Understanding the competitive Kendo climate in Japan

Most Kendo practitioners outside Japan are familiar with prestigious Kendo tournaments in Japan, such as the All Japan Kendo Tournament or the Hachidan Tournament. They probably also realize that many high-level competitors train full-time as police officers or correctional officers. But just how hard is it to get to the level of an All Japan champion? In this article, I will describe the competitive climate in Japan, and the typical path that Kendo practitioners in Japan walk.

1. Starting Kendo

The majority of high-level competitors start their Kendo careers in elementary school. Elementary schools in Japan do not offer any extra-curricular activities, so children looking to start Kendo have to join a local Dojo (such as Totsuka Dojo). Some of these Dojo are run by volunteers, while some others are for-profit. Some of them are even organized by local police departments. A few Dojo are able to afford building a dedicated Kendo Dojo, but most of them use local gymnasiums, which in Japan generally have wooden flooring. 

Instructors at these Dojo have a lot of experience teaching young children, and the children will be able to practice together with people their age. This is where children learn to use correct Ashisabaki and Fumikomi. 
It is at this age that many children experience their first tournaments. One of the major tournaments for children this age is the All Japan Dojo Shonen Kendo tournament. In this tournament, children from all over Japan represent their Dojo. This year, more than 600 teams competed over 14 Shiaijo. There is also an individual tournament. Previous medalists include many famous Kenshi, such as Hoshiko, Takenouchi, Umegatani and Murakami Raita.

2. Junior High School

At age 12, Japanese children enter junior high school. This is when students can start doing extra-curricular activities at school clubs. Most junior high schools will have a Kendo club, and many have a dedicated Kendo Dojo at school. Although some children choose to stay with their local Dojo, this is the time when many switch to training with their school’s Kendo club. Some dedicated children might choose to train at both. In the case of private schools, students are able to get sports scholarships based on their achievements in elementary school. Top prospects might be able to go to school for free, which is quite significant, considering that the average private school costs around $3000 a year.

Practice at school clubs generally starts around 16:00, and will often last for two or three hours. Members are expected to show up every day, with weekends and public holidays being no exception. Some clubs might also have practice in the morning, before classes start. Practice often consists of a plethora of footwork exercises, Suburi and Kirikaeshi, and students are expected to improve their speed and strength, as well as their tactical insight. 

From junior high school onward, children will spend more time preparing for competition by conducting practice matches, sometimes even in cooperation with other schools.

The major tournament at this stage is the All Japan Junior High School tournament, which has both a team and an individual division. However, unlike the astounding number of teams that compete in the aforementioned Dojo Shonen tournament, this tournament only has 48 teams. In order to qualify for the All Japan tournament, a school has to win their prefectural preliminary tournament. To put that into perspective, Tokyo alone has over 800 junior high schools. Of course, not all of these schools have a Kendo club, but it helps understand the odds. In reality, it is only a handful of schools that actually manage to win any prizes. These strong schools are well known by everyone, and ambitious children who want to truly dedicate themselves to Kendo aim to enter such schools. 

Students who choose to stay with their local Dojo also get to participate in the All Japan Dojo Shonen Tournament ‘s junior high school division. Famous medalists include Katsumi, Ando, Takenouchi and Nabeyama.

By the end of their junior high school career, students are expected to have a good grasp on the fundamentals of Kendo, such as Ashisabaki and Tenouchi. While many of them still have the body of an elementary school student in their first year of junior high, by the end most of them will have physically (and mentally) grown significantly.

Elementary School (6-12)

Junior High School (12-15)

High School (15-18)

University (18-22)

3. High School

Children who proved to be successful in junior high school often get scouted by high schools looking for strong players. Once again, the best way to attract strong talent is by offering scholarships. However, a back difference when compared to the junior high school system is that high schools don’t only look at local talent, but they also look at people from other cities and sometimes even other prefectures. In order to accommodate students who live far from school, many top schools have dormitories for the students to live in. This is how famous schools manage to get the best players from all over the country.

High school is where the training really gets tough. There is a lot more focus on building a physique appropriate to Kendo, so much time is spent doing cardio and strength training. Many strong schools will conduct these training sessions in the morning. The Kendo training itself also gets harder. Students are expected to develop strong strikes, fast footwork and unrelenting spirit. This is achieved through many repetitions of Suburi, Kirikaeshi, Oikomigeiko and Kakarigeiko. Even more time is dedicated to Shiai practice, with many schools often organizing practice matches together with other schools. I have even been to an event which consisted of multiple days of training matches followed by a whole tournament. The year I went there, more than 100 schools participated. 

Training camp in Wakayama.

Students from strong schools usually only have New Year’s and Obon (a three-day Japanese holiday in August) off. The rest of the year they are expected to practice every day. Needless to say, some students have trouble keeping up with their homework. 

