Women and Martial Art in Japan

In Women and Martial Art in Japan, Kate Sylvester offers a vivid examination of Japanese female university students practicing the traditional Japanese martial art of kendo. While kendo is often perceived as promoting gender equality through its mixed-gender practice, Sylvester, through her embodied ethnographic approach, reveals a vastly different reality. She argues that entrenched traditional ideologies and cultural norms tend to preserve male hegemony in kendo, positioning women as mere supporters of male protagonists.Sylvester is an accomplished kendo practitioner with over thirty years of experience and has served as coach for the Australian and Swedish national kendo teams. She is also an experienced researcher, having published multiple academic articles on kendo and Japanese extracurricular sports. This dual position as practitioner and scholar allows her to offer unique insight into the topic. Sylvester's research spanned an immersive eighteen-month stay at a Japanese university, where she participated in the kendo club's daily practice sessions and collected data through conversations, observations, and physical interactions. The book is filled with field notes and quotes that provide a glimpse into the reality of Japanese club life and the lived experiences of female kendo practitioners.The first chapter provides a compelling introduction to the world of Japanese kendo, clearly explaining kendo's role within the educational system. Sylvester describes how kendo can help practitioners gain admission to well-known universities and secure employment, at the same time highlighting how women often miss out on these opportunities.In chapter 2, Sylvester lays the foundation of her narrative, thoroughly explaining the embodied ethnographic method she applied to explore the experiences of female university kendo club members. She reflects on her time spent with the kendo club and emphasizes how her participation in the club's practice and the relationships she built with the other members allowed her to gain unique insights into the women's daily realities.Chapter 3 offers a fascinating historical overview of female warriors and the ever-changing role of Japanese women. Sylvester shows how the invented tradition of bushido marginalized women and their participation in martial arts and discusses the issues women in kendo face today. She clearly illustrates how cultural and institutional factors inhibit progress and support ongoing misogynistic attitudes within kendo.In chapter 4, the author thoroughly examines the Japanese ideology of preparing women to be “good wives, wise mothers,” describing how the physical education and sports systems shape gender identity by naturalizing male authority and promoting conservative roles for women. She uses clear examples and interview excerpts to demonstrate how university sports clubs are places of cultural apprenticeships, highlighting how kendo clubs often display especially conservative philosophies because of the martial art's traditional values.Chapter 5 vividly illustrates the lived realities of female kendo club members. Sylvester draws on Pierre Bourdieu's concept of capital to describe how women gain influence and maintain their social positions within the club. She also shows how club participation prepares women for the workplace by building resilience and communication skills.Chapter 6 summarizes the situation of women in kendo and discusses the broader context of women's sports in Japan. Sylvester uses the Tokyo Olympics and the success of Japan's national women's soccer team to illustrate how attitudes in Japan towards women's sports are changing. Finally, she argues that in its effort to preserve tradition, kendo maintains a discriminating stance towards women, and that the art must evolve to promote true gender equality.In Women and Martial Art in Japan, Sylvester succeeds in showing the unfair reality Japanese women in kendo face every day, hereby contributing exciting new perspectives to the field of sport sociology. This book would prove useful to anyone interested in women in martial arts and sports in general, especially in a Japanese cultural context. The well-structured writing, paired with clear examples and excerpts, make Sylvester's analysis engaging and rigorous. That said, readers without prior knowledge of kendo or Japanese martial arts may find some parts of the book challenging. Despite the book's broad title, its focus is almost exclusively on kendo, with minimal discussion of other martial arts. Although the book does come with a glossary, some Japanese key terms may be unfamiliar and confusing to those without a martial arts background. Nonetheless, the book sheds light on an otherwise underexplored facet of Japanese culture and is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the topic.

Clothing · Club · Embodied cognition · Ethnography · Hegemony · Ideology · Martial arts · Chinese history and philosophy · Japanese History and Culture · Martial Arts: Techniques, Psychology, and Education