan.

Back in the Los Angeles several developments happened in succession that led to the creation of a loose but coherent network of iaidoka. After Power sensei’s departure, and with the promotional boost of TMNT and several other movies he was featured in, Obata sensei’s dojo began to grow and other non-Japanese Americans came to study, included Antonio Cobb, Brian Vickery and Matthew Lynch who would go onto open branch dojo, and Nathan Scott who was Obata’s top student at the time.

Also in LA, Hataya sensei continued to visit Furuya sensei’s ACLA dojo during his nihonto purchasing visits, with Douglas Firestone charged with learning and teaching Toyama-ryu in addition to ACLA’s MSR curriculum. Firestone sensei would soon leave to train in aikido in New York City.

*Shimabukuro Masayuki sensei demonstrating Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu (KNBK Archives)*

Elsewhere in Southern California, over the previous 18 years, Shimabukuro sensei, or Shima sensei as he was fondly referred to by his American students, had expanded his expertise in budo beyond karate, returning to Japan several times each year to study with Muira hanshi. Already highly ranked in karate, by the mid-1990s Shimabukuro sensei had advanced enough in his own practice to offer classes in MJER, jojutsū, kempo and kobudo.

“…Do you want to learn Iai?” This question, asked by one Karate master to another, started what would become the University of California San Diego’s longstanding Iaido program. The two men were Shimabukuro Masayuki Sensei and Alfonso Gomez Sensei. It was the early 1990s, and they met every Saturday to practice with a group of dedicated Karateka on the UCSD campus in La Jolla, California. At the time, Shimabukuro Sensei had been living in the United States for almost 15 years, and everyone in the Southern California budo community knew and respected him for not only being an accomplished Shito-ryu Karate-do master, but also an expert in Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu Iaijutsu, Shindo Muso-ryu Jojutsu, and Shorinji Kempo. So, Gomez Sensei didn’t have to think twice when he answered: “That would be nice! Right after Karate class?”

Shimabukuro sensei taught at the fledgling UCSD iaido for its first two years, while working to establish his own dojo in San Diego. In 1990 Miura So-Shihan promoted Shimabukuro sensei to Kyoshi and the International Chairman of Miura’s Nippon Kobudo Jikishin-Kai, giving Shimabukuro responsibility for disseminating Masaoka Den of MJER throughout the Americas and Europe. In 1995, Shimabukuro sensei established created the International Jikishin-Kai and launched his San Diego dojo as the Jikishin-Kai Hombu Dojo. After this the UCSD program was taught by Keisuke “Jimmy” Juge sensei and after 1998 by Erik Tracy sensei. Throughout this period up until the present the continuity of this now academically recognized program has been maintained Kako Lee sensei.

About the same time upon receiving this new mandate, Shimabukuro sensei decided to host an iaido and kobudo event in San Diego and invited participants from his karate network. That first Jikishin-Kai Gasshuku Sai was held over Labor Day weekend in 1993, organized through Shimabukuro sensei’s Jikishin-Kai Hombu Dojo, with participants from all over the country, and was soon established as an annual event.

Carl Long was already advanced in Shorin-ryu karate-do and Okinawan kobudo and was known to the larger karate community, including coincidently to Bob Elder, when he opened the Sakura Budokan Dojo in 1989. Long sensei’s bone fides put him on the list of invitees to that first Gasshuku Sai. Long sensei mulled the invitation but upon receiving a phone call asking if he had planned to attend, he discussed the trip with his wife, who heartily told him to “go!” After the three-day event, Long sensei called home to tell his wife, “I’ve met my sensei,” and immediately became Shimabukuro sensei’s most dedicated student. In 1995 Long sensei was regularly traveling to San Diego to study with Shimabukuro sensei and to Japan to study with Miura hanshi as official representative of the Jikishin-Kai on the East Coast.

On the other side of the country, Hataya sensei regularly traveled to Florida initially to teach sword appraisal to Bob Elder. In 1991, Hataya Sensei began teaching Elder sensei Toyama-ryu at karateka Art Rott sensei’s home dojo. In 1992 Elder sensei’s Orlando karate dojo became the first sanctioned ZNBDR Toyama-ryu dojo outside of Japan. Elder sensei was known nationwide to karateka through his store and mail order business as well as his own practice and dojo in Orlando. Through his shop, Elder sensei discussed Toyama-ryu with other Florida budoka including Tom Smyth and Bob Lampp.

