2023.8　KENDOJIDAI Report: Teraoka TomoyukiPhotography: Nishiguchi KunihikoTranslation: Jouke van der Woude From July 4th to July 7th in 2024, the 19th World Kendo Championships (WKC) will be held in Milan, Italy. As the tournament approaches, the selection process for the Japanese representative team has entered its final stage. We spoke with the delegation leader, head coach, coaches, and competitors about their aspirations for the upcoming WKC. One year to Italy The WKC in Paris, which was scheduled for 2021, was canceled due to COVID-19 and the WKC will now be held in Milan in 2024 after a six-year hiatus. With one year remaining until the event, intensive training camps are being conducted for Japan’s representatives’ selection process. Fierce competition is taking place within the training camp as athletes vie for the limited slots of 10 male and 10 female participants. During the training camp, rankings are determined through in-house Shiai but equally important is the ability to demonstrate Japan’s traditional culture of Kendo on the world stage. Beyond strength, the common understanding among the leadership is that the competitors who can perform beautiful and correct Kendo which Japan values, are the ones most deserving of fighting for Japan. The male leadership … Continue reading A fierce determination to fight for Japan