Two weeks today I released kenshi 24/7s latest publication, a complete English translation of Ogawa Kinnosuke sensei’s Teikoku Kendo Kyohon (The Kendo Textbook of Imperial Japan). In these last couple of weeks the book (both print and digital) has been picked up by dedicated kenshi from all across the globe, including:
America (about 20 states), Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.
(these are only the countries for which I have statistics available)
I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who picked up the book – I’m positive that you’ll not only find it an important addition to your kendo library, but that it’s a book you will come back to again-and-again over the years.
If you could help get the word out to your kendo friends that would be amazing! For example, by taking the book to the dojo and passing it around, and/or by sharing a link to the books dedicated page. Cheers!
Just in case you haven’t seen the book yet…
Excerpts from a testimonial:
George has done it again! The Teikoku Kendo Kyohon is his latest contribution to the English-speaking kendo community, and it really is an excellent work. Similar to kenshi247’s previous release, The Kendo Reader, this is also a translation of a pre-World War II kendo manual…
I think that is where the true value of the Teikoku Kendo Kyohon lies; in the insight it provides into where modern kendo came from…
Ogawa-sensei was an incredibly important figure in shaping kendo today, and this book is a major part of that influence. If you are interested in the history of kendo and how it has evolved, then this book is an absolute must-read….
Read the rest of the review here.
Sneak peak:
For full information including pictures and information about formats etc, please check out the books dedicated page on our publication website, kendo-book.com.
4 replies on “Big thanks !!!”
I thank you,George! To be honest, I struggled with myself to buy this book because in the first place I found approximatley 60 € really expensive for 118 pages. Of course I could’ve ordered the PDF but since I prefer paper would have printed it anyway. But that would’ve been no adequate alternative.
Then I remembered all the times I browsed the advertisments in Kendo World Magazines for books from Mochida sensei and others that I really would like to read – if I could read and understand japanese.That was the decisive point not only to look at the money but grab the chance to get some of this material and respect your work and the book itself. Thank you again, George, keep the translations coming. You certainly have at least one buyer 🙂
Hi Stefan,
I’m glad you picked up the book and I’m delighted that you found the value of the content to be worth more than simply hard cash!
You’ve hit the nail on the head — you are not paying for simply 118 pages, you are paying for two things: 1. the fact that books like this simply don’t exist in the English language (except those that have been published by kenshi 24/7) and 2. the hard work, long time, and masses of research and reading that goes in to producing them.
My books aren’t produced with the aim of making profit and they won’t shift millions of numbers… they do not make me rich. My main aim is to share and spread knowledge about kendo. The content on kenshi 24/7 will always be free. The publications I produce are an extension of this, long term projects if you will.
Look at it like this:- you are paying not only for my book, but also for the last 8 years of (free) kenshi 24/7 articles as well….. in that way, you are actually getting a great deal!!!
Cheers,
– George
I finally read it to the end and I like it very much. Mostly because of the impression one gets “first hand” of the public ideas and ideals from the japanese society in those days.
Thanks Stefan. Yeah, it helps put kendo in context quite a bit ….