A petite, self-reflective girl, but room for growth and leadership !
"Despite her petite stature at just 152 cm tall, she made a significant impact [..] with her quick movements and sharp head strikes, which are her strengths."
"I aim for victory in both individual and team matches,” she says, her quiet words carrying a strong and steady resolve. “Because others have seen through my usual techniques, I want to hone new ones that go beyond that.”
Fighting together, following their seniors' footsteps
"[...]the third-year students served as the emotional backbone of the team. Until now, they had been focused on keeping up with their seniors, but standing on the national stage for the first time, they felt the weight of responsibility and determination to lead. Team captain Maho Taguchi (3rd year) said, “The feeling that we had to lead the team grew stronger.”
A perfect "Shōnen Arc"
Kanshun SAITŌ (17) on winning this year Senbatsu-Taikai
"[..]in last year’s [tournament], he fell short in the quarter-finals. Realizing that his current skill level was not enough to compete with top high school players, Saitō dedicated himself to refining his techniques [..]. His weakness was his tendency to adapt to his opponent’s rhythm. To overcome this, his brother [..] travelled [..] on weekends to help him develop a more aggressive approach."
I love how this picture shows two deeply representative aspects of #Naginata in Japan : 演技競技 ― paired form competition ―, and freezing your ass as an official !
Kotohira high schoolers hold #MixedMartialArts weapons tournament
― <Towards a dream> Yuri Kiyomizu, a first-year student at Sabae City Central Junior High School, won first place in the Junior High division of the All Japan #Naginata Training Tournament ―
"She is stoic in her #training and strict with herself. She has good core strength and posture, and she is able to get in sync with her opponent. She has strong qualities for Naginata." (her teacher, Akemi Watanabe (60)
#sports #WomenInSports #coaching
(registrationwall)
https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/1000275
Chiemi Hayashida (Ōsaka) just matched the absolute titles record for the Empress Cup #Naginata #Japan Championships, with a 7th win this year ! (The only other fighter with 7 titles is Keiko Ikemi)
But this stands out as she is the only athlete to have won seven times IN A ROW (only 3 athletes managed to get 3 consecutive Cups since first 1956 edition) !
Japan national individual championships were held in #Nagoya on 8-9 of December 2024
Had to make a GIF out of this it's so pure
This is, to the best of my nerdy knowledge, the first account of the #Naginata world championships about a woman Japan Team member in national press since July 2024 (date of said championships)
Unfortunately I don't have a Mainichi Shinbun sub !
The background of my #Naginata rants draws heavily upon #genderstudies research by Japan scholar Dr Chloé BELLEC ベレック クロエ PhD.
https://researchmap.jp/naginata?lang=ja
I am not a scholar in any capacity and do not claim ownership of those research and ideas, yet I am sole responsible for my skewed interpretations !
This is pretty illustrative of the contemporary current of "reappropriation" of #Naginata by men in Japan
The drawing upon the historical, literary and legendary figure of Benkei (西塔武蔵坊弁慶), popular naginata wielding warrior monk, as a masculine proof of (original ?) "ownership"
Yet forgetting that similar feminine images exist, first and foremost Tomoe Gōzen (巴御前) literary and legendary figure of the same period.
musings in 
Forgot to post it then but here
Japanese #media report of #Naginata world championships
In Oct. 2024, results of a Google search in Japanese on "Naginata world Championships results".
First 2 pages of results (it becomes irrelevant after). Links are tagged with symbols according to the gender of the article's/video's subject(s)
This reflects the coverage imbalance noticed in a day to day media search (online press, videos...) on internet.
Context in
"The woman who won the World #Naginata Championship is 40 years old and 152 cm tall: "Naginata allows you to compete regardless of age or body type."
"As more children are growing up in our town, I hope my victory will inspire them to learn about naginata." Standing at 152 cm tall, she added, "Naginata is a sport where you can compete regardless of age or body type, and the endless combinations of techniques and timing are what make it so appealing," smiling as she spoke."
I can modestly say I'm the Greatest #Naginata Expert on the Fedi (and modesty is but one of my many qualities)
I bridged my account and BOOM ! Greatest Naginata expert on Bluesky
A good day at the office
A local press article on Riho MIURA, member of the 3-players women team that won the World #Naginata Championship last July.
She was interviewed during practice where she teaches children. Her debut as a Kendo player as a kid, followed by her upbringing and education as a top Naginata player are reported.
"By taking the habit of reflecting upon themselves, [the children] will improve their Naginata skills"
Still (oh not again, you think !) the tone and form of the ceremony and the video is to be compared to the very extensive, very up-close and personal coverage men got in the press.
As of today, Naginata is still considered and as far as demographics is concerned, a women sport in Japan.
And this is to be compared to the coverage women athletes get in traditionally male sports.
As I'm always bitching about the press undercovereage of women top athletes in #Naginata, I have to highlight this video by the Kyōto Gov. PR service, reporting on Mrs. Misaki Nukii being awarded the Kyōto Gov. Sports Award for her performances at the World Championship this last summer in the USA.
Mrs. Nukii won Gold in both Paired Techniques and paired Kata events, to go on bringing back Bronze in Individual Combat Women event.
天道流薙刀術 美田村千代宗家（Tendo Ryu #Naginata Jutsu Mitamura Souke）
