Nafudakake

Nafuda are thin, rectangular wooden plaques on which individuals’ names are written vertically in kanji or kana or horizontally in Latin script. The plaques are usually made from a light wood such as pine and hand-painted. The back of the plaque may contain information about the person's history in the dojo.Herndon, J. A Dojo Guide; cited in [http://www.shinkitaikarate.ca/Scona/Glossary/N/Nafuda%20kake/nafuda%20kake.html Nafudakake Name board] Shin Ki Tai Karate website glossary.

The term "nafuda" should not be confused with the identification worn on the tare of kendo armor, for which the same word can be used.

Nafuda are used for different purposes in different dojos. In some dojos, nafuda are arranged according to rank, and a person's nafuda is moved upon attaining a higher rank, although other dojos display only the nafuda of yudansha but not those of mudansha.Bateman, B. [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=50100&postcount=5 reports that they are arranged in grade order in his dojo and moved] AikiWeb.com Forum, 2003.Re no mudansha, see example nafudakake of Mugenjuku Dojo in Kyoto mentioned in this article In some dojos, nafuda are used to track attendance and in others a member's nafuda is removed for failure to pay dojo fees on time.Bateman,C [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=123607 reports: "he takes his plate down and puts it into a basket, and the name is subsequently recorded and the plate put back"] AikiWeb.com Forum, 2005Bronson@2:48AM [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-14038.html reports that his iaido instructor takes down nafuda rather than asking for payments] AikiWeb.com Forum, 2008 In some dojos, only the nafuda of currently active members are displayed, while in others the nafuda of past members who have moved away or died are displayed as a kind of memorial.Clark, C. [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=50131&postcount=9 reports that nafuda stay on the rack if a "connection" has been made with other members of the dojo] AikiWeb.com Forum, 2003.Rehse,P. [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=50102&postcount=6 reports that nafuda are not removed after death] AikiWeb.com Forum, 2003 Some dojos display the nafuda of foreign affiliates of the dojo, but do so separately from active members of the dojo.Rehse, P. [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=50102 reports that his dojo has a separate nafudakake for foreign affiliates] AikiWeb.com, 2003. Some dojos display the adult and child nafuda separately.Herndon, J. [http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?34379-Nafuda-Kake&p=455772#post455772 reports having 2 for adults and 1 for children in the 1980s] e-Budo.com Forum, 2007 In yet other dojos, everyone who has received a dan grade from the dojo is listed as yudansha on the nafudakake.Hackett,M@10:38AM [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-14038.html reports that all yudansha have permanent nafuda, while mudansha nafuda can be removed] AikiWeb.com Forum, 2008 The nafudakake can be used to display the names of the dojo's lineage and style's founders.lbb@1:14AM [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-14038.html reports that his style's founder is in the top row to the left] AikiWeb.com Forum, 2008[http://www.aikidocenterofjacksonville.com/blog/2012/07/nafudakake-2/ "Nafudakake"] Aikido Center of Jacksonville blogHarvard Aikikai [http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/aikido/14NAFUDAKAKE/NAFUDAKAKE.htm displays nafuda for Morihei Ueshiba, Moriteru Ueshiba, and Mitsunari Kanai in addition to their club members] Harvard Aikikai, 2001-2005. In the Seattle Dojo, which is the oldest judo dojo in the United States,[https://www.seattledojo.com/seattle-dojo/ "About Seattle Dojo"] www.seattledojo.com displayed nafuda from early members help maintain the historical memory of the dojo.Svinth & Yamamoto [http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?34379-Nafuda-Kake&p=421314#post421314 have a nostalgic exchange in this forum discussion] e-Budo.com Forum, 2006

There is no standardized design for nafudakake. The nafuda may be hung from small hooks on the kake or held in place by wooden trusses.[http://img.weblog.senshirou.jp/20090822_563803.jpg Nafuda hanging on hooks at National Engei Hall] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722124117/http://img.weblog.senshirou.jp/20090822_563803.jpg |date=2011-07-22 }}[http://blog.web-zen.org/?eid=1153141 Nafuda held in place by wooden trusses at a karate dojo]

The nafudakake may be placed in the shimoza (cosmological "south"—often the actual south wall) of a dojo, although it may also be located in other places such as the shimoseki (cosmological "west"), which in Daoist thought is representative of rectitude, or the proper relationship between members of the dojo.[http://www.shinkitaikarate.ca/Scona/Glossary/D/doujou/doujou.html "Dōjō: The place of the Way"] Shin Ki Tai Karate website glossaryLowry, D. In the Dojo, reprinted with permission as [http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=387 "What Puts the Tao in the Dojo? Part 2"] in FightingArts.com The joseki (cosmological "east") may also be used, and if the arts of more than one {{nihongo|ryū|流}} are taught in the same dojo, separate nafudakake for both schools may be displayed.Rodríguez Valero, D. [http://blogs.ua.es/danielrodriguez/2012/03/05/la-distribucion-de-un-dojo/ "La distribución de un Dojo"] Aikido Alicante

