The All Japan Championship was held to determine the best kendo in Japan, and Ehime representative Tetsuhiko Murakami won the championship for the first time.
It is the first time for Ehime Prefecture to win the tournament, which celebrated its 70th anniversary this year.
The All Japan Kendo Championships were held at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on the 3rd, and 64 people who won the national qualifiers competed for the best in Japan in a tournament format.
In the finals, 30-year-old Murakami, who is aiming for his first victory as a member of the Ehime national team, will be making his second appearance, and 32-year-old Sho Ando, who will be making his 10th appearance as a member of the Tokyo national team.
One minute and 20 seconds after the start of the match, Murakami boldly jumped in against Ando, who has won the world championship, and took the ippon with a “face”.
After that, they kept their attacking stance, and shortly after the start, they scored another "face" in the 4th minute scene and won their first victory with "two wins".
This is the first time that Ehime Prefecture won the championship in this tournament, which celebrated its 70th anniversary.
In an interview with the winner after the final, Murakami said, "Even if I try, there's only one more to go, so I'm going to try my best without fear of losing. I thought about going forward without changing my mind," he recalled.
He was delighted to be the first team from Ehime Prefecture to win the tournament, saying, "I've been doing kendo in Ehime for a long time, and I always had a strong desire to win on this stage."
After that, he said, "From tomorrow, I want to work hard towards my next goal."