Kendo Culture in Brazil

by Saki U.

I learned about kendo in the class of Cultural Studies in Japanese Martial Arts last year. Kendo, the Japanese martial art using a bamboo sword, is more costly than other Japanese martial arts, so its spread is restrictive around the world. But, Brazil is one of the most popular countries where kendo is played, because there is a Japanese community there from a long time ago.

Brazil has a big Japanese society which now has about 1,500,000 Japanese-Brazilians. At the beginning of the 20th Century, many Japanese people migrated to Brazil. Now, their descendants live there, keep up the Japanese community, and coexist with other Brazilians.

Kendo has been a popular sport among Japanese immigrants in Brazil, and its culture and skill have been passed down from generation to generation. Many of the Japanese-Brazilians now cannot speak Japanese, but they have inherited the Japanese spirit. I’m happy to know that!

I hope kendo culture will never be extinct in Brazil, and it will become an intermediary of friendship between Brazil and Japan.