With a shared background in karate and martial arts, Smyth sensei had known Elder Sensei since 1980. In 1993 Elder sensei introduced Smyth sensei to Toyama-ryū and Smyth along with eight of his karate students began studying regularly with Elder sensei, and with Hataya sensei when he visited.

Having a lifelong interest in the Japanese sword, Smyth sensei launched a new dojo, Seibukan, which soon became the second ZNTIR authorized dojo in the US. In 1994 Elder sensei and Bob Lampp took the first of what would be many trips to Machida, Japan to study with Hataya sensei.

We should note that at this time with the exception of Nakamura sensei, few Japanese sensei were willing to teach Toyama-ryu or any other jissen budo to Americans and weren’t sure whether to take American budoka seriously or not. Through teaching at Furuya sensei’s dojo and in Florida, Hataya sensei built that bridge.

After Elder sensei’s trip to Japan, visits between Japan and Florida became more regular. The Florida budoka were introduced to Ueki Seiji sensei and Sakaida Zenemon sensei who along with Hataya sensei became their principal instructors. Over the next few years Elder, Smyth and Bob Lampp brought these sensei from Japan annually to teach in Florida.

Back in New York, iaido was continuing to grow with a new generation taking on leadership roles. Otani sensei retired from teaching full-time in 1990 so the now named New York Budokai was run by Phil Ortiz and Deborah Klens-Bigman. Klens-Bigman sensei had spent time traveling with Otani sensei including trips back to Japan. She was working on her doctorate which would lead her to move to Japan. While there she studied other sword arts including Shinto Hatakage-ryu Iai Heiho and Tenshinsho Jigen-ryu with Terutaka Kawabata sensei. While Otani sensei had brought Terutaka sensei teach as a guest instructor in the 1980s, Klens-Bigman’s study in Japan allowed the Budokai to formalize the relationship. Terutaka sensei had three daughters and was very supportive of women practitioners. Klens-Bigman received her doctorate in 1995 and while continuing to practice, became the first American Jun-Shihan in Shinto Hatakage-ryu. Klens-Bigman sensei was also an Associate Editor for Fighting Arts and wrote extensively on budo for JAMA, Koryu.com, and other publications.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Kato Shozo sensei’s Shidogakuin Dojo they held the 1st All U.S. AUSKF Iaido seminar in New York City in 1994. Kato sensei would go on to earn the extremely rare 8th dan in kendo. Although Pam Parker was now a senior student at Reverend Kan’s Ken Zen Institute, she also studied with Kato sensei. At Ken Zen, Parker sensei studied ZNKR Seitei, Muso Shinden-ryu and Yagyu Shinkage-ryu (under the auspices of the New York Yagyukai). Parker sensei has noted that in addition to Kan and Ebihara sensei she was able to study with Yamaguchi, Murakami and Murosako sensei at AUSKF Iaido summer seminars and taikai, and also to practice with Harry Dach sensei and the late Dr. William Dvorine sensei.

Parker sensei began teaching in 1996. Although studying at different dojo Klens-Bigman sensei made it a point to attend Parker sensei’s seminars. Parker sensei went on to become the first American woman to earn a 7th dan and did so in Japan which is known for being a more challenging testing locale.

We should pause to acknowledge the accomplishments of Pam Parker, Diane Skoss, Kako Lee, Deborah Klens-Bigman, Emily Egan, Debbie Farmer and Diane Mirro sensei along with other women who not only practice in male-dominated budo but excel in the iai community both here and in Japan, providing leadership in practice, teaching and scholarship.

In the mid-1990s Firestone sensei moved to New York City to study aikido at the New York Aikikai and in 1997 opened his own dojo, Genbukan, north of the city in Westchester County. Initially offering instruction in Muso Shinden-ryu and later Toyama-ryu, Firestone’s dojo has produced a number of high-level battodo practitioners who have in turn gone on to open their own dojo.

