Japanese envoy donates equipment for kendo

The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Kaoru Yoshimura, last Thursday donated martial arts equipment worth $4,200 to  practitioners of kendo - a new form of martial arts he introduced in Ghana  last year.

Ambassador Kaoru, who handed over the items to the Ghana Judo Association in Accra, was hopeful the equipement would help promote the sport in the country and prepare athletes to compete for laurels at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

According to him, the equipment, which includes eight sets of Bougu (protective gear), nine Shinai (bamboo sword) and a number of Tengui (head wrapping towel), were his personal donation. 

He said some friends and colleagues from the Nagasaki Prefectural Government Kendo Club, the Nagasaki-Hirayama Kendo Club and the Meguro-ku Kendo Association also supported him.

The ambassador also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the GJA which mandated the latter to oversee the usage and maintenance of the items till a Ghana Kendo Association is inaugurated later in the year.

The equipment was received by the Technical Director of the GJA, Mr Andrew Williams, who promised  to make good use of it.

The ambassador,  who is an experienced Kendo-ka or Kendo practitioner, later demonstrated how the equipment would be used.