2022 champion・Shimabara sharpening their fangs! H League! Men's team
The H league of the second match venue is a group centered around the 2022 Kochi Inter-High men’s team champion, Shimabara (Nagasaki). Shimabara won this winter’s Kyushu Selection Tournament but was unable to participate in the All-Japan Selection Tournament in March, and their determination for this summer is strong. Their opponents are Tsuruga (Fukui), which will participate in all four categories of team and individual events for both men and women, and Tokiwa, making their first appearance from Gunma. It’s a round-robin format with two matches each for all three schools, and only one school can advance to the knockout tournament. Advancing would mean a possible match against Kyushu Gakuin of the G league.
These three schools.
- Tokiwa（常磐）Gunma PrefectureMen's team.
- Tsuruga（敦賀）Fukui Prefecture.Men's team.Girls' team.Men's IndividualWomen's IndividualMen's Individual: 出口 慧Players(3Year)、山本 優心Players(2Year) / Women's Individual: 園田 夢萌Players(3Year)、岩瀬 こはPlayers(3Year)
- Shimabara（島原）Nagasaki Prefecture.Men's team.Men's IndividualWomen's IndividualMen's Individual: 三木 己徹Players(3Year) / Women's Individual: 北山 愛華Players(1Year)、大賀 幸愛Players(3Year)
The school that advanced will play against the winner of G League (Mie(Mie), Taisha(Shimane), Kyushu Gakuin(Kumamoto)) in the first round of the finals tournament.
Highlights
Round-robin tournament between three schools; only one school advances.
The preliminary league is a round-robin between three schools, with each school playing two matches. The team competition is a five-person system of Senpo, Jiho, Chuken, Fukusho, and Taisho, and the winner is decided by the number of wins, and if tied, by the number of points. In the official report of the previous tournament, the number of wins and points were listed together, such as "3(6)-1(2)". Only one school from each league can advance to the knockout tournament. Both Shimabara, which has national championship experience, and Tokiwa, which is making its first appearance, are given the same two matches. The one school that advances from H League will play against the winner of G League in the first round of the knockout tournament.
2022's champion・Shimabara, a prefectural high school that won nationals in both men's and women's categories.
Nagasaki Prefecture Shimabara City’s prefectural Shimabara High School is the champion school that won the men’s team at the 2022 Kochi Inter-High. They also won the Inter-High in the women’s team in 2009 and 2013, and the men won the Tamaryu-ki High School Kendo Tournament in 2012 and 2018, while the women won in 2009 and 2013. The school opened in April 1900 (Meiji 33) as Nagasaki Prefectural Shimabara Middle School, and in November 1948, Shimabara High, Shimabara Women’s High, and Shimabara Commercial High merged to become coeducational. It has general and science courses, and its school motto is “Bunbu Ryodo.” As a prefectural advanced school, both men and women have reached the top nationally.
Unable to qualify for the Selection Tournament—the reason Shimabara is aiming for this summer.
Let's Kendo’s combination article writes about Shimabara as follows: “Having won the winter Kyushu Selection Tournament and achieving the best 8 in the All-Kyushu Tournament Shimabara (Nagasaki), they were unable to participate in the March Selection Tournament, so their motivation for this Inter-High is high.” They won the Kyushu Selection Tournament but did not qualify for the March National High School Kendo Selection Tournament. The qualifying categories for this tournament are men’s team, men’s individual, and women’s individual, with 三木己徹 as the men’s individual player and 北山愛華 (1st year student) and 大賀幸愛 (3rd year student) as the women’s individual players. They will come to take back the spring they couldn’t seize this summer.
Four sections of Tsuruga, a maximum of four individual slots combined across three schools.
Fukui Prefecture Tsuruga City's prefectural Tsuruga High School will participate in all four categories: men's team, women's team, men's individual, and women's individual. Tsuruga is the only school to participate in all categories in H League, and the four representatives for the individual competition are the most among the three schools in the league. 出口慧 (3rd year) and 山本優心 (2nd year) will compete in the men's individual competition, and 園田夢萌 and 岩瀬こは (both 3rd year) will compete in the women's individual competition. The school was founded in 1948 through the merger of Fukui Prefectural Tsuruga Junior High School, Tsuruga Commercial School (founded in 1906), and Tsuruga Higher Girls' School (founded in 1877), and its school motto is "Autonomy and Self-Reliance." It has general courses, liberal arts and science courses, commercial courses, and information accounting courses. They advanced to this tournament after finishing third in the Hokushinetsu Tournament.
