A fiercely contested battle! Men's Team D League.
The D League in the first match venue features Tamashima (Okayama), runner-up in the China Tournament, Chuo Gakuin (Chiba) from Chiba, which has secured consecutive Inter-High appearances through the National Selection, and Minokamo (Gifu), which reached the best 8 in the Tokai Tournament. Let's Kendo also assesses it as a closely contested battle for league advancement, a highly competitive group with no clear favorite, meaning each ippon carries significant weight. A round-robin format with two matches per school, and only one school advances to the knockout tournament. Tamashima will participate in two categories: men’s team and women’s team.
These three schools.
- Tamashima（玉島）Okayama Prefecture.Men's team.Girls' team.
- Chuo Gakuin（中央学院）Chiba Prefecture.Men's team.Men's IndividualMen's Individual: 稲垣 颯太Players(2Year)
- Minokamo（美濃加茂）Gifu Prefecture.Men's team.
The one school that advanced will play against the winner of C League (Konan(Okinawa), Honjo Daiichi(Saitama), Tottori Johoku(Tottori)) in the first round of the finals tournament.
Highlights
Round-robin tournament between three schools; only one school advances.
The preliminary league will be a round-robin between three schools, with each school playing two matches. The team match consists of five members: Senpo, Jiho, Chuken, Fukusho, and Taisho. Ties are broken by number of wins, and if still tied, by points. In the quick report from the previous tournament, the number of wins and points were listed together, such as "3(6)-1(2)". Only one school from each league will advance to the knockout tournament. In closely matched groups, it is likely that the number of wins will be tied, and a single point difference could determine who advances and who loses. The winner of League D will face the winner of League C in the first round of the knockout tournament.
Boys’ team leagues A to D, the only public school among the 12 schools: Tamashima
Okayama Prefectural Tamashima High School was founded in 1904 as a private girls' school and transferred to the prefecture in 1928, making it a school with a long tradition. It became coeducational in 1950 after the educational system reform of 1948. Located in Kurashiki City Tamashima Agazaki, its school motto is "Autonomy, Wisdom, and Action," and it has general and science-mathematics courses. According to Let's Kendo, it finished second in the Chugoku Tournament this time. Of the 12 schools that entered leagues A to D in the boys' team event, this Tamashima is the only public school; the remaining 11 are all private schools. The prefectural advanced schools will travel to Nara in two categories: boys' team and girls' team.
A school where all male students learn kendo · Chuo Gakuin
Chiba Prefecture Narita City's private Chuo Gakuin High School was founded in 1970 as an affiliated school of Chuo Gakuin University. Notable is the "school technique" system, in which all students learn kendo for three years as a one-hour class for boys and kyudo for girls. A school technique tournament is held every November. In other words, it is a school where all boys are involved in kendo upon enrollment, and a strengthened kendo club stands on that foundation. The school's founding spirit is "honesty and health, sincerity and brightness, rich humanity and sentiment." 稲垣颯太 (sandan) will participate as an individual for the boys in the second year.
National Selection and Inter-High, Chuo Gakuin has decided on consecutive appearances.
Let's Kendo highlights Chuo Gakuin as having "qualified for consecutive Inter-High appearances from Chiba Prefecture." Participating in both the Spring National High School Kendo Selection Tournament and the Summer Inter-High in the same year means winning two single-elimination matches within the prefecture annually, which is an indicator of the team's stability. The player representing the school nationally individually is not a 3rd-year student but 稲垣選手, a 2nd-year student, suggesting the depth of the team for the future.
Tokai representative・Minokamo decided the match with a single ippon in the men’s team event.
Gifu Prefecture Minokamo City's private Minokamo High School was founded in 1973 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, making it a relatively new school that promotes "independence, creativity, and sociality" as its educational philosophy. It offers only full-time general courses, with four courses: Dream Come True, Hotaru Yuki, Advance, and Challenge. According to Let's Kendo, they reached the best 8 in the Tokai Tournament this time. The qualification for this tournament is only for the men's team, and there are no individual competitors. They entrust everything to five members and challenge the nation as a team.
With no clear favorite to win—that’s why it’s so unpredictable.
