by Alexandre Cyprien-Scerri
While the 8th World Naginata Championship was going on in Boulder, Colorado, a very different event was taking place in Paris : Japan Expo. The biggest convention dedicated to Japanese culture in Europe, held in the Parc des Expositions of Paris Nord-Villepinte (140 000m²) with more than 200 000 people in attendance over 4 days (July 11th-14th), and hosting many events and celebrities. It’s a gigantic event, and we were there to introduce atarashii naginata to as many people as possible.
This isn’t the first time naginata was represented at this convention. As a matter of fact, I discovered the martial art existed during Japan Expo 2013, and joined the following year. Two other practitioners helping out this year, Thimoty Beaumont and Emmanuel Fray-Lacoste, stumbled upon the very same kind of demonstration in 2017. And one of our latest recruit, Alexandra Honnorat, was among the people trying out naginata at last year’s Japan Expo ; this year, she was leading initiations !
Outside of these slots, we would chat with attendees, introduce naginata, and even use the spare training mats for some unscheduled initiations. Naginata proved to be quite popular (so popular in fact that we ran out of naginata to loan at some point, and had to borrow one from the people doing Katori Shinto Ryu), and on some days we spent hours standing, either teaching or demonstrating. With a few kendokas attending the convention, we were even able to show some isshu-jiai, sparking a lot of interest from the audience. We started the day at 7:30 and would only leave after the convention was closed to the public, around 18:30. Most practitioners attended at least two days, with a few doing three. And as the person responsible for organisation, I had the rare honour of doing all four days, with very little sleep and a hoarse voice at the end. It was all worth it though, as our eagerness to spread awareness of atarashii naginata was met with widespread enthusiasm from attendees.
Overall, Japan Expo 2024 was a success. Not only do we estimate that we almost got as many initiates as there are active naginatakas in France, but the sheer passion displayed by everyone was inspiring. Working together during these four days also forged (or strengthened) bonds of friendship and camaraderie. We even shared a cup of champagne on Sunday evening to celebrate the two bronze medals that the French teams won at Boulder, the day before.
And while we’re all enjoying the summer right now, I can’t wait to get back to the dojo in September. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get some new recruits from Japan Expo…
In any case, we’ll happily return for Japan Expo 2025 !
