Kendo : culture of the sword / / Alexander Bennett

• Autore: Bennett Alexander
• Pubblicazione: Oakland, California : , : University of California Press, , 2015; ©2015
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (323 p.)
• Disciplina: 796.86
• Soggetto topico: Kendo; Swordplay - Japan
• Soggetto non controllato: bamboo; bogu; collective identity; combat; cultural studies; edo period; fighting styles; fights; global sport; history of kendo; history; inventing tradition; japan; japanese history; japanese martial arts; japanese studies; japanese; kendo; kenjutsu; martial arts; medieval schools; meiji period; military training; muromachi period; nationalism; physical activity; practice of honor; protective armor; samurai; shinai; soft power; sports; swordsmanship; traditional culture; war; warriors
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front matter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Conventions -- Prologue: Kendo Basics -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. The Art of Killing: Swordsmanship in Medieval Japan -- Chapter 2. The Art of Living: Early Modern Kenjutsu -- Chapter 3. The Fall and Rise of Samurai Culture: Kenjutsu's Nationalization -- Chapter 4. Sharpening the Empire's Claws -- Chapter 5. Kendo and Sports: Path of Reason or Cultural Treason? -- Chapter 6. Crossing Swords and Borders: The Global Diffusion of Kendo -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: Kendo is the first in-depth historical, cultural, and political account in English of the Japanese martial art of swordsmanship, from its beginnings in military training and arcane medieval schools to its widespread practice as a global sport today. Alexander Bennett shows how kendo evolved through a recurring process of "inventing tradition," which served the changing ideologies and needs of Japanese warriors and governments over the course of history. Kendo follows the development of Japanese swordsmanship from the aristocratic-aesthetic pretensions of medieval warriors in the Muromachi period, to the samurai elitism of the Edo regime, and then to the nostalgic patriotism of the Meiji state. Kendo was later influenced in the 1930's and 1940's by ultranationalist militarists and ultimately by the postwar government, which sought a gentler form of nationalism to rekindle appreciation of traditional culture among Japan's youth and to garner international prestige as an instrument of "soft power." Today kendo is becoming increasingly popular internationally. But even as new organizations and clubs form around the world, cultural exclusiveness continues to play a role in kendo's ongoing evolution, as the sport remains closely linked to Japan's sense of collective identity.
• Titolo autorizzato: Kendo
• ISBN: 0-520-95994-9
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910797250903321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II