*Saotome Mitsuo sensei’s iai (Bond St. Dojo)*

A form of iaido was also taught at NYC’s Bond Street Dojo under the auspices of Saotome Mitsugi’s ASU organization. This was Saotome sensei’s own iai, based on his training in aikido and Itto-ryu. Saotome Sensei included a substantial amount of ken in his 1989 book, The Principles of Aikido (Shambala) and in 1994 Saotome released this curriculum on VHS as The Sword of Aikido (ATM) and Two Swords of Aikido (ATM). Saotome’s hypothesis is that Aikido’s foundation is in sword arts. There were of course other iaido schools in the New York area including the Japanese Swordsmanship Society founded by John Prough and Fred Little.

In the Boston area Kanai sensei was still teaching MSR at his New England Aikikai. In 1994 he was joined by the Doshikai Kendo and Iaido Dojo offering ZNKR Seitei Gata and MJER founded by Barry Poitras and Raymond Sosnowski.

In Texas, the Dallas-Fort Worth Kendo Club held the first DFW Kendo and Iaido Kyokai in 1992. The kyoso was won by Charles Riddle, a student of Nabeshima Kenshi sensei. David Cooper joined them in 1993 and won the kyokai in 1996. This has become an annual event, with Riddle sensei going onto found the Taos Kendokai along with Carl Basham, Jim Dixon, and Brian Anderson under the assistance of Mark Uchida sensei. In 1994, budoka John Ray, a student of the ZNIR Seitokai branch of MJER, opened The Dojo in Denton. Emily Egan, a student of Ray sensei has since launched the Clear Lake Iai Dojo and together helped found the Beikoku Tendai Iaido Kai.

Toby Threadgill founded the Soryushin Dojo in 1996, originally in Dallas, before moving to Evergreen, Colorado in 2001. In 1999, the Soryushin Dojo was appointed western hemisphere headquarters dojo and Threadgill sensei awarded Menkyo Kaiden in Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin-ryu by Yukiyoshi Takamura. Threadgill sensei now oversees 11 US dojo and 15 International dojo.

Peter Boylan lived in Japan from 1993 to 1999 and began practicing Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu with Takada Shigeo sensei in 1993. In 1998 he began studying Shinto Hatakage-ryu Iai Heiho with Kiyama Hiroshi sensei. While practicing these arts, he also trained in the ZNKR Seitei Iaido. Upon returning to the U.S., Boylan sensei opened the Koryu Kenkyukai dojo in Michigan and was later became only the second American awarded Jun-Shihan in Shinto Hatakage-ryu. Boylan sensei is known to the community today through his Budo Bum web-blog and the associated publication, Musings of a Budo Bum.

Also in Michigan, Jeffrey Toms and Andrew Delitka, who were students of Carl McClafferty, opened the Furyukan Dojo offering instruction in Shin Shin Sekiguchi-ryu Batto-jutsu. McClafferty sensei was an interesting case due to his wide breadth of budo studies which he began while stationed in Japan. In Japan, McClafferty sensei had connected with Power sensei and upon returning to the US also with Elder sensei, the two becoming good friends. After returning to the U.S., McClafferty sensei continued to make annual trips back to Japan to study sword arts including Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu with Otake Risuke sensei.

Up in Canada, Kim Taylor met Ohmi Goyo sensei at a 1989 Montreal MSR seminar taught by Kanai and Mitzusuka sensei and in turn started studying regularly with Ohmi sensei in Toronto. Taylor opened the Sei Do Kai dojo near the University of Guelph and while Taylor sensei studied a variety of budo, his focus was on MJER, Niten Ichi-ryu and jodo. In 1990, aligned with the Canadian Kendo Federation, Taylor sensei held the first of what would become an annual Iaido Spring seminars and Summer Camps with instruction by Ohmi and other guest sensei.

It’s interesting that two of the most enduring iaido programs in the Americas were established at universities on opposite sides of the continent — the U.S. San Diego iaido club founded by Shimabukuro sensei and the University of Guelph iaido club founded by Taylor sensei.

