Japanese fencing, kendo (the way of the sword), combines sport with art, and entrance into the highest ranks is dependent upon passing a gruelling examination. Two professional kendo practitioners, Kenichi Ishida and Kai Miyamoto, walk us through the finer points of this martial art as several candidates compete during the one-day hachidan qualifying exam.

Director Hiroshi Tanami (1997) 48 minutes.

Free Admission, RSVP online > https://jftor.org/event/ikigai-films-kendo/2019-07-11/

【Ikigai Film Series】

What keeps you going? How do you stay happy, and live a long life? These are some universal questions that will be explored in this film series that looks into the concept of IKIGAI. In Japanese, IKIGAI生き甲斐 essentially means “reason for being” or the thing that makes your life worthwhile, and we will catch a glimpse of how IKIGAI plays a role in the lives of remarkable Japanese people in these four documentaries.