Shiraoka was founded by Gareth Spiers in April 2008.
A student of Taiseidokai Kendo Club in Glasgow and a resident of Hamilton, Gareth wanted to expand the Kendo population by give people in the Hamilton/Motherwell area a local club.
The Clubs first venue was Whitehill Community Centre in the Whitehill Area of Hamilton and so when searching for a name it seems a fairly obvious choice to translate Whitehill into Japanese and hence “Shiraoka Kendo Kai” or Whitehill Kendo Association was born.
The name Shiraoka gave the club the opportunity to use some classic japanese iconography and a quick sketch later the club had a “mon” (logo/crest) in the form of a white hill symbol with a resemblance to Mt Fuji.

The Club Flag. The Mon is in the middle visually representing a White Hill and evoking the imagery of Mt Fuji. The Kanji to the left reads Shira (white) and Oka (hill) while the kanji on the right reads Ken (Sword) Doh (Way/Path) Kai (Association).