Renmei

Today I took part in the Osaka dojo kendo renmei’s Shinnen-kai (opening keiko of the year). But what is this “dojo kendo renmei” and whats its connection with the ZNKR ? Are there any other renmei’s out there?

Zen nippon kendo renmei (全日本剣道連盟)

The Zen nippon kendo renmei (ZNKR) is probably the only organisation that foreign kendo people are aware of. What it does and how it works should be of interest to the foreign kendo population because of the influence it wields over kendo.

There are between 23-30 officers at any one time. This includes a board of directors, representatives from each organsation within the ZNKR, and a committee of experts. The latter is where the people who are in charge of international affairs (IKF/FIK), as well as jodo and iaido do their job.

Organisations that exist within the ZNKR umbrella

Zen nippon jitsugyodan kendo renmei (実業団)
Zen nippon gakko kendo renmei (学校)
Zen nippon kankoucho kendo renmei (官公庁)
Zen nippon gakkusei kendo renmei (学生)
Zen koku kotogakko taiiku renmei kendobu (高等学校体育連盟)
Zen koku kotogakko taiiku renmei teijiseitsushin kendobu (高等学校体育連盟定時制通信制)
Nippon chugakko taiiku renmei kendobu (中学校体育)
Zen nippon kendo dojo renmei (剣道道場)

A close look at this list see that 6 of the 8 groups deal with youth kendo (from primary school through university).

In addition to these groups there are numerous internal groups within the ZNKR itself including separate associations that deal with regions in Japan, and speciality areas.

As of 2007, the stated population of Kendo-Iaido-Jodo practitioners in Japan was 1.5 million in Japan, and 700,000 spread over 47 countries abroad.

To go through each individual group and explains what they do and how they run is beyond the remit of this short article, so let me just concentrate on the example that I started this article with.

Zen nippon kendo dojo renmei (全日本剣道道場)

The Zen nippon kendo dojo renmei exists to promote kendo as a means of physical health and well-being in children of primary and junior high school range, i.e. from 6yrs through to 15. It helps to aid the creation of healthy learning environment in the dojo (though seminars on teaching for sensei), and organises many activities for the children, from seminars to shiai.

It recieves aid and support from the government (ministry of education), the ZNKR, and other groups, and is spread throughout Japan.

This was just a very very brief introduction to the subject, there is a lot more that could be discussed. Maybe at another time.