Shoryuhai
The Harvard Invitational Shoryuhai Intercollegiate Kendo Tournament, or Shoryuhai (昇龍杯 , Shōryuhai ) for short, is the oldest intercollegiate kendo tournament in North America.[ 1] Now in its 26th year, the Shoryuhai is hosted annually by the Harvard Radcliffe Kendo Club each spring. The 2024 tournament held March 16 and 17, 2024.[ 2] Teams come from all over North America and Europe, including teams from Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The tournament is held in the Harvard University Malkin Athletic Center basketball court. The fundamental purpose of the Shoryuhai is to promote kendo at the collegiate level.
History
Origins
In April 1997, several Northeast-region college students came together at Harvard for an informal good-will kendo tournament. The tournament was sparsely attended - totaling not more than 15 competitors. The following year, attendance increased three-fold, and included teams from Harvard , Yale , Cornell , McGill University , the University of Connecticut and the University of Waterloo in Canada. In 2009, a team from the University of Münster in Germany joined the competition for the first time, making it the first European team to participate.
The Trophies
"The Permanent Trophy"
In 1998, the two tournament trophies were donated by the former Prime Minister of Japan , Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto , as tokens of his encouragement.[ 3] At the time, Hashimoto-sensei saw this tournament and all of North American collegiate kendo as a "rising dragon", or 昇龍 (shōryu), hence the name shoryuhai. The first of the trophies - permanently held at Harvard - bears the engraved names of each year's victorious team. The second, traveling trophy is loaned to each year's winning team to be displayed at their respective university or college until the following year's tournament.
Fighting Spirit Awards
"The Permanent Trophy"
In 2024, Shoryuhai began presenting Fighting Spirit Awards in honor of Masaru Mori (5 dan) and Hironori Tahara (hanshi 8 dan). In the early days of Shoryuhai, Mr. Mori was a pivotal character who forged connections and brought figures such as Tahara-sensei to Shoryuhai. Tahara-sensei served as the shinpancho of Shoryuhai for the majority of years since 2006. Sadly, Mr. Mori passed in July 2020 and Tahara-sensei passed in Oct 2023. In their honor, the 4th place winner who lost to the 1st place winner is presented the Masaru Mori Fighting Spirit Award in Individuals, and the Hironori Tahara Fighting Spirit Award in Teams.
The tournament is divided into team and individual rounds on Saturday and Sunday. Individuals are single elimination, unlimited encho, no hantei. Teams are round robin.
Results
Team Tournament
Year
Final
Third Place
Hironori Tahara Fighting Spirt Award
Winner
Runner-up
2024
University of California, Berkeley
New York University A Team
Boston University A Team
Brown University
Harvard University A Team
2023
University of Washington A Team
Boston University A Team
New York University D Team
Cornell University A Team
2022
POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19; Hosted Ryuko Taikai in lieu of Shoryuhai
2021
POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19
2020
CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
2019
University of Washington
University of California San Diego
Stony Brook University A Team
University of California, Riverside A Team
2018
Stony Brook University
New York University A Team
Boston University A Team
New York University B Team
2017
Stony Brook University
New York University A Team
Boston University A Team
New York University B Team
2016
New York University A Team
University of California, Los Angeles A Team
University of California, San Diego A Team
University of California, Riverside A Team
2015
New York University A Team
University of California, Los Angeles A Team
University of California, Santa Barbara A Team
University of Washington
2014
New York University A Team
University of California, San Diego A Team
Boston University A Team
University of California, Riverside A Team
2013
University of California, San Diego A Team
University of California, Riverside A Team
Boston University A Team
Stony Brook University A Team
2012
University of Washington
University of California, San Diego A Team
New York University A Team
Soka University of America
2011
University of California, San Diego A Team
Boston University A Team
Boston University B Team
State University of New York at Stony Brook A Team
2010
University of California, Los Angeles A Team
University of Washington
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Soka University of America
2009
University of California, Los Angeles A Team
State University of New York at Stony Brook A Team
University of California, Davis
University of California, San Diego
2008
University of California, Davis
University of California, San Diego
Cornell University A Team
State University of New York at Stony Brook A Team
2007
University of California, Los Angeles A Team
University of California, San Diego A Team
Harvard University A Team
State University of New York at Stony Brook B Team
2006
University of California, Los Angeles A Team
University of California, San Diego A Team
University of California, San Diego B Team
University of Washington
2005
University of California, San Diego
Salem State College
State University of New York at Stony Brook
