Rensei Taikai 2 – Nishimura Teaches & Talks
Urushi Lacquer in Kendo Do-dai
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?
Clouds and Pine Trees That Protect Kenshi
The Kendo Mune has some decorations around the chest other than the beam of light. It is woven around the beam in a Kumo pattern (cloud), Matsu pattern (pine tree), or a combination of the two. The Kumo pattern has two lines meeting together from left and right before creating Read More
2016/02/05 – New Tozando Custom-made Do Available!
We have seen a increase in requests for custom-made Do’s recently so we have just added a new custom-made Do product to our homepage.It doesn’t matter if you just want a new Do to refresh the look of your Bogu set or if you have always had problems with the Read More
What is Urushi?
Most people practicing Kendo knows that the Menbuchi, which is the rim of the men around the Mengane and the Do are traditionally painted using Japanese ‘Urushi’, also known as ‘Japanese wood lacquer’, however many might not know exactly what this is. Urushi is a kind of natural paint which is Read More