KendoNearMe.com is a sideline pilot project by Hokubei Budogu, created with the long-term growth of the kendo community in mind. Hokubei Budogu operates with two core missions: giving back to the community through Youth Kendo Development, and using our resources to help grow the overall kendo population through a more centralized and strategic marketing approach.
Hokubei Budogu is owned and operated by Yong Back, who also runs a digital marketing agency as his primary business. (Yes—budogu was not part of the original plan. It’s a long story.) That agency is supported by a team of eight talented creatives and marketing strategists, and together they assist in advancing the two missions above.
With KendoNearMe.com, our first goal is to build a carefully filtered directory of officially affiliated kendo dojos. Accuracy and legitimacy are critical. By filtering out unofficial listings, we aim to create a high-quality, trustworthy resource for anyone looking to start or continue their kendo journey.
Once the directory reaches a meaningful threshold, we will begin actively search engine optimizing KendoNearMe.com to capture audiences who are searching for martial arts programs—and guide them toward kendo. This approach centralizes marketing efforts and, we hope, creates a unified and powerful platform that benefits the broader kendo community. While we cannot guarantee results at this stage, we are fully committed to doing our best. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to sign up—it is completely free.
In addition to dojo listings, we would like KendoNearMe.com to serve as a central hub for tournaments, seminars, godo-keiko, gasshuku, and any other kendo-related events. If you are hosting an event, please let us know—we are happy to post it on the site at no cost.
So, why is everything free?
We want to be transparent. Simply put, the larger the kendo community becomes, the more equipment Hokubei Budogu can sell. It is in our best interest to help grow the market. However, this effort goes beyond business. There are multiple layers to this movement, and ultimately, everything funnels back into our commitment to supporting Youth Kendo Development—the future of our art.
Your support and cooperation mean a great deal to us. Hokubei Budogu will continue to pursue creative and thoughtful ways to build mutually beneficial solutions for our kendo community.
Happy keiko.