While this article doesn’t chart individual ranking, more Americans were attaining high ranking in the iai they studied and were taking on leadership positions in their dojo and federations. We’ve noted Ortiz sensei and Klens-Bigman sensei taking on leadership in the New York Budokai, Long sensei becoming East Coast representative for Jikishin Kai, and Power sensei being assigned a leadership role in the IBF. In 1997 Power Sensei was promoted to the IBF Board of Directors. In February 1999 Toby Threadgill was appointed as the senior instructor for the Shindo Yoshin Kai in the US. That same year McClafferty sensei was made USA kaicho for Shin Shin Sekiguchi-ryu Batto-jutsu.

Not to say it was always smooth sailing. There were contractions, some due to splits within dojo or ryuha and some that were more painful though thankfully less common, such as the tragic death of Paul Sylvain in an automobile accident in 1996. This loss was terrible for his family and students but was also a blow to the San Shin Kai organization and its growth was curtailed.

A new century: it actually does take a village

The new century for iaido in the U.S. actually began in 1998. After having attended and successfully competed in several ZNTIR taikai in Japan during the previous years, Bob Elder, now Shibucho of Orlando Toyama Ryu Batto Jutsu, Inc., decided to host one in Orlando. The AUSKF, CKF and JKI had all previously held smaller annual events, but Elder sensei planned to hold an “open” taikai, inviting participants from any and every sword ryuha. Elder sensei enlisted Tom Smyth, Bob Lampp and Carl McClafferty to help, and the planning began.

In 1998 Shimabukuro and Long sensei added the late Dennis Hooker’s Shindai Dojo in Orlando to the JKI’s network of dojo. Hooker and his co-sensei, the late Dr. David Jones, were also students of Saotome sensei and had experience in Saotome’s iai. As it turned out, Shindai offered classes in both MJER and Toyama-ryu. Elder and Long sensei had known each other since 1985 through their karate practice, and while in Orlando Long sensei went to visit Elder sensei at ECMAS. As Elder sensei prepared for the Orlando taikai, he wasn’t sure of the proper reiho for addressing and negotiating with his Japanese teachers. Here his friendship with Long sensei came in handy as Long in turn consulted with Shimabukuro sensei who was more than happy to provide Elder with insight into how to properly and respectfully work with the Japanese.

1999 special class prior to the first Orlando Toyama Ryu Batto Jutsu Taikai

In 1999 Elder, Smyth and McClafferty sensei brought Ueki, Hataya and Sakaida sensei to the U.S. as senior judges for the first Orlando taikai. This was the first Japanese sword tournament held in the US that was sanctioned by the Zen Nihon Toyama-ryu Iaido Renmei. As Elder sensei had hoped, while the event was organized by the Orlando Toyama Ryu Batto Jutsu, Inc., it was attended by practitioners of multiple sword arts. The event included classes and a tournament in kata, kumitachi and tameshigiri. For many the highlights of the event were embu performed by Ueki, Hataya and Sakaida sensei. This was the first time since Furuya sensei’s 1990 embukai that practitioners in America had the opportunity to observe a number of high-level Japanese swordsmen performing Toyama-ryu.

Attendees included Robert Steele, Mike Femal, John Matthews, Lois Fredricks and Mike Soriero, all students of Elder and Smyth sensei who would go on to form their own dojo.

This is good point to note the differences between the taikai of various iaido organizations. All iai practice is based in discipline, and each organization’s taikai are an opportunity to express and test that discipline. They showcase embu by senior practitioners; classes and then shinsa — testing or grading — usually of kata. The term taikai can mean both a convention and a competition and some organizations emphasize the competition aspect of the term, and include tournaments with prizes for kata, kumitachi and tameshigiri (using the modern definition). Toyama-ryu and Nakamura-ryu taikai differ from other ryuha in that they have tameshigiri competitions that can — in some instances — take on a very sport-like atmosphere.

