Book Review: Kendo, Culture of the Sword

In Kendo: Culture of the Sword, Alexander Bennett follows the technical and cultural evolution of Japanese swordfighting from the days of the samurai warrior class to its current status as one of the “sportified” martial arts (budo). In detailing this history, Bennett also gives an overview of the basics of performing kendo; however, this is not an instruction manual, and the descriptions of the moves, rules, and equipment are very basic and are used mostly to provide the reader with some grounding for the substance of the book.

First off, I must admit that, unlike what I assume is target audience of this book, I am not a kendo enthusiast. And by that, I mean that I knew that kendo was a martial art and...that was pretty much it. Because I knew so little about the topic beforehand, this is one of those reviews where I have to fight the urge to just list off all the fascinating things I learned. I will say, however, that, no matter your initial knowledge-level, you will come away from this book with firm footing in the history of kendo as well as the history of bushido (the way of the warrior), and the way it has influenced and continues to influence so much of Japanese culture and identity.

The interesting thing about Bennett is that, while he is a very high ranking kendoka, he is not Japanese. Because budo, and kendo in particular, is so intricately tied to Japanese culture, Bennett’s status as a bit of an outsider allows him to approach the often-mythologized history of kendo with a great deal of respect, but also with an analytical eye that comes from that cultural distance. For example, Bennett is able to take a hard look at the role budo played during WWII, which is often downplayed by practitioners ashamed that kendo (which is not supposed about violence or beating your opponent) had been co-opted by a militaristic government. He also looks at the way kendo went from an art specifically symbolic of the samurai class to an art symbolic of Japan as a whole. Bennett points out the parallel between the derision for non-warriors who dared to take up kendo during the peaceful Tokugawa shogunate, to the exclusion that he has personally experienced as a non-Japanese practitioner. The idea that only a certain group of people can really “understand” kendo is intriguing, and Bennett does a great job in showing how the members allowed in that group have evolved and how that evolution created an “invented tradition” of what it means to be Japanese and to understand Japanese culture.

Overall, this book delivers exactly what it promises. Whether you are a kendoka looking for a deeper understanding of your sport, or you are just interested martial history, this is a great book to have in your arsenal. I would also particularly recommend it for the Western beginner. Bennett does an admirable job explaining the spiritual side of kendo and how it differentiates from the competition-based sports of Western society, despite how necessarily esoteric such a discussion can be.