Kendo, meaning the way of the sword, is a modern Japanese martial art descended from kenjutsu, the older swordsmanship of the samurai. Practitioners fight with bamboo swords called shinai and wear protective armour called bogu. It began as customary sword exercises among samurai and is now practised widely in Japan and in many other countries. Matches are judged by referees who award points for strikes to the head, wrist, body or throat that are delivered with proper form and spirit. The discipline emphasises etiquette and self-control as much as technique.

The Edo period ran from the early 1600s to 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan and around 300 regional daimyo, or feudal lords, governed their domains. After Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the shogunate ended the chaos of the Sengoku period and kept the country largely at peace. The regime enforced a strict social order, required the daimyo to spend time in the capital, and pursued isolationist foreign policy. Meanwhile, towns grew, the economy expanded and popular arts such as woodblock prints, theatre and literature flourished among ordinary townspeople.