Today I spent the whole day at yet another university invitational shiai for high school students (it’s that time of year!). I got up at 6am and was greeted with a cold and rainy Osaka morning. Jamming a banana in my mouth, I bought a coffee at the nearby convenience store and headed over to […]
A couple of years ago when I was visiting Tokyo for some kendo, I stumbled upon a chunky kendo book from 1935 in a second hand bookstore. What immediately caught my attention was name of one of the most fearsome kenshi of the 20th century on the cover: Takano Shigeyoshi (adopted son of Sasaburo). Another […]
As I’ve discussed on kenshi 24/7 many times, Naito Takaharu sensei was – is, in fact – the single most influential figure in modern kendo’s history (the closest person to this title is his rival, Takano Sasaburo). His idea of kendo, both in execution and in thought, permeates kendo today. Often this idea is expressed […]
Zusetsu Kendo Jiten (A pictorial encyclopaedia of kendo) is a wonderful A4-sized hardback book published in 1970. The book’s authors, Nakano Yasoji (hanshi hachidan) and Tsuboi Saburo (kyoshi nanadan), were backed up by input from one of the most famous kenshi that ever lived, Mochida Moriji (hanshi, judan). The book starts with some beautiful colour […]
Every year, around about the 4th-6th, Osaka prefecture hosts an open “Kangeiko” session. I put that in quotes because it’s not really a traditional kangeiko style, i.e. early in the morning in a cold dojo. It’s held in Osaka city’s central gym and is really quite warm!! Actually, chatting to older sempai of mine, I […]
A serious discussion of nito-ryu kendo is something I’ve deliberately avoided over the last few years but the passing away of the most famous nito-ryu kenshi in the country in late December, Toda Tadao hanshi, I thought it was time to tackle the subject… at least very briefly as well as share some pictures. For […]
The following is a slightly revised and renewed essay from kenshi 24/7’s now unavailable mini-publication “Kenkyu and Kufu” originally published in 2014. Current publications can be viewed at kendo-book.com. If you watched the final of the All Japan Kendo Championships last November (2013) you might have watched the two finalists put on their bogu and […]
This time last summer I gathered a group of friends together for an Eikenkai session at the beautiful Nara Butokuden. A lovely little dojo with over 100 years of history, I was delighted to be able to do kendo in such a place. I felt even more happy in the knowledge that the dojo was […]
As the majority of kendo practitioners here in Japan are students (ranging from primary to university age) it follows that summer holidays tend to be pretty busy kendo-wise. This busyness is not just due an increase of keiko-time and sessions, but it also includes shiai (the largest competitions of the year are held during this […]
The following are two slightly revised and renewed essays from kenshi 24/7’s now unavailable mini-publication “Kenkyu and Kufu” originally published in 2014. Mini essay 1: hasuji and shinogi Ever since shinai kendo appeared in the mid-18th century there have been complaints from the more traditional swordsmen, those who practised armour-less and with only bokuto or […]