Kiyomi Onuki performs “Nisei no Buyu.”

Takaaki Saruwatari (left) and Minnie Iseri of Sacramento Shodokai.

From left: Shigin master Masaaki Tademaru, Minnie Iseri, Janet Sakata of JKP Cultural Association, Takaaki Saruwatari, Kiyomi Onuki, Marta Wada of JKP Cultural Association.

SACRAMENTO —The Jan Ken Po Cultural Association presented “Begin the Shigin” on Sept. 21 at the Asian Community Center.

Takaaki Saruwatari, veteran member of Sacramento Shodokai, introduced Kiyomi Onuki, who chanted “Ganpeki no Haha.”

Minnie Iseri chanted “Koki” (Celebration of 70th Birthday) and Onuki danced a ginbu (dance accompanied by shigin) with chanting by Masaaki Tademaru (shigin master-shihan), “Nisei no Buyu” (The Bravery of Nisei Soldiers), written by the Grand Master Kokuho Sugita.

Saruwatari said that Sacramento Shodokai used to have 80 members, but the number has dwindled down to about 15. They meet every Tuesday night at the Sacramento Betsuin classroom to practice.

He also demonstrated shigin chanting in English with a poem entitled “Tree,” and had the audience participate.

Janet Sakata, coordinator of JKP Cultural Association, gave the following remarks:

“Would you like to start shigin, inhaling and exhaling fully, just singing out loud once a week with your good old friends? It’s also a good way of relaxing to release stress.

“What is shigin? A dictionary translation defines it as the practice of adding a tune to kanshi [Chinese poem] and singing it, a way of expressing your feeling composed in kanshi.

“Shigin improves your health. The abdominal breathing is the basic way of singing shigin, which creates a habit of deep breathing to release your voice to sing it. Studies published in medical journals report that the abdominal breathing helps promote digestion and circulation.

“Recently, I was watching the singing contest ‘Nodojiman’ on NHK. I was amazed by one of the contestants, a man in his 70s, singing with a very strong and booming voice.

“When the host asked him about his health, the man replied, ‘I had stomach cancer surgery last year and during rehabilitation the doctor advised me to do shigin, so I have been doing it and singing shigin every morning out loud with a strong voice that keeps me healthy today.’

“Some hospitals in Japan include shigin as part of the rehabilitation program.”

JKP staff member Marta Wada read the following history of the Kokuho Ryu Shiika Ginei Shodokai:

“During World War II, all persons of Japanese ancestry living on the Pacific coast were forced to evacuate. Approximately 120,000 people were detained in internment camps.

“The Shodokai grand master, Mr. Sugita Shinzaemon, born in Shiga Prefecture in Japan, was accused of ultra-nationalism and confined in the Tule Lake camp. There he established eight Japanese language schools for elementary to high school grade students, teaching them with the help of his spouse.

“In his leisure time, he organized a group of adults to study shigin, which later became the Shodokai.

“Released from the camp after the end of the war, he received the formal name Sugita Kokuho and founded a shigin group in North America under the grand master Amamiya Kokufuu of the Japan Kokufuu Ryuu shigin school.

“In 1951 at a general meeting held in Sacramento, Calif., he established the Kokufuu Ryuu Hokubei Shodokai as the central headquarters of the Kokufuu Ryuu shigin in America. Today, the shigin that is practiced at Shodokai is true to the original style and practice set forth by Sugita Kokuho.

“Since inauguration, members of Shodokai planned a tour to Japan every three years to strengthen cultural ties with Japanese shigin groups. They joined shigin events and helped them to revitalize the shigin activity in Japan.

“During the occupation of the American forces, the Japanese citizens were so discouraged, losing their enthusiasm they had before and during the war. The visits by shigin group from the U. S. were encouraging and stimulating for the Japanese shigin groups.

“In 1972, the U.S. Kokufuukai separated from its parent organization in Japan and announced the independence of the Kokuhoryuu Shiika Ginei Shodokai of today. The instructor, Sugita Kokuho, became the grand master of the new organization.

“He added to the shigin: waka [Japanese poetry], haiku, biwa [a stringed instrument], kayou [popular songs], and shibu [shigin dancing]. He promoted a shigin style that was more colorful and graceful, which is regarded in the U. S. as one of the respected ryuuha [group styles].

“After the grand master Sugita Kokuho passed away in 1987, the remaining instructors [shihan] work very hard to preserve the teachings of the grand master’s words, ‘The way of shigin is the way of people.’

For more information, go on-line to http://shiginshodokai.org/.

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: copyright 2006-2008 by Hokubei Mainichi, Inc.; all rights reserved