University of California, Los Angeles
2004
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, San Diego
State University of New York at Stony Brook A Team
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
2003
University of Waterloo
State University of New York at Stony Brook A Team
Cornell University
Harvard University A Team
2002
Harvard University A Team
George Washington University
Cornell University
State University of New York at Stony Brook
2001
Cornell University A Team
University of Washington
Harvard University A Team
McGill University
2000
University of Connecticut
Harvard University A Team
Cornell University A Team
McGill University
1999
McGill University
Cornell University A Team
Cornell University B Team
University of Connecticut
1998
University of Waterloo
Harvard University A Team
Cornell University A Team
Yale University
1997
Harvard University A Team
Not Recorded
Not Recorded
Not Recorded
Individuals Tournament
Year
Final
Third Place
Masaru Mori Fighting Spirit Award
Winner
Runner-up
2024
Keita Tanabe, University of California, Berkeley
Tetsuro Takao, University of California, Berkeley
Atsushi Saito, Soka University of America
Yeongjae Shin, Yale University
Miori Kino, Boston University
2023
Kyle Fukuda, University of Washington
Andy Yuen, University of Washington
Manu Shivakumar, University of Pennsylvania
Joshua Yang, Drexel University
2022
POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19; Hosted Ryuko Taikai in lieu of Shoryuhai
2021
POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19
2020
CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
2019
Akira Fujii, University of Washington
Sungha Park, Columbia University
Victor Peng, New York University
Gen Takahashi, University of California, Los Angeles
2018
Masayuki Katsumi, Stony Brook University
Sungha Park, Columbia University
Alissa Mori, Columbia University
Yumeto Shigihara, Boston University
2017
Masayuki Katsumi, Stony Brook University
Sung Hun Choi, New York University
Chihiro Shiromoto, Tufts University
Colin Smith, New York University
2016
Sung Hun Choi, New York University
Hwoyoung Choi, University of California, Los Angeles
Keishi Okazaki, Brown University
Mashiro Yamazaki, Bergen Community College
2015
Naonori Suto, San Diego State University
Damian Williams, University of California, Santa Barbara
Viet Nguyen, University of California, San Diego
Philip Kwon, San Diego State University
2014
Shintaro Takahashi, University of California, San Diego
Sung Hun Choi, New York University
David Moon, University of California, Riverside
Colin Smith, New York University
2013
Fumiaki Ayabe, University of California, San Diego
Terima Nagatani, University of California, Merced
Isabel Lorimer, University of California, Riverside
Matthew Yang, Rutgers University
2012
Yannis Hachouf, University of California, San Diego
Mevlana Gemici, Cornell University
Matthew Yang, Rutgers University
Tomoyuki Fujiyama, Columbia University
2011
Matthew Yang, Rutgers University
Hojin Park, University of California, San Diego
Takashi Ohashi, Cornell University
Mevlana Gemici, Cornell University
2010
Hideto Kinjo, University of California, Riverside
Julian Amano, University of California, Los Angeles
Tenji Takino, Soka University of America
Alex Eitoku, Boston University
2009
Takeshi Yokoyama, University of California, Los Angeles
Aki Goya, University of California, Los Angeles
Keisuke Shimoyamada, University of California, Los Angeles
Teppei Shima, University of California, San Diego
2008
Mizuo Kudo, University of California, Los Angeles
Matthew Yang, Rutgers University
Eugenia Yang, Boston University
Antoine Fortier, McGill University
2007
Tenji Takino, Soka University of America
Aki Goya, University of California, Los Angeles
Antoine Fortier, McGill University
Hojin Park, University of California, San Diego
2006
Tenji Takino, Soka University of America
Ann Tamura, University of California, San Diego
Katsushi Chinen, Mt. San Antonio College
Hirotsuga Takahashi, University of Massachusetts Amherst
2005
Sadanobu Inoue, Salem State College
Nathan Makino, University of California, Los Angeles
Eugenia Yang, Boston University
Yoshihiro Homma, University of California, Los Angeles
2004
Daniel Han, Cornell University
Randall Iwashita, University of California, San Diego
Nathan Makino, University of California, Los Angeles
Young Shik Cho, University of California, San Diego
2003
Shinya Deguchi, George Washington University
Hyungjin Lim, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Arthur Nam, Thomas Jefferson University
Daniel Han, Cornell University
2002
Takashi Kido, University of Bridgeport
Tomohiko Hayashi, Boston University
Shinya Deguchi, George Washington University
Kentaro Fujita, New York University
2001
Miyuki Koga, Wesleyan University
Tomohiko Hayashi, Boston University
Shinya Deguchi, George Washington University
Oliver Nguyen, McGill University
2000
Shinya Deguchi, George Washington University
Manabu Ito, McGill University
Hyunsik Jeong, University of Connecticut
Tomohiko Hayashi, Boston University
1999
Mitsuhiro Sudo, Yale University
Jon Shishido, Harvard University
Manabu Ito, McGill University
Tomohiko Hayashi, Boston University
1998
Robin Tanaka, University of Waterloo
Hyun June Choi, University of Waterloo
Not Recorded
Not Recorded
1997
Not Recorded
Not Recorded
Not Recorded
Not Recorded
References
External links