Looking at the four leagues A through D, league A includes the 2026 All-Japan Selected Champions Nissho Gakuen and the 1979 Inter-High Champions Shonan, and league C includes the 2012 All-Japan Selected Champions Honjo Daiichi, with schools that know the pinnacle of the nation being placed in them. On the other hand, regarding the three schools in league D, no national championship victories in team competition were confirmed in this survey. It is a level playing field of the China region's second place, a consecutive qualifying school from Kanto, and a Tokai region's best eight, and that is precisely why it is impossible to predict who will break away in the first two matches of the day. The one school that wins has a high possibility of facing a nationally-ranked champion school that advanced from league C.
Live broadcast「A fiercely contested battle! Men's Team D League.」
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Messages of support for the participating schools and players.
Standing in Nara as the only public, prefectural advanced school among 12 schools in men’s teams A to D, Tamashima. From a school where all male students hold a shinai for three years as a school tradition, sending 稲垣颯太 as an individual player, Chuo Gakuin. Without an individual competition slot, they entrust everything to five players from Tokai, Minokamo. Although this group is said to have no outstanding favorite, it is proof that three schools equally won their prefectures. As it is a league match, two schools will inevitably shed tears. Nevertheless, each ippon accumulated this summer cannot be taken from them. We do not say to win. Please demonstrate what you have built up at Roht Arena Nara. Applause for the challenge of the three schools.
To the five members from Senpo to Taisho.
Among the twelve schools in the A-D leagues of the boys’ team, the only public school is Tamashima, a prefectural high school. The five students from the academically-focused school that promotes autonomy, intelligence, and action will compete with the five from Chuo Gakuin and the five from Minokamo for one spot. Currently, only Chuo Gakuin’s 稲垣颯太 player is listed on the pairing chart. This is because Tamashima and Minokamo do not have qualifying spots in the individual competition, not because they lack players. On August 2nd, when the lineup is announced, the names of all five players – Senpo, Jiho, Chuken, Fukusho, and Taisho – from each of the three schools will echo throughout the venue. All the boys from Chuo Gakuin, who have studied kendo for three years, and those from Minokamo coming from Tokai, are the same. All fifteen are the protagonists. Let us hear their names in Nara.
School Information
Tamashima（玉島）
- Official name
- 岡山県立玉島高等学校
- Reading
- Tamashima
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Okayama Prefectural (Co-educational)
- Location
- Okayama Prefecture Kurashiki City Tamashima Agazaki 3-chome 1-1
- History
- Founded in 1904 as a private girls' school, it was transferred to Okayama Prefecture in 1928. Following the educational system reform of 1948, it became a co-educational high school in 1950.
- School motto/philosophy
- The school motto is "Self-reliance, Wisdom, and Action."
- Department.
- General studies (240 students in the first year), science and mathematics course (40 students in the first year).
- Kendo Club
- In 2026, both the men’s and women’s teams won the Okayama Prefecture qualifiers, securing their places in Inter-High for both the men’s and women’s team events. They are introduced as having finished second in the Chugoku Tournament on the Let's Kendo website. The school has 13 athletic clubs and 15 cultural clubs, but we were unable to confirm the kendo club’s national tournament results in this investigation.
- Notes
- Boys’ team leagues A to D consist of 12 schools, and this is the only public school among them. It is different from other schools in the same Kurashiki city and schools with “Tamashima” in their names from other prefectures.
Chuo Gakuin（中央学院）
- Official name
- 中央学院高等学校
- Reading
- Chuo Gakuin
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Private (School Corporation Chuo Gakuin). Chuo Gakuin University Affiliated High School
- Location
- 765 Azuma, Abiko, Chiba Prefecture
- History
- April 1, 1970, founded as an affiliated high school of Chuo Gakuin University by the school corporation Chuo Gakuin. A full 6-day week system is implemented for all courses from the 2013 academic year.
- School motto/philosophy
- The founding spirit of the school is “sincerity and health, honesty and brightness, and rich humanity and sensibility.”
- Department.
- General studies (in the first year, there are three courses: S Advanced Placement Course, University Preparatory Course, and Sports Course).
- Kendo Club
- The school teaches kendo to male students and archery to female students as a "school skill" for one hour per week over three years, and holds a school skill tournament every November. The kendo club has decided to participate in Inter-High as a male team by winning the 2026 Chiba Prefecture preliminary round, and is introduced in Let's Kendo as having "decided on consecutive appearances in the Chiba Prefecture selection and Inter-High." 稲垣颯太 (2nd year, 3rd dan) will participate in the male individual event.
- Notes
- A school in Abiko, Chiba Prefecture, not a Chuo Gakuin affiliated school in Kanagawa Prefecture. The student body numbers approximately 1000.
