History of the British Columbia Kendo Federation
Kendo has been practiced in British Columbia since the early 1900's and for many years there were only two dojo - Steveston and Vancouver. In 1977, the Renbu dojo was founded in the Vancouver area and shortly thereafter, in the early 1980's, the Sunrise and UBC dojo were established. It was around this time that several senior kendoka decided to form the British Columbia Kendo Federation.
Its first president, the late Moriharu Tanigami Sensei from Steveston, believed strongly in developing the youth for the future and focused much of the federation's efforts on children's programs. As a result, the BCKF established the Junior Taikai and a junior kyu-grading program. In the mid-1990's, the Matsu Kai and Renfrew dojo grew out of the Sunrise dojo to join the BCKF family. Shin Ken Kai, an iaido dojo practicing Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu, also joined. Since 2000, two additional dojo, Central and SFU, have joined the federation resulting in a total membership of nine kendo dojo and one iaido dojo.
Today, the BCKF, a not-for-profit volunteer-based federation, continues to promote and support the development of kendo in British Columbia. We are proud of the vitality of kendo in our province and look forward to its continued growth into the future.
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