The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts has been offering instruction in traditional Japanese arts under experienced, certified teachers since 1981. Established in California by H. E. Davey Sensei, it presents separate training in Japanese systems of yoga, healing arts, martial arts, and fine arts. Ongoing classes are available to people of all ages and levels of health, including classes for children ages five and up.
Members of the Sennin Foundation Center have access to the rich traditions of Japan's cultural arts through practice in the group's classical dojo (literally, "training hall of the Way"). Much more than simply a school or studio, an authentic dojo is a gateway into the timeless realm of Asian art and personal development, allowing members of the Sennin Foundation Center to realize vibrant well-being and longevity. In fact, the word "Sennin" describes the ancient Japanese equivalent of a yogi. The Sennin were known for their high degree of enlightenment, splendid health, and according to some ancient myths, their ability to attain immortality. This same emphasis on spiritual realization and physical fitness is stressed by the Sennin Foundation, thus the use of the term Sennin.
H. E. Davey Sensei, and by extension the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, is affiliated with a number of elite organizations, which serves to illustrate the group's close ties with Japan and the nature of the Sennin Foundation's programs. Some of these professional affiliations are as follows:
1. Zaidan Hojin Tempu-Kai (The Tempu Society)--A Tokyo-based organization founded by the late Nakamura Tempu Sensei. Mr. Nakamura was the originator of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, a distinctive form of Japanese yoga based on mind and body unification.
2. Ranseki Sho Juku (Ranseki Japanese Calligraphy Institute)--A private San Francisco Bay Area study group for shodo, or Japanese brush writing practiced as meditation and fine art, which was headed by the late Kobara Ranseki Sensei, Headmaster of Ranseki Ryu shodo. Most of the late Kobara Sensei's students are now studying shodo with H. E. Davey Sensei and Miyauchi Somei Sensei. They are teaching at the Wanto Shodo-Kai (East Bay Japanese Calligraphy Association) in Oakland, California.
3. Kokusai Shodo Bunka Koryu Kyokai (International Japanese Calligraphy and Cultural Exchange Association)--Headquartered in Urayasu, Japan, this international organization is sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Education.
4. Kokusai Budoin (International Martial Arts Federation)--The Kokusai Budoin of Tokyo (http://www.imaf.com/) is sponsored by Japan's Imperial family and acts as a worldwide umbrella organization for most traditional Japanese martial arts and ways.
5. Shudokan Budo-Kai (Shudokan Martial Arts Association)--The SMAA is an international coalition of Japanese and Western experts, featuring martial artists from a variety of different systems. With members in several nations, the group works toward the preservation and cultivation of classical Japanese martial arts and ways.
6. International Hoplology Society--A unique scholarly organization founded by the late Donn F. Draeger Sensei, regarded by some as the world's foremost Western Japanese martial arts authority, author, and historian. The IHS is based in the USA and dedicated to studying the effects of the martial arts and ways on civilizations throughout history.
7. The Sennin Foundation, Inc.--A federally tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation, which is headquartered in California, and which promotes the study of Japanese cultural arts for personal transformation. The Sennin Foundation, Inc. sponsors Michi Online: Journal of Japanese Cultural Arts (www.michionline.org), an electronic journal and online resource for the Japanese arts community. You can read more about Davey Sensei's many books at the Sennin Foundation web site: http://www.senninfoundation.com/publications.html
