Men's Individual Round 1 Court 1 Section5Match

Win by one ippon — Yokoe（横江） wins

📅 August 2–5, 2026 📍 Lotto Arena Nara

The first round of the men's individual event at the 73rd All Japan High School Kendo Tournament was held. The match lasted the full regulation time of 4 minutes and 0 seconds, and was decided by a one-ippon difference. Red's Yokoe（横江） scored a men first, and the winner was Yokoe.

Matchup

Red Yokoe Koki（横江光輝） / Kusatsu Higashi（草津東） / Shiga3rd Year 3rd dan
Yokoe（横江）, a 3rd-year sandan from Kusatsu Higashi. Kusatsu Higashi is a school that established the prefecture's only physical education department in 1995.
White Hosaka Soshi（保坂颯志） / Kokushikan（国士舘） / Tokyo1st Year 2nd dan
Kokushikan's 1st year 2nd dan, Hosaka（保坂）.

Highlights

Yokoe（横江）'s men ippon within the time limit decided the match.

It became a tense development as they fought to protect a single ippon.

It was a fierce battle that used up the entire regulation time of 4 minutes and 0 seconds.

Live commentary video

Valid strike

#	Situation	Red and White	Players	Technique
1	Within the time limit	Red	Yokoe（横江）	Men

Conclusion: Win by one ippon
Match time: 4:00
Winner: Yokoe（横江）（Red）
Foul: No record

Text Commentary

Commentary
剣持翔

73rd All Japan High School Kendo Tournament, Men's Individual first round. Court 1, Match 5.

Explanation
堂島厳

Will it be a tense development where the ippon is defended until the end of the regulation time? This is the highlight.

Commentary
剣持翔

Red is Kusatsu Higashi's Yokoe（横江）, white is Kokushikan's Hosaka（保坂）. Now, the match begins.

Explanation
堂島厳

Both are cautiously measuring the distance.

Commentary
剣持翔

Whoa, he moved! Red Yokoe（横江）, Men!

Explanation
堂島厳

That was a clean men. Yokoe（横江） takes the lead.

Commentary
剣持翔

Hosaka（保坂） from Kokushikan attacks aggressively against Yokoe（横江）, who leads by one ippon.

Explanation
堂島厳

Hosaka（保坂） puts on the pressure, but Yokoe（横江） calmly withstands it.

Commentary
剣持翔

Only a little time remains in the match. Hosaka（保坂） continues a fierce attack, but Yokoe（横江） holds out!

Explanation
堂島厳

Yokoe（横江）'s concentration shines as they fight to protect their ippon.

Commentary
剣持翔

That is the signal for the end! After fighting through the regulation time of 4 minutes and 0 seconds, Red wins by a difference of one ippon.

Explanation
堂島厳

They stayed focused until the very end and successfully defended their ippon to the head.

Commentary
剣持翔

The winner is Yokoe（横江）. Yokoe from Kusatsu Higashi defeats Hosaka（保坂） from Kokushikan and advances to the next match!

To both players

Applause for Yokoe（横江）, who achieved a splendid victory. We also praise the fighting spirit of Hosaka（保坂）, who despite the unfortunate loss, fought to the end as a first-year student. We look forward to the future success of both players.

Kusatsu Higashi（草津東）

Official name: 滋賀県立草津東高等学校
Reading: Kusatsu Higashi
Division/Category of Establishment: Shiga Prefectural (Co-educational)
Location: 8-65 Nishishibukawa 2-chome, Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture.
History: Opened in April 1978 as a general academic high school focused on serving the local community. In April 1995, it established the only physical education course in the prefecture.
Department.: General studies and physical education (40 students per grade, the only one in Shiga Prefecture).
Kendo Club: Winning the Shiga Prefecture qualifiers for the Reiwa 8 academic year, they will participate in Inter-High as a women’s team. 田中夢真 (3rd year, 3rd dan) will participate in the women’s individual event, and 横江光輝 (3rd year, 3rd dan) will participate in the men’s individual event. No nationwide tournament results for the kendo club alone could be confirmed in publicly available information. As a school, they produced Yui Ohhashi, the gold medalist in the women’s 400-meter individual medley at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (graduated in fiscal year 2013), and the soccer club was runner-up at the 79th All Japan High School Soccer Tournament in 2000.

Source: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/滋賀県立草津東高等学校↗ https://app.notion.com/p/0bf783a8139a4128b21c8bf825cbab58↗

Kokushikan（国士舘）

Official name: 国士舘高等学校
Reading: Kokushikan
Division/Category of Establishment: Private (Educational Corporation Kokushikan)
Location: 4-32-1 Wakabayashi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
History: Founded in November 1917 by Shibata Tokujiro as a private school. The Kokushikan High School department was established in 1919, and Kokushikan Junior High School was established in 1925. In 1953, the name was reverted from Shitoku Gakuen to the original name of Kokushikan, and in 1994, coeducation was introduced for both the junior and senior high schools.
School motto/philosophy: Sincerity, Diligence, Insight, Spirit
Department.: Full-time and Part-time Courses, General Studies
Kendo Club: He participated in the boys' individual competition at the Inter-High for the 2026 academic year. With the goal of "pursuing the traditional 'correct kendo'," he is dedicated to his training with a motto of spiritual cultivation and character development.
Notes: History, school motto, and location are to be investigated (TODO).

Source: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/国士舘中学校・高等学校↗ https://hs.kokushikan.ed.jp/news/details_17359.html↗ (学校公式)

Source: 73rd All Japan High School Kendo Tournament Official Website "Tournament Bulletin" (Match Results / Tournament Bracket)
https://inhigh.kendotaikai.jp/大会速報↗
Only facts recorded in the logs (matches, valid strikes and their order, outcomes, match duration, and presence of fouls) are listed. The play-by-play and commentary are AI-generated content.