Returning to our history, Dr. Diane Mirro moved from Dallas to Austin in 1999 where she founded the River City Iaido Kyokai. She brought Darrell Max Craig sensei in as senior instructor for kendo and iaido. Between the two of them RCIK performed embu at local cultural events and also brought senior sensei from Japan to guest teach. In March of the same year, Threadgill sensei was awarded Menkyo Kaiden in Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin-ryu. Takamura Yukiyoshi sensei passed away in 2000, leaving Threadgill sensei and two others to run the organization. Threadgill sensei’s dojo in Evergreen, Colorado became the Ichikan, their equivalent of a hombu dojo. As the other senior sensei retired Threadgill sensei became Kaicho for the ryuha, a first for an American at that time and heralding similar future achievements for other Americans.

The year 2000 also held two very important iai events, the 2000 Orlando Toyama Ryu Batto Jutsu Taikai and the 5th Annual JKI Gasshuku Special Celebration. There were of course other events and taikai — notably in Austin and Toronto — but the two noted were of special importance in our history.

The 5th Annual Gasshuku Special Celebration was organized by Eric Tracy sensei and held over Labor Day weekend in San Diego. It featured Miura hanshi, the 20th So Shihan of the Masaoka-den of Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu Iai-jutsu, as its honored guest. Miura hanshi also brought a delegation of senior sensei from Osaka with him so that American practitioners were again exposed to a very high level of practice. During the event, Miura hanshi promoted Shimabukuro sensei to 8th dan and Long sensei to 5th dan. These rankings were recognized by the Dai Nippon Botuku Kai in Japan and set the line of succession for the JKI.

The 2000 Orlando Toyama Ryu Batto Jutsu Taikai was again organized by Elder sensei with help from Smyth sensei, McClafferty sensei as well as Bob Lampp, Bob Steel, Robert Soriero and Mike Femal. It was sanctioned by both the the Zen Nihon Toyama-ryu Iaido Renmei and Zen Nihon Batto Do Renmei. Elder sensei contacted Power, Alvarez and Taylor sensei and invited them to not only attend but also to teach and perform embu of their arts. Invitations were extended to members of the IBF, JKI, Taylor sensei’s dojo and Tony Alvarez sensei’s dojo, making this taikai even more “open” than the prior year. The late Bob Steele sensei wrote a synopsis of the event for Ikeda Hiroshi’s Bujin Design Newsletter which has been preserved online and is included in whole in the appendix of this essay (available upon request).

2001 was yet an even bigger year for battodo and iaido. David and Haruko Chambers of the karate media company Dragon Times released Nakumura sensei’s 1985 Nakamura-ryu video on DVD with English subtitles through their Tsunami Video company. This was the first English language media of Nakamura sensei and Nakamura-ryu.

In addition to his annual Spring Summer and Fall seminars, Kim Taylor sensei helped organize The First Ontario Open Iaido Championship held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center in Toronto in September and the First Canadian Open Iaido Championships, held at the University of Guelph also in Toronto. Taylor sensei invited leading teachers from Japan and North America to teach and perform embu at both events.

Dr. Mirro organized the San Antonio Japanese Sword and Art Show featured various numerous embu of as they described, “Japanese swordsmanship — iaido, kendo, kenjutsu, batto-do, battojutsu, and tameshigiri.”

Peer Halperin organized the first International Battodo Federation sponsored taikai in the US, although this wasn’t an open taikai per se, even for other Toyama-ryu groups as the IBF was resistant to grading other ryuha. While Nakamura sensei was by this time too infirm for the long journey, Sato Seiji, Suzuki Kunio and other senior IBF sensei came from Japan to participate, and at the event Power sensei was promoted to 7th dan.

*Ueki, Hataya and Tom Smyth sensei at the 2001 Orlando Open Taikai (Smyth)*

By 2001 Elder sensei’s Orlando Open Taikai had become the largest annual taikai in the nation. In addition to Hataya, Ueki and Sakaida sensei, Elder again invited American sensei from other ryuha to perform embu and teach workshops. Mike Femal took the overall prize that year while Power sensei took the first in kata and a third in tameshigiri. Participants included Sang Kim who would soon bring battodo to New York City and create pan-iaido connections with Doug Firestone, Deborah Klens-Bigman, Phil Ortiz, Mitchell Ratchik, and Paul Manogue among others.

