Of the many woods used when making bokuto and other wooden weapons the Biwa (Loquat) tree is perhaps the most beloved by craftsmen and practitioenrs for its distinct and unique qualities. In this article we take a close look at the tree itself and its conenction to budo. The first Read More
A ‘Shinai’ is commonly known as a practice tool replacing a live blade in Kendo and Kenjutsu. And yet, it goes beyond being simply a tool in that it’s treated with reverence. More than just being a bamboo sword used during practice or competitions, by standing in for a real Read More
Kendo bogu breaks down into Men, Do, Tare and Kote. Amongst these components, the Kote are particularly known for wearing out the fastest. As a matter of fact, by the time you wear one breastplate out, you’ll probably have already eaten your way through three sets of gloves. The main Read More
Today, there is a tendency to wear lighter kendo equipment, including the do-dai which is the topic for this article. It is unfortunate, but the bamboo do-dai coated with urushi (Japanese lacquer) is in fact losing popularity. Synthetic do-dai (Yamato-do) or the do-dai made of fiber have become ubiquitous in use amongst kendoka across the world. Urushi is an expensive and time-consuming art, so it is eassy to see why it is not popular, it also begs the question, can lacquerware really stand up to being struck by a shinai?
Many roads passed through the ancient capital of Kyoto, for example the Tokaido, Sanyodo and Hokurikudo roads. The most important 7 main roads on which you could enter and leave Kyoto, in other words check points, were called Kyo no Nanakuchi(the seven entrances of Kyoto). Even to this day there Read More
About 20 years ago, getting a good Aikido Hakama would require you to either come to Japan yourself, or try to contact one of the few stores that would accept mail-orders and ship internationally. Additionally, if you didn’t know any Japanese, then it could have been quite hard to even Read More
How often your perform maintenance depends on what sort of blade you have and what you use it for. If you have an iaito from Japan that is made from Zinc/Alluminium you do not need to use uchiko powder because it will not rust. If you use it for iaido then you should oil it as and when is needed. However if it is for decoration only then once every two months should be fine.
It goes without saying, that Japanese swords are precious cultural treasures, but if it is handled roughly it might be damaged or might cause injury to yourself or someone else. If that happens, the value of such a precious treasure might be lost and we don’t want to embarass our Read More
From shinken to iaito and decorative wall-hangers, there are numerous types of Japanese swords available for purchase today, however today we will have a look at the only part that you touch on a katana: the tsuka. We will also go over some simple ways to distinguish a good tsuka Read More
We had some questions from Kendo customers about the SSP and SG seals on Shinai and if the SSP seal will become a requirement for competing Kendoka from now on. The short answer is NO! The requirement of SSP seals on Shinai won’t affect Kendoka overseas at the moment. If Read More
