In December 2013 I wrote a review piece about a small one-craftsman-operated company that hand makes beautiful leather tsuba (for both bokuto and shinai). In the three plus years since then many people have stopped me and commented on the tsuba as they are so unique and well-crafted that they catch the eye immediately. Recently, […]
Yesterday was the first kenshi 24/7 run Eikenkai session of the new year, and it was a packed one! 34 kenshi from six prefectures (Okayama, Hyogo, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Mie… plus Rhett from America) squeezed into the kendojo at Sumiyoshi Budokan, which is located in the precincts of the beautiful Sumiyoshi shrine. Although there was […]
One of my own favourite posts on this website is from way back in October 2012. Entitled “Small things” it lists a few simple points that I think make a large difference in the quality of a kenshi. Re-reading it recently I started to think about some “bad” or “uncool” things that people (often unconsciously) […]
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 […]