Earlier today I (again) took part in the All Japan inter-prefectural competition (kids) here in Osaka. It is the third year I’ve helped out in this competition. The first time I took part I wrote a detailed report, so please check that out if you are interested.
Today was pretty much the same as last year except that a) the media company that work the shiai are now more experienced (and thus I don’t need to guide as much) and b) I was surprised to meet my long-time kendo friend at the shiai: his son was competing on the Tokyo primary school team!
Todays post is media heavy and short in words. I am currently working on about three articles, so please be patient.
Warmup pics:
Shiai pics:
Live streamed from Osaka Kendo Association can be seen here.
Bonus
My view/workspace for the event kind of looked like this. Of course, the media pros setup and dealt with everything, I just sat around looking like I knew what was going on.
One amazing thing that did happen this year was that I was given a vegetarian lunch box (actually, vegan). I have been vegetarian for about 35 years and have lived in Japan for over 21. During that time I’ve attended numerous kendo events as shinpan, staff, helper, or what have you, and – whilst everyone else received lunch – I have never once been given anything vegetarian. This was the first time.
