Kendo is the first in-depth historical, cultural, and political
account in English of the Japanese martial art of swordsmanship, from
its beginnings in military training and arcane medieval schools to its
widespread practice as a global sport today. Alexander Bennett shows how
kendo evolved through a recurring process of "inventing tradition,"
which served the changing ideologies and needs of Japanese warriors and
governments over the course of history. Kendo follows the development
of Japanese swordsmanship from the aristocratic-aesthetic pretensions of
medieval warriors in the Muromachi period, to the samurai elitism of the
Edo regime, and then to the nostalgic patriotism of the Meiji state.
Kendo was later influenced in the 1930s and 1940s by ultranationalist
militarists and ultimately by the postwar government, which sought a
gentler form of nationalism to rekindle appreciation of traditional
culture among Japan's youth and to garner international prestige as an
instrument of "soft power." Today kendo is becoming increasingly popular
internationally. But even as new organizations and clubs form around the
world, cultural exclusiveness continues to play a role in kendo's
ongoing evolution, as the sport remains closely linked to Japan's sense
of collective identity.