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kendo media shiai

Normality returns

With the relaxing of mask mandates (requests) by the Japanese government this month and the ZNKR following suit, we are starting to see progress on the returning-to-normal front. Kendo-wise, the ZNKR have said something to the effect of (abridged): You don’t have to wear masks during kendo anymore but, if you choose not to, please […]

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history kendo media

Kendo art – another piece of kendo history

In 2017 I (very happily) shared the news that I was given a ukiyo-e (nishiki-e) of a famous (and extremely historical) kendo scene from 1873. Almost exactly a year after, I detailed my totally random find of another ukiyo-e from the same period and the trials and tribulation I went through to get my hands […]

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kendo media shiai

All Japan Inter-prefectural competition (kids)

When I arrived in Japan permanently in late July 2003 (of course, that wasn’t the plan at that time…) it was to a small island in Hiroshima prefecture. Before arriving I knew that there was a shonen kendo club based in the local junior high school, but I didn’t really know what to expect. I […]

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kendo media miscellaneous

Kendo Miscellanea

I’ve been practicing kendo for, what, about 30 years now. Or nearly that, I’m not exactly sure. In that space of time I have collected so many kendo-related bits and bobs that I have lost count. Well, after moving to Japan that is – before that (20 years+ ago) there wasn’t really anything kendo-related to […]

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kendo media

Almost done

One more keiko and this year is done. Whew. I must admit that this year has been a long one! Long though it may have felt, however, it wasn’t a particularity prolific one here on kenshi 24/7 compared to past years. That doesn’t mean I didn’t get anything done. Event-wise there were plenty of shiai […]

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kendo media shiai

All Japan Kendo Championships (2019)

The 67th All Japan Kendo Championships (mens) was held on Sunday the 3rd of November in the Osaka Prefectural Gym. Luckily for me, some repairs and/or renovations on the Nippon Budokan for next years Olympics brought the shiai (for the first time) to Osaka, the venue being about a 20 minute bicycle ride from my […]

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kendo media

Hayashi Kunio sensei’s discussion on kendo for adults

In June 2017 I introduced on kenshi 24/7 a project that I had worked on a year-or-so earlier that had finally seen the light of day: “Kamei Toru Sensei’s Kendo Lecture” – an English subtitled DVD from Japanese kendo magazine Kendo Jidai. At the time it was the magazines first foray in to the international […]

Categories
iaido media

Embu at Ise-jingu

第四十二回伊勢神宮武芸奉納演武 Last weekend my dojo mates and I visited Ise-jingu in Mie prefecture which is, along with Izumo-taisha in Shimane, one of the most important cultural and historical institutions in the country. There we were honoured to take part in a “dedication demonstration” of budo to the sun goddess Amaterasu with a handful of other […]

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iaido kendo kyototaikai media

Kyoto Taikai 2019

This year, as normal, I headed to Kyoto to attend/watch the Kyoto Taikai. I have written about it numerous times on kenshi 24/7, so I won’t bore you with a full recap – check out the kyototaikai category to read past posts and get the full rundown. This year was a little bit of a […]

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media shiai

All Japan Prefectural Championships 2019

On April 29th every year the All Japan Prefectural Championships (Todofuken taikai) are held here in Osaka. I have been attending the shiai as a spectator for well over a decade now, and have seen it change in format from a mixed male/female competition, into a separate male (the one I was at today) and […]