Would I ever write a book about kendo?
This is an interesting question. In the immediate instance, no. I would not.
I am currently writing a PhD in ancient history and that is enough. My son asked me what a PhD was and the best answer I could come up with was “I’m writing a book about history”. That seemed to satisfy his 7 year old mind, at least for the time being. I would have to finish that project before considering others.
I would be interested in writing a book about kendo. The question is, however, how relevant for today would that be? Putting something together would appear to be straightforward enough. A couple of kendoka that I know (one from my club in fact) have published their photos of Japan – and their kendo trips in particular – in to coffee table like photobooks. The results look excellent.
Much that is good is readily available online. One can search YouTube for kendo footage from pre-World War Two Japan or of a seminar given by Chiba Sensei in Rome. Texts written by Miyamoto Musashi or by Yagyu Munenori can be found as PDFs on the internet. Of course, there are also blogs that, in essence, ensure that the writing process never really ends.
In one sense, then, I am already writing a book about kendo. It is this blog. Of course, it does not necessarily have the same weight or significance as something that has gone through the publication process that a book experiences. I do endeavour, I have to say, to make sure that what I write is intelligent. There are posts that are flippant, to be sure, but on the whole, I would look at this particular ongoing project as something that contributes to the ongoing knowledge and thinking about kendo – even if in a small way.
