FAQ etc. for Shidoshi

Please read "For More Information" as well.


Who are you mailing to? There seem to be many Shidoshi who write "Dear Mr.Ohashi" or something like it in their letters to the Hombu Office, but please don't do that.  It's problematic, because it can sound as if I was hijacking the Office.
The fact is, the Hombu Office is Soke's own house (so you are writing to Soke, not to me), and I don't work there at all.  I work only at Soke's classes.
It's true you are expected to hand your orders to me in the Dojo, but all of them are handed to Soke before he leaves after the class. So I have nothing to do with the process in the Office.
Please be careful.
If you haven't received
what you ordered a long
time ago....
(It depends on the
season how long you
should wait.)
  1. You can ask me by emailing me at , but please inform me of
    • your name and address (we want to know where to send the stuff.  Please don't forget to add the name of your country.)
    • the complete list of what you have ordered (if you have already received some of them, please tell us what you haven't received as well as the whole list.)
    • the date of your ordering them (or your mailing the letter)
    • the date and the place of your passing your godan test (for a certificate for your 5th dan or above)
    • the name of the person who recommended you for the rank (for a certificate for your 6th dan or above)
  2. Your message should be as plain as possible because English is not my mother language.
  3. You might have to wait for a few days before I pass my translation to one of Soke's assistants.
    (It is not me who handle the stuff, but Soke's assistants do it.  I don't work at the Hombu Office at all.  All I can do is to help you communicate with them.)
  4. If you don't give me all the required information listed above, I have to ask you a few questions before I pass the request to an assistant of Soke.  It's just a waste of time and energy for us both.  Please be careful.
  5. Last but not least, I strongly suggest that you wait one more week before you email me.

Backlogs
(May/3/2007)

The Hombu Office business has been delayed.  This happens every spring but its degree seems worse this time than ever.
There seem to be a few reasons and I hope some of them can be resolved by orderers' cooperation.  So I decided to ask you Shidoshi a favor or two.

  1. If you are writing an order from the Office, please type all the documents on a PC (letters shouldn't be too small) and send the hardcopy/ies instead of your handwritten ones.  It will be appreciated if you send your business card in the same envelope.  Please do the same thing whenever possible even if you are thinking of handing me the order at Hombu/Ayase.
  2. As you know, every country/language has different customs and yours are NOT ALWAYS easy for us Japanese to understand.  In addition, everyone has their habits (without being aware in many cases).  So, orders should be written/described as plainly as possible so that Soke's assistants don't have to waste their precious time.
  3. When you write a Shidoshi's name, it should be exactly the same as the one that is registered.  For example, if you change the order of the parts ( like George Ohashi <--> Ohashi George ), Soke's assistants will be in trouble and inevitably waste much time.  This may cause more trouble.
  4. If you recommend someone as a 6th dan or above, please enclose a recommendation letter for each person that clarifies the following things.
    • When the person joined the Bujinkan.
    • When and where s/he passed their 5th dan test.
    • When s/he received their current rank.
  5. The interval after receiving the current rank should be long enough (there is no fixed rule so far, but please look around).  If you have a special reason for a quick promotion, please explain it in the letter.  Please don't forget that you are responsible for the recommendation.
  6. They are not allowed to skip their ranks.  For example, only 6th dan people can be given their 7th dan.

Thank you for your understanding!
Please arrive early
(Nov/23/2008)		 If you have something special to pay for, why don't you arrive a bit earlier?  It's no good if too many people arrive only few minutes before the beginning of the class and pay after the end of it.  (The fact is some people come to pay after I finish counting the money almost every time!!)
Don't forget that you are keeping Soke waiting for a long time after the class by such behavior, because he can't leave the Dojo before I finish all the job for him.
And it IS a bigger problem at Ayase because (1) we have no tea break in the class and (2) all the people (including myself) have to leave the room by 21:00.  I can spend much shorter time for the job there than at Hombu.
Thank you for your understanding.
Bringing someone
else's order
(Dec./12/2009)		 If you bring someone else's orders to me, you have to be responsible for them. If you don't want to, then don't bring them. The Office people (not me) will have a lot of trouble if anything required (money or info) is lacking.
Recommending
someone unfamiliar
(Aug./29/2009)		 As you know, a recommendation letter is required for a promotion to 6th dan or above (3 letters for 10th dan), but.... no matter who asks you, you shouldn't recommend anyone you don't know well.  You have to be responsible.
Shidoshi/-ho licence
and yearly memberships
(Apr./5/2009)		 If you teach as a Shidoshi (when your rank is 5th dan or above), you need
  (1) your Shidoshi licence (you are given a certificate just once in your life)  and
  (2) your Shidoshi-kai yearly membership (you get a card each year).

If you teach as a Shidoshi-ho (when your rank is 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th dan), you need
  (3) your Shidoshi-ho licence
  (4) your Shidoshi-kai yearly membership  and
  (5) a Shidoshi who sponsors you.

Both Shidoshis and Shidoshi-hos have to pay for the Shidoshi-kai (yearly) membership every year (it expires at the end of the year).  So (2) and (4) are same, and there is nothing called "Shidoshi-ho membership".  Please don't be confused. (I mean many have been.)

So, each pays for...
once in the beginning every year
Shidoshi (1)Shidoshi licence (2)(4)Shidoshi-kai membership
Shidoshi-ho (3)Shidoshi-ho licence
others - regular membership

*If you don't know the fees, you can ask me.  But I appreciate it if you ask your instructors first.
Ordering a 6th dan
or above
(Apr./5/2009)		 If you order a 6th dan or above for your student, please don't forget to
  (a) enclose a recommendation letter  and
  (b) clarify the date when the person passed his/her 5th dan test.
A suggestion
(Jan./18/2009)		 If you are going to order both (1) certificates for 5th dan or higher and (2) other things from the Hombu Office, I suggest you send them separately.  The process of (1) always takes a longer time than that of (2) because the Office staff has to ask Soke to write the recipients' names on (1).  So if you order (1) and (2) at a time, (2) may stay in the Office until (1) is also finished.  This is why I suggest the above.  Please don't expect the Office staff to split your orders into the two groups.  Staff members are too busy to do so.
Thank you for your understanding.