At the high school level, there are four major tournaments: All Japan High School Championship (Interhigh), All Japan Invitational Tournament, Gyokuryuki and Kaiseki. The Interhigh and the All Japan Invitational Tournament both require schools to qualify through prefectural preliminary tournaments. However, prefectures with large Kendo populations, such as Fukuoka, have one additional preliminary tournament. (In the case of Fukuoka, the prefecture is broken up into three areas. All of these areas have their own preliminary tournament. From the central and northern Fukuoka area tournaments the 12 highest ranked schools will be able to move on to the prefectural tournament. The southern area sends its best 8 schools, leading to a total of 32 schools participating in the prefectural tournament.) The winner of the prefectural qualifier will be able to participate in the All Japan tournament. (However, prefectures with large Kendo populations can send multiple schools. In the case of Fukuoka, the top two schools will be able to participate in the Interhigh.) Winning the Interhigh cements a school as one of the strongest in Japan, and the members of the winning team will often be invited by Japan’s top Kendo universities.

The Gyokuryuki (in Fukuoka) and Kaiseki (in Akita) tournaments are unique in that every school in Japan is free to enter. These events are gigantic. At this year’s Gyokuryuki, 455 boys teams and 333 girls teams battled it out over the span of six days. Both these tournaments also employ the Kachinuki format, meaning that if one team member wins their match, they get to stay on to fight the next member of the opposing team. A draw means that both players leave. This leads to some exciting moments where strong players beat the entire opposing team single handedly. (Umegatani famously beat 11 opponents in a row to lead his school, Fukudai Ohori, to victory at the 2013 Gyokuryuki.)

Opening ceremony of the girl’s division of the Gyokuryuki.

After the Gyokuryuki, which is held in August, there are no more major tournaments for the rest of the academic year, so third-year high school students often “retire” from the Kendo club in order to focus on studying for the university entrance examinations. By this time, strong players will have shown their capabilities and might get approached by physical education universities. For many regular Kenshi, who do not have the achievements necessary to go to a strong university, this is often the end of their (competitive) Kendo career.

The Four Major High School Tournaments

Interhigh

Invitational

Gyokuryuki

Kaiseki

4. University

Competitors who got good results as high school students and are serious about pursuing Kendo will often end up going to physical education universities. Here, they will usually study to become PE teachers while also participating in the Kendo club’s practices. Although practice at this level is still physically tough, it lacks the character-building elements often employed by high school teachers. Students are given more freedom, and supplementary practice such as running and weightlifting is often done on their own time. It is also common to have a day off on Sundays.

Strong universities will often have multiple 7th and 8th Dan teachers, and much time is spent on Jigeiko. The number of people training at the clubs is also a lot higher than at the high-school level.(The Kendo clubs of Kokushikan and International Budo University both have around 200 members.) This means that there is less opportunity for students to practice directly with the teachers, so senior students are expected to teach younger students. There is also less actual explaining done by the teachers. Instead, they give the students the chance to figure things out by themselves.

Once again, competition is very important, as it directly affects the students’ chances of finding employment after graduation. Since the number of universities is significantly lower than that of (junior) high schools, there are no longer any qualifying tournaments on the prefectural level. Instead, regional preliminaries are held, with the Kanto region (which includes Tokyo) featuring many strong universities. As there are only eight regions in Japan, it is no longer a requirement to win the preliminaries in order to participate in the All Japan tournament. Of course, just like at the junior high school and high school level, it is always the same handful of universities which end up winning the All Japan title. As the number of people training at a single university is quite high, it is difficult to be selected as a member of the team.

After four years of university, only the strongest competitors will be able to enter the police force. Many students end up becoming PE teachers or working office jobs. Some people decide to quit Kendo at this point, as it does not mix well with the life of the average salaryman in Japan.

5. Post University

People who stood out during their student days might be able to enter the police Tokuren and become Kendo professionals. However, most competitors can only dream of this. Luckily, there are also some other professions which allow people to practice Kendo on the job, such as (junior) high school teacher, correctional officer, military personnel or working at a company which has a dedicated Kendo team. Many people who end up working regular jobs do not have the time to continue practicing Kendo as adults. Some of them are fed up with Kendo altogether after having dedicated their entire youth to it. Others might decide to pick it up again at a later age.

The ones who end up becoming Kendo professionals will have trained Kendo diligently for more than 10 years, dedicating all their free time to becoming stronger. They will have started Kendo at a famous Dojo, and gone on to the strongest high schools and universities, all the while winning prizes at major tournaments. Personally, I have the utmost respect for these people. Foreign Kenshi are often jealous of the opportunities presented to Kendo practitioners in Japan, but it should not be underestimated how dedicated they are to their craft, and how hard they work every day.

Strong High Schools

Kyushu Gakuin (Kumamoto)

Fukudai Ohori (Fukuoka)

Fukuoka Dai-ichi (Fukuoka)

Meiho (Oita)

Mito Kiryo (Ibaraki)

Takachiho (Miyazaki)

Shimabara (Nagasaki)

Strong Universities

Tsukuba (Ibaraki)

Kokushikan (Tokyo)

Chuo (Tokyo)

International Budo University (Chiba)

Kanoya (Kagoshima)

Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences (Osaka)