Minokamo（美濃加茂）
- Official name
- 美濃加茂高等学校
- Reading
- Minokamo
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Private (School Corporation Minokamo Gakuen). A junior high and high school integrated school established in 2001.
- Location
- Gifu Prefecture Minokamo City Honkyo-cho 7-chome 6-bango 60
- History
- In 1973 (Showa 48), Minokamo High School was established by the school corporation operating Aichi Women's Commercial High School. A junior high school was established in 2001, and the school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022.
- School motto/philosophy
- The educational philosophy is "independence, creativity, and sociality."
- Department.
- Full-time general academic courses (Dream Course, Keisetsu Course, Advance Course, Challenge Course)
- Kendo Club
- Having won the 2026 Gifu Prefecture qualifiers, the team secured a spot in Inter-High in the men’s team event. They are introduced as having reached the best 8 in the Tokai Tournament on the Let's Kendo website. This tournament only features the men’s team event, with no individual competitors. As a school, teams from the track and field club, rowing club, golf club, basketball club, and soft tennis club have also competed in national tournaments.
- Notes
- Gifu Prefectural Kamo High School, and other schools different from those in the same Minokamo city.
・National High School Kendo Tournament Official Website (Tournament Updates) ↗
・Let's Kendo [Matchups] August 2nd - 5th, 73rd All Japan High School Kendo Tournament / Nara Inter-High 2026. ↗
・Notion Participating School Library Tamashima High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Notion Participating Schools Library Chuo Gakuin High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Notion Participating Schools Library Minokamo High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Wikipedia Okayama Prefectural Tamashima High School ↗
・Wikipedia Chuo Gakuin High School ↗
・Wikipedia Minokamo High School ↗
・72nd All Japan High School Kendo Tournament (Hiroshima 2025) – Tournament Quick Report ↗
Which fact comes from which source?
- League formation (Tamashima・Chuo Gakuin・Minokamo), first match venue, 稲垣颯太 player's men's individual participation, the D vs. C match in the knockout tournament is in data/2026/league_briefs.json and data/2026/kumiawase.json (based on official PDF).
- "Second place in the China Tournament Tamashima", "Chuo Gakuin who decided on consecutive Inter-High appearances from Chiba Prefecture through selection", "Best 8 in the Tokai Tournament Minokamo", "A close battle for league advancement seems likely" is the highlights section of the Let's Kendo Nara Inter-High combination article.
- Each school's official name, type of institution, location, pronunciation, and qualification for participation can be found on the school-specific page in the Notion "2026 Inter-High Kendo Participating Schools Library."
- Founded as Tamashima (1904 private girls' school) - transferred to prefectural administration in 1928 - coeducational in 1950 - school motto "Autonomy, Wisdom, Practice" - departments and location are on Wikipedia "Tamashima High School, Okayama Prefecture".
- 『男子団体A〜Dリーグ12校で唯一の公立校』は、当該12校(樟南・茗溪学園・日章学園・鎌倉学園・高知・佐野日大・興南・本庄第一・鳥取城北・玉島・中央学院・美濃加茂)の設置区分をNotion校別ページおよび各校のWikipedia記事で個別に確認して導いた
- Chuo Gakuin’s founding (1970)・founding spirit・departments・location・“As a school technique, boys learn kendo and girls learn archery for 3 years, 1 hour per week”・“School technique tournament every November” is on Wikipedia “Chuo Gakuin High School”.
- Minokamo’s founding (1973) · educational philosophy “Independence · Creativity · Sociability” · departments · location · 50th anniversary (2022) are on Wikipedia “Minokamo High School”
- For team matches with five players, and judging based on the number of wins (points), please refer to the score notation on the official results website for the 2025 Hiroshima Tournament (e.g., 3(6)-1(2)).
- School names are read as indicated in the Notion participating schools library’s reading column. As the reading for player names is unconfirmed, only the surname will be read in the audio.
- Note that the nationwide team victory history of the three D League schools was limited to the expression "could not be confirmed in this survey," and does not definitively state that no victory history exists.
- Since this is before the tournament, I have not described any details of the matches – the attacks and defenses, wins and losses, or rankings. Only facts that can be read from the pairings and previously reported results are included.
Please note that the commentary and analysis are AI-generated content based on the facts listed above. As this is before the tournament, there is no description of the matches, attacks and defenses, or wins and losses. Please excuse any errors in reading or notation.