This 2015, the Kendo World Championships will be held at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo’s Kudanshita neighborhood. It will be exactly 4 months from now, 5/29 – 31.

I drew the poster for it.

I’m not an expert, but these World Championships will be held at the Nippon Budokan (literally the “Japan Martial Arts Center”), which has been referred to as sacred ground for martial arts, in the motherland of kendo. For that reason, I wonder if this year’s 16th Kendo World Championships will be an especially deep emotional experience for the kendoka.

(The below is a quotation)

This will be the third time this has been held in Japan, but it will be the first time this has been held in Tokyo, the chosen location for this event, since the first tournament 45 years ago.

• The Kendo World Championships occur once every 3 years.
• This tournament brings kenshi together from all across the world to clash and pit their daily honed skills against each other.
• Men’s Indiviudal, Women’s Individual, Men’s Team and Women’s Team Tournaments will be held.
• 48 countries and regions from across the world participated in the 15th Champsionships.
• The number of participating areas grows every year, and they will show you their excitement.

(The above is quoted from the All Japan Kendo Federation Web Site article “Japan (Tokyo) chosen to host the 16th World Kendo Championships.”)

・For Reference：http://www.kendo.or.jp/competition/wkc/16th/

・There’s also an interview with an inexperienced me→：http://16wkc.jp

When I think about kendo, it bring back memories of the feeling of bare feet on cold floors.

I drew the poster while sometimes wielding a bamboo sword and remembering my time training in kendo from my third year of elementary school to my third year of middle school.

The bamboo sword, the details of the gear, and hearing the phrase “mengane” (the short term for the metal part that protects the face) after 30 years since my last match brings me racing back to my elementary school days. It’s a good feeling.

There is no end to martial arts no matter what age you are.

At the time, my first instructor was in his 70s.

Now I want to do kendo again.

Takehiko Inoue