Money (7) * Omamori blessed by monks, Kyoto * For wallet

Omamori MONEY (economic situation, work, business, victory, etc.) for wallet

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IMAGE: Kendō

Kendo (剣道, kendō, lit. 'way of the sword') is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from swordsmanship (kenjutsu), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread to many other nations across the world.

Kendo is an activity that combines martial arts practices and values with strenuous, sport-like physical activity.

Swordsmen in Japan established schools of kenjutsu (the ancestor of kendo). These continued for centuries and form the basis of kendo practice today. Formal kendo exercises known as kata were developed several centuries ago as kenjutsu practice for warriors. They are still studied today, in a modified form.

The introduction of bamboo practice swords and armor to sword training is attributed to Naganuma Shirōzaemon Kunisato (1688–1767) during the Shotoku Era (1711–1715). Naganuma developed the use of this armor and established a training method using bamboo swords.

Yamada Heizaemon Mitsunori (Ippūsai), 1638–1718), third son of Naganuma and the 8th headmaster of the Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū Kenjutsu, is credited with improving the art with Japanese wooden and bamboo swords, according to his gravestone's inscription. He is also credited with refining the armor by adding a metal grille to the headpiece and thick cotton protective coverings to the gauntlets. Naganuma Sirozaemon Kunisato (1688-1767) inherited the tradition from his father Heizaemon in 1708, and the two of them collaborated to improve what would become modern kendo training armor.

Shūsaku Narimasa Chiba (1792-1855), founder of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hyōhō), introduced gekiken (full contact duels with bamboo swords and training armor) to the curriculum of tradition arts in the 1820s. Due to the large number of students of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hyōhō at the end of the Edo period, the use of bamboo swords and armor as a form of practice became popular. Modern kendo techniques, such as Suriage-Men and Oikomi-Men, were originally Hokushin Ittō-ryū techniques, were named by Chiba Shūsaku. After the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s, Sakakibara Kenkichi popularized public gekiken for commercial gain, resulting in increased interest in kendo and kenjutsu.

In 1876, five years after a voluntary surrender of swords, the government banned the use of swords by the surviving samurai and initiated sword hunts. Meanwhile, in an attempt to standardize the sword styles (kenjutsu) used by policemen, Kawaji Toshiyoshi recruited swordsmen from various schools to come up with a unified swordsmanship style. This led to the rise of the Battotai (lit. Drawn Sword Corps), consisting mainly of sword-wielding policemen. However, it proved difficult to integrate all sword arts, leading to a compromise of ten practice moves (kata) for police training. This integration effort led to the development of modern kendo. In 1878, Kawaji wrote a book on swordsmanship, Gekiken Saikō-ron (Revitalizing Swordsmanship), stressing sword styles should not disappear with modernization, but should be integrated as necessary skills for the police. He draws a particular example from his experience with the Satsuma Rebellion. The Junsa Kyōshūjo (Patrolman's Training Institute), founded in 1879, provided a curriculum that allowed policemen to study gekiken during their off-hours. In the same year, Kawaji wrote another book on swordsmanship, Kendo Saikō-ron (Revitalizing Kendo),defending the significance of such sword art training for the police. While Junsa Kyōshūjo remained active only until 1881, the police continued to support such practice.

Kendo (along with other martial arts) was banned in Japan in 1946 by the occupying powers. This was part of "the removal and exclusion from public life of militaristic and ultra-nationalistic persons" in response to the wartime militarization of martial arts instruction in Japan. The DNBK was also disbanded. Kendo was allowed to return to the curriculum in 1950, first as "shinai competition" and then as kendo in 1952.

The All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF or ZNKR) was founded in 1952, immediately after Japan's independence was restored and the ban on martial arts in Japan was lifted. It was formed on the principle of kendo not as a martial art, but as educational sport and it has continued to be practiced as such to this day.

The International Kendo Federation (FIK) was founded in April 1970. It is an international federation of national and regional kendo federations, and the world governing body for kendo. The FIK is a non-governmental organization, and it aims to promote and popularize kendo, iaido and jodo.

The International Martial Arts Federation (IMAF), established in Kyoto 1952, was the first international organization founded since WWII to promote the development of martial arts worldwide. Today, IMAF includes kendo as one of the Japanese disciplines.

Inscribed in popular culture in Japan, kendo has more than one million followers. Since 2012, it has been one of the disciplines taught in Japanese colleges with judo and sado. The manufacture of armor and shinais is still the object of an artisanal practice and contributes to perpetuate a tradition of small traders.