On a national level, we can say that through Bob Elder’s efforts with the help of Bob Lampp, Tom Smyth, Carl McClafferty, Guy Power, Shimabukuro Masayuki, Carl Long, Dave Drawdy, Big Tony Alvarez, Dave Neeley, Jeffrey Toms, Andrew Delitka, Kim Taylor, Derek Morris and others, a national — even international — network of kenshi who regularly practiced together; attended each other’s events, and to which we, even today, are still the beneficiaries was created.

Conclusion

Although we trace iaido back to Hayashizaki Shigenobu, Takuan Soho, and Yagyu Munenori in the 17th century, it was the wartime period of the 1930s and 1940s and the aftermath of the war in the early 1950s that set the stage for our current practice. Nakayama Hakudo sensei began using the term iaido during this period, specifically in the interest of defining a use and value for swordsmanship as shugyo and the cultivation of self after sword arts had become antiquated and unnecessary. Whether one agrees with this interpretation or not, all iaido — gendai or koryu, shugyo or jissen budo — is at its essence, hyaku ren ji toku (百錬自得 / very roughly: constant training yields self-development).

As we’ve observed there were many different models for the migration and evolution of iai in the US. Some American students went to Japan to live and study. Zediker and the two Skoss sensei define this model. Some went to Japan to study for a few years and returned — Sylvain, Power, Klens-Bigman, McClafferty, and Drawdy sensei define this model. Others found Japanese teachers here in the US and supplemented those studies with regular visits in Japan. Ortiz, Parker, Long, Elder, Smyth, and Threadgill are examples of sensei who used this model. Many learned gendai budo while a few went more in-depth in their study to include koryu budo. We are indebted to these sensei and their students for passing what they learned on to us.

Iaido practice in the US grew appreciably in the 1990s, and the 21st century has seen continued growth and a deeper appreciation of both the historical and shugyo aspects of kenjutsu. By 2002, kenshi included in surveys performed in 2021 and 2022 revealed that our iai community practiced a diverse variety of kenjutsu including Muso Shinden-ryu, Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu, ZNTR Seitei Gata, Katori Shinto-ryu, Toyama-ryu, Rushin Shouchi Ryu, Itto-ryu, Shin Shin-ryu, Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, Mugai-ryu, Nakamura-ryu, Tenshin-ryu, Suio-ryu along with several other ryuha.

Threads that were spun on looms in Japan and woven together here in the United States have created a sword arts tapestry that combines our many ryuha and dojo. Some parts of this tapestry were begun in Japan, others here in the US; some in dojo teaching koryu arts, and others gendai arts; kenshi who started in judo, karate and aikido were bound, warp and weft, into one twill, one American kenjutsu community.

The impactful gift of this research for me is a greater appreciation for our sensei. We’re indebted to those intrepid Japanese sensei who came to a new country, and equally indebted to intrepid Americans who went to an old one. They dedicated years of their lives to attain a high level of proficiency in their arts and doing so they have been to places we did not go — they have studied with teachers and practitioners whom we never met. They’ve had experiences we haven’t — and they share all of this with is. What an incredible gift they give us.

Addendum

Here are some of the special events of the next year, 2002, another important year for battodo.

*Tom Smyth and Nakamura sensei (Taylor)*

Nathan Scott sensei left Obata’s organization to study koryu arts eventually becoming Shibucho of the USA branch of Ono-ha Itto-ryū Heiho. (I note that Tony Alvarez sensei was on his way to become the first non-Japanese in 450 years to earn Menkyo Kaiden in Mugai-ryū Iaido Hyoho.)
Fumio Demura sensei held what he called the 1st International Batto-Do Taikai here in the US, although the primary audience were karateka from his US organization. He invited Ueki and Sakaida sensei as judges and to perform embu.
Dave Drawdy sensei opened the Kenkonkai dojo in Washington, DC, and through his friendship with both Sang Kim and Bob Elder, he and his students became a conduit between New York and Orlando and the western states.
John Prough and Fred Little celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Japanese Swordsmanship Society.
In November, Bob and Jesse Elder, Bob Lampp, Tom Smyth, Mike Soriero, and Big Tony Alvarez traveled to Japan to train, and had the honor of seeing Nakamura sensei. It would be the last time.

A Short History of Batto-jutsu in America (Part 3)