Tama Budogu operates in Kokubunji, Tokyo. Until now, the martial arts equipment manufacturer has had almost no brick-and-mortar stores or online sales, resulting in many complaints that "even if you want it, you can't buy it." All of the products are handmade by President Adachi. They are unmistakably Made in Japan products. Apparently, he makes everything himself, right down to cutting the bamboo.

This time, we asked President Adachi, a former member of Nihon University's Kendo Club, to tell us about the inspiration behind creating this unique product and explain the product to us!

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What led to starting a kendo equipment store?

Adachi : "I was originally a businessman working at a securities company. Then I started a business with two friends, a martial arts equipment store. We were doing well, but then I was betrayed by someone I trusted, and I ended up with tens of millions of yen in debt and had to close the store. It was frustrating.

But I love kendo, and even now I'm still making kendo-related products on a small scale. I don't have the financial resources to make kendo armor, so the products I make are basically small items. I mainly make products that large kendo manufacturers wouldn't be keen on, and I make each one by hand."

-You can really feel President Adachi's love for kendo. It's amazing that such handmade products can be sold at such low prices!

Adachi : "If people don't buy it, it's pointless (laughs). We aim to keep it at an affordable price."

-What kind of thoughts go into creating your products?

Adachi : " I want to increase the number of people who start kendo from kindergarten. My aim is to increase the base of the kendo population. It seems that many children practice kendo until junior high school, but then quit. This is just one example, but when we were children, we couldn't wear the black belt until we achieved first dan. Nowadays, you can wear the black belt from elementary school, so I think there is less joy in achieving first dan. In judo, you only get a black belt once you achieve first dan. I think kendo too needs to have some kind of mechanism that makes children aspire to achieve the black belt as soon as possible. I think it would be fine to have red or blue belts until elementary school. I think these kinds of initiatives should be led by martial arts equipment stores."

The secret story behind the development of kendo equipment

Soft Kendo Equipment

-What was the concept behind creating Soft Kendo equipment?

Adachi: "The number of people doing kendo is declining. It's no fun to make kindergarteners just do swings. Unless it's made to feel more like a game, like hitting your opponent is fun, I don't think they'll even realize how fun kendo is. I looked into it recently, and the number of people attaining the first dan rank is extremely low. It's a serious problem."

-The concept of increasing the number of people starting from kindergarten is interesting!

Adachi : "I made the design cute, and the colors pop. There's baseball and softball, so I thought it would be nice if there was a softer version of kendo as well.

I do everything myself. I sew it myself, and I even cut the bamboo myself. I thought about using a plastic body, but it would end up looking cheap."

-You make it from bamboo! That's amazing...

Adachi : "I have a friend who owns a bamboo grove in Chichibu, and he's willing to give it to me at a low price (laughs). Some people buy this product as a Shichi-Go-San gift. I think it would also make a great gift."

The secret story behind the development of Shikoro

Adachi : "Thrusting is scary, isn't it? There are kendo practitioners who have been hit in the carotid artery and become partially paralyzed. We felt that something had to be done about this, so we created the 錞.

At the time, other martial arts equipment stores were thinking of making the tsukidare too big. This would not avoid the problem of the thrust deflecting to the side and hitting the neck. So we created a product that could also protect the neck in addition to the tsukidare ."

-Thrusting is scary... I didn't know there was a product like this!

Adachi : " When you wear a sword , you no longer fear being hit with a thrust. You no longer back down out of fear . In short, it changes the way you hold the sword. We often hear from people that they can now strike with a men that puts their hips into it. "

Kotegata

Adachi : "I made some tekko and took them to my teacher from Ikubunkan High School, Oka Kenjiro. He told me, 'Adachi, you shouldn't make things like this! Kendo is supposed to hurt. It's supposed to smell. If it didn't have that, it wouldn't be kendo.' The ones Oka used were hand-stitched and thick. Old-fashioned armor was highly protective, so it didn't hurt. They used only deer hair for the core, so it had cushioning."

-The pain was different from what it is now.

Adachi : " The popular ones today contain cotton, so as they are beaten, they lose their cushioning. It hurts a lot when you get hit. They are mass-produced with a sewing machine, so the pain when you get hit is completely different.

I think it's a shame that the number of kendo practitioners is declining because of things like pain and smell."

-Where does the name "tekou" come from?

Adachi : "Have you heard of tekko? You see the ones men wear on their hands in period dramas? I made this with that in mind. I also used to teach kendo to children, and when a child would raise their sword and hit their kote, it would really hurt. I thought this was no good, so I made this 40 years ago. It's been selling well ever since. It's one of our best-selling products.

The key point is that it not only protects the tube part, but also the back of the hand."

- Tama Budogu is competing in a niche in the kendo world. It's an interesting company that doesn't make armor! It's not just a product idea, but it's impressive that they're working hard to spread safe and secure kendo. I'll be sure to support Tama Budogu, which makes handmade products, in the future. Thank you for today!

interviewer

BUSHIZO

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