The arrangement of the nafuda on the kake may be very different from one dojo to another. Although Chinese characters are traditionally read vertically and in columns from right to left, some dojos place their senior member in the upper left portion of their nafudakake.lbb@1:14AM [http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-14038.html reports that his style's founder is in the top row to the left] AikiWeb.com Forum, 2008[http://www.aikidocenterofjacksonville.com/blog/2012/07/nafudakake-2/ "Nafudakake"] Aikido Center of Jacksonville blog

The following example of a nafudakake is hanging on the west wall (shimoseki) of a Japanese aikido dojo. The dojo displays one nafudakake for instructors and a separate one for yudansha. In this example, the nafuda should be read right-to-left as follows:

File:Nafudakake dojo name plaques, labeled.png

In addition to the terminology presented in this example, nafudakake may designate sensei (teacher), senpai (senior student), or any of a number of other positions recognized in martial arts dojos.

• Daniel Rodríguez Valero. [http://blogs.ua.es/danielrodriguez/2012/03/05/la-distribucion-de-un-dojo/ "La distribución de un Dojo"] Aikido Alicante [Spanish]: blog post describing the nafuda at Kumanojuku (includes photographs)

images of nafudakake

• [http://www.shinkitaikarate.ca/Scona/Glossary/N/Nafuda%20kake/painting%20nafuda.jpg Photograph of nafuda being hand-painted]
• [http://www.tokyofoodlife.com/?p=1522 Check-paid marker at a traditional Japanese restaurant that looks similar to a nafuda]
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/7762281@N08/502021930/ Photograph of the Nomo Dojo (kendo)]: nafudakake can be seen in the shimoseki, to the left of someone facing the dojo's shomen (i.e., probably the west wall of the dojo)
• [http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/fl20100427zgb.jpg Photograph of Yoshinkan hombu dojo with nafudakake in background]
• [http://www.seattledojo.org/membership.htm Photographs of Seattle Dojo's nafudakake]: nafuda from the oldest judo dojo in the United States: [https://www.flickr.com/photos/seattledojo/sets/72157624260784007/ also available on Flickr]
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/only1tanuki/4973225069/in/set-72157630673371930/ Photograph of old nafudakake] in the home of [http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/278.html Shimizu no Jirocho]; see also Ninkyō Shimizu-minato
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/eli_k_hayasaka/5621116085/ Photograph of nafudakake] in which names painted on both sides of the nafuda are used to track attendance at a workplace
• [http://www.aikidocenterofjacksonville.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/rank-board.jpg Photograph of Aikido Center of Jacksonville's nafudakake]: senior member in upper left corner.
• [http://www.bluehillsdojo.com/images/nafudakake.jpg Photograph of Aoi Koyamakan Dojo]
• [http://www.shoryukan.com/Graphic/Okinawa%202007%20July%20John/nafudakake1FINAL.jpg Photograph of an Okinawan karate dojo's nafudakake]: from [http://www.shoryukan.com/Topics/Skills/2007%20Okinawa%20Trip%20page%202.html its website]
• [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qdrcnKs63yw/UkXWUJVMCqI/AAAAAAAACtQ/iTcP-m-L9ck/s1600/Kake+Sep+13.jpg Photograph of white oak nafuda with walnut kake] from [http://selbyshotokankarateclub.blogspot.jp/2013/09/nafudakake.html Shelby Shotokan Karate]
• [http://www.banyuaiki.it/img/banyuaiki_nafudakake.jpg Photograph of nafuda that combine Japanese characters with Latin script read in a different plane] from [http://www.banyuaiki.it/home.php?page=nafudakake an Italian aikido dojo]
• [http://www.orientalsignboards.20m.com/photo3_9.html Commercial website showing a variety of different styles of nafudakake available for purchase]

virtual nafudakake

Some martial arts dojos have begun putting "virtual nafudakake" on their websites. In some cases, a simple list of dojo members is called a "nafudakake", but some dojos have used CGI for their nafudakake. The following is a list of examples of "virtual nafudakake":

• [http://www.nanbudosakura.com/imagenes/WEB/nafuda/JOSE%20A%20NUnEZ_2.gif Example of virtual nafuda of a martial arts instructor] and [http://www.nanbudosakura.com/imagenes/WEB/nafuda/ Directory of virtual nafuda]
• [http://diariodeunaikidoka.blogspot.jp/2011/09/nafuda-kake-virtual-curso-2010-2011.html Aikido of Pamplona website]
• [http://math.fau.edu/locke/Judo/TomoInst.htm Tomodachi Judo Club]
• [http://www.water-oak.net/aikikai/nafadukake.aspx Water Oak Aikikai]
• [http://www.karateabc.com.br/new/nafudakake/ Karate Taiyokan]

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Category:Japanese martial arts terminology

Category:Culture of Japan