by Andreas Nicol
Over the course of the last two years, my naginata life was severely hampered by a shoulder injury and related surgery. With the INF seminar in Japan beckoning in 2025 (the location being an extra incentive), I was wondering therefore if it was already the right time to return in full vigor and if the time was ripe for the next step – godan exam. An additional complication is that I have no permanent teacher to give me guidance on such a question. My original and formative teacher, Yamaō sensei (hanshi) sadly passed away last year at the age of 93.
But I do not know it any other way. Since I was the only yondan in Germany, the only sandan at the time, the only nidan then, etc. (you get the pattern), I have visited the dōjō of significantly more experienced people before all my dan exams after my relocation to Germany to get feedback. Seminars are very important, of course, but only the close scrutiny of a teacher in class can prepare you for an exam. And as the numbers increase, they aren’t getting easier.
Together with Rachel from Great Britain, my “partner in crime”, we planned our road to the summer godan exam 2025 of the Japanese Naginata Federation, starting with the European seminar scene (Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium), continuing with a two week practice journey in Japan – flanked by the Japanese Federation’s kata seminar at the beginning and the INF seminar at the end – to finally come to Nara for the exam. (Make sure not to overread the word “summer”, Japanese summer.)
Going to Japan for me is always a “nostalgic” journey (for lack of a better word to translate “natsukashii”), having lived there twice. My last visit was right before the pandemic in the January of 2020, when travelers from Wuhan were already called out and the world was two months away from grinding to a halt. Now, with the exchange rate of the yen being low, news of overtourism problems are a plenty in the media.
First stop: kata seminar. It was taught by Hamaoka sensei and Yoshii sensei “the younger”. Going to the kata seminar required us to take extra days off and leave in the middle of the week, to be there in time for an early start in Saitama prefecture. But it was definitively worth it. Starting without bōgu was a good transition to adapt to the summer heat. The atmosphere was simply wonderful. “Naginata begins with Rei and ends with Rei” as the saying goes. That is not really a surprise when being at a Japanese event with participants of comparatively high level, but it simply felt like a welcome in our case and another teleport into the “nostalgic” domain.
Visually, I was the only obviously Western participant, but that made it easier to meet old friends again. So, for example, I once again met my sempai from way back (only the first time on this trip) and a priest from 18 years ago who’s sister also does naginata and who had visited my group and I hers. Coincidentally he’s from a town with quite a bit of naginata history which I planned to visit later anyway. So more like 18 days now instead of years until the next meeting.
After two days we left with bright smiles and parted, saying “we will meet again in Nara” to many participants.
Back at base in Tōkyō, the real work began – the musha shugyō cycle: Hitting the dōjō in and around the city, from Kawasaki and Yokohama to Saitama (again) in a daily grind of commuting (one hour +), practicing, returning, note taking, doing laundry, learning for the exam and lots of drinking in between. Rinse and repeat for eight days with selected bits of tiny touristy joys sprinkled into the mix. For additional excitement, you may want to accept the challenge of not hitting people in stations and train cars as you make your way through the crowds with your naginata and armour.
After that, the long trek west to the INF seminar in Matsuyama on Shikoku began. Lugging around bōgu, a suitcase full of keiko-gi and hakama and presents, a backpack with computer and – literally not to be forgotten – our bundle of chopsticks in the hot & humid rainy season (regularly reaching the mid-thirties in temperature and the mid-seventies in humidity) and madly dashing to the next train is a veritable re-enactment of the doko race of Ghurka selection fame. If you don’t know what that is, have a look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8pIJglsYUE (starting at 8’45”). 25kg – that was the weight of my suitcase alone.
Matsuyama has a beautiful castle on a mountain with a vista of the sea. It is of the spread-out plains type (as opposed to having a tall, dominating central tower) and has buildings with their original wood construction still intact. An absolute must-see with an armour try-on offering as a bonus. And no paragraph on the city can conclude without mentioning the famous mikan (mandarins) industry.
Over the course of three days, little Matsuyama was invaded by southern barbarian hordes with their oversized luggage, taking over local trains and buses and generally standing in the way all the time. The Ehime Prefectural Budōkan is a huge, impressive structure of wood and glass, built on a rock foundation similar to Japanese castles, in a large sports park a little outside of town.
During the INF seminar with many high-ranking Japanese teachers, we covered the whole spectrum of naginata practice, including of course shikake-ōji, kata (lots of that in my pack), jigeiko, participation in and refereeing at a tournament. We had the additional pleasures of meeting and practicing with the members of the Japanese national team from last year’s WNC again, listening to a lecture by Alexander Bennett on naginata history & culture and trying the local mandarins. As it turned out later, this gave me the first opportunity to work with my exam partner to-be.
It may sound odd, but it is always a happy experience to me, when at an event like this my Japanese allows me not only to speak with Japanese people (obviously), but also with people from completely different countries like Taiwan and South Korea. It is like that for me with English for the better part of my life (so I don’t really think about it at all) but having this experience with Japanese anew is as a joyful occurrence.
As beautiful as it is, Matsuyama is a bit off the beaten track, translating into long travel times. We left right after the seminar with the wacky Anpanman Express for Nara, for some rest & recovery before the big exam day. R&R sounds great, but it was actually more like L&L – laundry and learning. I’m sure there is a secret art of fortune telling from hakama salt stains. Strange but true, while changing trains in Kyōto, I was recognized by a German lady who had tried naginata 20 years ago with me. Welcome to the global village.
Exam day! Due to the convenient placement of the INF seminar shortly before the exam, it made for a great combined package and the share of international yondan and godan exam candidates was accordingly very high. But there were also many familiar faces among the Japanese examines and even among the examiners, due to the kata seminar and our previous practice journey through Kantō (their roles then unknown). By chance we even met Fukuda sensei, who teaches in Nara and has participated in many INF seminars in the past, but wasn’t part sitting on the board of examiners this time. My exam partner turned out to be Masuda Yoshiaki (“Masuda the elder”, vice world champion of 2024 – with his sun wining first place. You can imagine the dynamic at home.) and we worked together nicely. Fortunately, we both passed. And Rachel as well as her partner passed also. And there was great joy!
Before my return trip from tourist packed Nara, I had another couple of days reserved, not for naginata practice, but for naginata history and visiting friends & places I lived in two decades ago. So, if you have never heard about Uji bridge, Chūsonji in Hiraizumi or Aizu-Wakamatsu in the context of naginata history, Wikipedia is your friend. Especially the latter provided a lot of impressions and on-site pictures for another presentation in the future as a sequel in spirit to my lecture series from the pandemic years. Only after my return home did record temperatures hit Japan and the earthquake in the Russian far-east of historic magnitude send tsunami scares around the Pacific (which luckily didn’t materialize). Maybe the rainy season timing wasn’t so bad after all.
Many people contributed to this being a successful and fantastic trip, more than I can mention here. I therefore only name a selected view:
- First and foremost, I want to thank Rachel for her input into all things training logistics which were instrumental
- Myōjin Hideko for two decades of help, including, not least, lending of naginata
- Kiya Miwa and Ishiguro Michiyo for paying several sizeable registration fees in Japan upfront in my stead when my national federation wasn’t responsive.
Maido ōkini!
Andreas Nicol
Benkei Naginata Kyōshitsu
PostSV Opladen
Leverkusen
Germany
