where to get kamiza

[Please visit our sponsor:]

[rachmass]

Hello all,

Does anyone know a good source to get a small movable (and tasteful) kamiza?

thanks!

Rachel

[Mel Barker]

Hi Rachel, I need similar help. I need ideas for both a permanent and portable kamiza. Anyone have suggestions. Can people post pictures of their dojo's kamiza to give us ideas.

Thanks,

Mel

[akiy]

I've put up some pictures of various dojo kamiza/shomen in the multimedia section of this website here:

http://www.aikiweb.com/multimedia/dojo/

Also, there's a section in the AikiGallery for people to upload images of their (and other) dojo:

http://www.aikiweb.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=501&thumb=1

Please feel encouraged to upload your dojo images! It would be great to have a collection of images here from all over the world.

-- Jun

[M Planner]

You may want to try these fellows for a nifty kamidana.

http://www.asahi-jc.com/kamidana.htm

[Sherman Byas]

Rachel & Mel,

Check out this at Tozando http://tozando.pair.com/eng/sale/sale1.html

Good luck!

[G DiPierro]

Sherman, did you read the item description?
Handmade. Japanese cypress(Hinoki) with metal ornaments. 35 by 20 by 40 cm.She was looking for small, but I think that would be a little too small!

BTW, Rachel, if you are looking for portable you could always go with the old standby, a framed photograph of O Sensei that you carry around with you and hang on the wall wherever you are practing.

[rachmass]

Hi, Thank you all for the posts. Jun, I like a number of the ones you have posted in your pics section, but the ones that people provided links for are too ornate for my liking. Perhaps I am mixing up Kamiza and Tokonoma?

Giancarlo, that framed photograph will be my standby, but I was hoping for something nice and simple that I could take with me if the current space doesn't work out.

Thanks again,

Rachel

[G DiPierro]

Perhaps I am mixing up Kamiza and Tokonoma?You are, in fact, looking for a kamiza. But a kamiza is not the same thing as a kamidana. A kamiza is "the residence of the ancestral spirit of a house; the head of the house sits nearest this place. It is often a slightly raised recess in a wall, sometimes containing a hanging scroll, armour, or other religious property." A kamidana is "a Japanese household altar where the deity is worshipped with offerings of food." The character for kami in kamiza is different from the one in kamidana. In the first case, it means "above," so kamiza rougly translates as "seat above others." In kamidana, which essentially means "god shelf," it is obviously the character for "god." A tokonoma is similar to a kamiza in that it is simply an alcove in which "you will find a vase which is certainly not showy and a hanging scroll."

[rachmass]

Thank you, I thought I had it right, then why was I being linked to Kamidana?

Anyone know of a place to purchase a small Kamiza? I could have one made, but I thought there might be a source out there in cyberland. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Mel Barker]

Thanks Jun, I looked for sometime yesterday but never found your pics. That's exactly what I needed.

Mel

[G DiPierro]

Thank you, I thought I had it right, then why was I being linked to Kamidana?Probably because the words and meanings are similar. Often, a kamiza is also a kamidana, but they can be mutally exclusive. For Aikido, I think it needs to be at least a kamiza, which to me means including a picture of O Sensei. Making it a tokonoma or kamidana in addition to these would seem to be optional upgrades which may reflect your own personal style.

Have you tried doing a web search for "kamiza" or even "tokonoma?" I've gotten several good results, including this one (http://www.shodokan.org/1aikido/kamiza.txt) from Bob Whelan and the Shodokan dojo. It might be a little more permanent than what you want right now, but I can personally vouch for the quality of their work.

[rachmass]

Thanks again Giancarlo,

I am the least "handy" person that I know, and building one is definately beyond my scope. I appreciate the link though. Yes, I did try a Google search of both kamiza and tokonoma, and came up pretty much empty handed (I had seen that site you posted). Someone had told me about the Tozando site, but that is ornate, and I want very plain. I'll probably have a furniture maker friend make one, but he's a bit on the slooooow sidddeeee ;-) on making things.

Thanks again!

Rachel

[G DiPierro]

I'll probably have a furniture maker friend make one, but he's a bit on the slooooow sidddeeee ;-) on making things.That's a good idea. Another thing you could do while you are waiting is to get a small, inexpensive table and cover it with a nice sheet or tablecloth and use that as a the base for a kamiza. At summer camp this year they had a large poster-size portrait of O Sensei in a small easel sitting on top of a long, low table covered in white cloth. I think they also put a vase of flowers and weapons rack on the table, or perhaps the weapons were on the floor in front of the table. If you don't have any extra tables lying around you could probably pick up something like a old coffee table at a yard sale or Goodwill store. It might be an inexpensive way to put together something that looks nice but that you could pack up easily if you end up relocating. Good luck!

[Bronson]

Hi Rachel,

Before I forget...congratulations on getting a place set up. How close to the Raisin river are you? I have a friend who's from Blissfield (just south of Adrian) and every year they have the River Raisin Festival. Maybe you could do some demo's there ;)

If you check out this link, The Toyoda Center (http://www.toyodacenter.com/html/gropenpic.html),

you can see some pictures of their kamiza in the background. It's simple and nice looking. If I remember correctly it's two shelves with pictures and what not, a small weapons rack, and a scroll. Not super portable but by no means a permanent structure.

Good luck and congrats again.

Bronson

[rachmass]

Hey Bronson!

Thank you for the link and photos.

As to the River Raisin; originally I was setting up in Milan, that is on the river; now I'm about 8 miles north on the Saline River, but I'd already got the name registered with the USAF and the State, so, what the hey....they all flow together at some place anyway :-)

[cthornton]

I built a small portable Kamiza for our Dojo and can send pictures to anyone that might be interested in one for your Dojo.