The Mito Taikai is the largest youth Kendo tournament in Japan, with 354 teams participating last year. This tournament was established after World War II to foster the development of Kendo among young people.
This year, they are actively welcoming participants from overseas. Please feel free to contact us for more information!
Date and time: Sunday, March 30, 2025.
Registration begins at 7:00 and the event begins at 8:30.
Venue: Adastria Mito Arena
2-3-10 Midoricho, Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture
TEL: 029-303-6335
FAX: 029-303-6336 (Formerly known as Higashimachi Sports Park Gymnasium)
Organizer: Mito Tobukan General Incorporated Foundation
2-15 Kitamicho, Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture
TEL: 029-221-4729
FAX: 029-221-4752
E-mail: mito-tobukan@an.wakwak.com
URL: http://www.toubukan.or.jp
Participating organizations
Dojos, schools, clubs, and other unit organizations selected from across the country by the tournament executive committee.
Eligibility and Team Composition
(1) Players must be elementary school students (as of March 1, 2024).
(2) Teams must consist of one coach and five players.
(3) Any changes to players must be submitted to the referee at each match venue and approved before the start of the team’s match.
(4) Changes to the order are not permitted.
Match Format
Matches will be held in a tournament format or league format.
Match and Refereeing Rules
The All Japan Kendo Federation’s Match and Refereeing Rules and detailed rules, as well as the provisional match refereeing method until the COVID-19 pandemic is contained, will be used as the basis.
(1) Matches will be three matches, last two minutes, and if no winner is decided, the match will be declared a draw.
(2) The winner of a team will be determined by the number of winners. If there are a tie in the number of winners, the decision will be based on the number of points acquired. If there is also a tie in the number of points acquired, a representative match will be played.
(3) Representative matches will be played by any player. Matches will be 2 minutes long, with one match per match. If no winner is decided, 3 rounds of 2-minute overtime with a 2-minute break each will be played until a winner is decided.
(4) As a rule, no fouls will be called for outside the ring except in the final league matches, but fouls may be called depending on the circumstances.
(5) Bamboo swords must be within 109 cm (3 shaku 6 sun) in length.
(6) The coach is responsible for making sure that the bamboo swords used by the players are safe.
Referees
Appointed by the organizers.
Awards
◆Group awards 48 teams will be awarded.
(1) Grand Prize Based on the results of the final 3-way league match.
(2) Excellence Award (2 teams)
(3) Excellence Award – 1st place team at each venue (9 teams)
(4) Special Achievement Award – 2nd place team at each venue (12 teams)
(5) Fighting Spirit Award – 3rd place team at each venue (24 teams)
◆ Individual Awards – 96 outstanding individual players will be awarded. (1 from each team that advanced to the top 8 at each venue)
