Before the war, there were four civilian dojos called "the four great dojos of the eastern capital (Tokyo)." These were: Sasaburo Takano's Meishinkan which taught the Onoha Ittoryu style; Hakudo Nakayama's Yushinkan which taught the Shinto Munenryu style at the Shudo Institute; the Kodogikai, founded by Saburo Ishii , and Noma Dojo, established by the well-known kendoist and president/founder of Kodansha Publishers, Ltd., Seiji Noma . From the standpoints of both the scale and content of their kendo teaching, they were all well-deserving of being named one of the "four great dojos," and many famous kendoists trained at these dojos.
Pre-war kendo, however, still retained the strong influence of different schools and styles, and seldom would kendoists of different styles have the opportunity to practice with each other. It was in this atmosphere, then, that Noma Dojo opened its doors widely offering kendoists a place to gather from all regions of the country.
From "The Noma Dojo Story" by Mitunori Harazono, published by Kodansha.