Description
The Ambassador, being a keen martial arts practitioner himself, has had a dojo built inside the embassy, wherein he assiduously practices Aikido and Kashima Shinryu kenjutsu. In the historical perspective of the Franco-Japanese relations, this budoka and samurai ambassador presented the Japanese concepts of budo and bushido in his introductory speech to the exhibition, retracing the evolution of traditional martials arts – Kendo, Naginata, Kashima Shinryu, Shorinji Kenpo or Aikido – into contemporary martial arts, all the while subtly emphasizing the contrast between the Japanese understanding of that culture and the way it is sometimes perceived by the Western public.