The Success Story of Japanese Fencing
According to Nippon, Japan’s men’s foil fencing team won the country’s first gold medal in fencing at the Tokyo Olympics. This achievement is particularly noteworthy because fencing is not as popular in Japan compared to Europe or the United States. This makes Japan’s success in fencing even more valuable. The story behind this victory is one of a decade-long journey of relentless improvement and sporting determination.
The Tokyo Olympics saw many impressive achievements, but Japan’s gold medal in the men’s team foil event stands out as one of the most remarkable. Today, fencing is a direct combat sport using swords and includes three disciplines: foil, épée, and sabre. Japan had previously won medals in other fencing disciplines, with Ōta Yuki winning a silver medal in individual foil at Beijing 2008 and the men’s team foil winning silver at London 2012. The gold medal in 2021 was Japan’s first in épée fencing and also its first-ever gold medal in fencing.
To understand how Japan, a relatively minor force in the world of fencing, achieved this feat, one must look into the history and current state of fencing in Japan.
The development of fencing in Japan has been fraught with challenges. Fencing is a sport where two athletes wield swords, scoring points by making contact with the tip of the sword on their opponent. The sport originated from the medieval swordsmanship of European knights and was particularly popular among the elite as a means of embodying chivalric values.
However, fencing only became a competitive sport with formal rules in the early 20th century, when the International Fencing Federation was established in Paris in 1913. Following its spread across Europe, fencing also gained popularity in the United States and Australia, where it is now well-established.
In Japan, the Great Japanese Fencing Association, now known as the Japanese Fencing Federation, was founded in 1936 to promote fencing training in preparation for the Tokyo 1940 Olympics. Although the event was ultimately canceled due to war, fencing continued to develop slowly in Japan, partly due to the strong development of traditional Japanese fencing, kendo. Currently, there are only about 6,000 fencers in Japan, compared to approximately 60,000 in France, a dominant fencing nation.
Despite the lack of widespread interest and major sponsors, the fencing federation and individual athletes have persevered to keep the sport alive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many athletes were unable to compete, which had a severe impact on the sport.
A notable example is Miyake Ryō, a member of the team that won silver at the London Olympics. He voluntarily ended his sponsorship contract because he could not compete during the pandemic and felt regretful for not being able to repay his sponsors with victories. This led to Miyake’s exclusion from the national team.
This situation underscores the significant financial and infrastructural challenges faced by fencing in Japan. Winning a gold medal under such difficult circumstances makes Japan’s achievement in the men’s épée team event at the Tokyo Olympics an extraordinary and commendable accomplishment.