First appearance from Gunma Prefecture—Tokiwa, they came with one ippon in the men’s team event.
Private Tokiwa High School in 太田 City, Gunma Prefecture, is a team that, according to a Let's Kendo bracket article, "is making its first appearance from Gunma, having built a track record of winning regional tournaments this season, and aims for its first victory." The school's origins lie in the Tsunemi Sewing Training Center founded by Tsunemi Roku; it became Tokiwa Girls' High School in 1947 and Tokiwa Girls' High School in 1948, adopting its current name in 1977 when it became coeducational. The school motto is "Sincerity and Diligence." The general course offers special advanced, advanced, and comprehensive tracks, as well as a physical education course. For this tournament, they are only competing in the boys' team event and are the only team in League H without a representative in the individual competition. Everything depends on the five members of the team event.
The G League awaiting beyond that—Kyushu Gakuin with a record 11 championships
A school that advanced from H League will play against the winner of G League in the first round of the final tournament. That G League includes Kyushu Gakuin (Kumamoto) – a prestigious school that has won the Inter-High men's team competition a record 11 times. And the year Shimabara won at Kochi in 2022 was also the year the winning streak of Kyushu Gakuin, which continued in 2018, 2019, and 2021, was broken. If Shimabara and Kyushu Gakuin both win their respective leagues, that matchup will become a reality in the first round of the final tournament. Also waiting in G League are the China region champion Taisha (Shimane) and Mie, who finished third in the Tokai tournament.
Live broadcast「2022 champion・Shimabara sharpening their fangs! H League! Men's team」
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Messages of support for the participating schools and players.
Returning with the summer of 2022’s peak in their hearts, Shimabara comes back for the spring they couldn’t seize. They will head to the floor with 三木己徹 player, 北山愛華 player, and 大賀幸愛 player. Tsuruga, challenging all four divisions, sends out 出口慧 player, 山本優心 player, 園田夢萌 player, and 岩瀬こは player, carrying the sword of “self-determination” from Fukui. Tokiwa from Gunma will take the stage for the first time, entrusting everything to five players without any individual qualifying spots. The league matches are a place where two schools will be defeated, but both first-time entrants and the champions are given the same two matches. I won’t say to win. Please demonstrate everything you’ve built up in Nara.
To the five members from Senpo to Taisho.
With a school motto of sincerity and diligence, Tokiwa is making its first appearance on the national stage from Gunma Prefecture’s 太田. While they have no individual competition slots, the team competition is five-a-side, so on the day, five players from Senpo to Taisho will put on their armor and fight for ippon. Appearing on the bracket are Tsuruga’s 出口慧 and 山本優心 players, and Shimabara’s 三木己徹 player. Tokiwa’s names haven’t been announced yet, but once the order is read out on August 2nd, the names of all five players will echo throughout the venue. The 2022 champion Shimabara, all four divisions challenging Tsuruga, and first-time entrants Tokiwa – the matches given to each are the same. Fifteen players from three schools are the main characters. Let their names be heard in Nara.
School Information
Tokiwa（常磐）
- Official name
- 常磐高等学校
- Reading
- Tokiwa
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Private (coeducational)
- Location
- 141-1 Iizukacho, 太田 City, Gunma Prefecture (Iizukacho Campus), 56-31 Honcho, 太田 City, Gunma Prefecture (Honcho Campus)
- History
- Originally founded as the Tsune-mi Rokuga-established Tsune-mi Sewing Training Institute. In 1947 it became Tokiwa Higher Girls' School, in 1948 Tokiwa Girls' High School, and in 1977 (Showa 52) it became coeducational and was renamed to its current name.
- School motto/philosophy
- School motto: "Integrity and Diligence"
- Department.
- General Studies (Special Advancement Course <Special Advancement Selection System/Special Advancement System>, Advancement Course <Advancement Selection System/Advancement System>, Comprehensive Course <Liberal Arts/Food and Clothing/Business Information System>, Physical Education Course)
- Kendo Club
- In 2026 (fiscal year 2028), they won the men's team qualifying tournament in Gunma Prefecture and qualified for Inter-High. The Let's Kendo combination article introduces them as "Tokiwa from Gunma is aiming for their first victory, having accumulated a record of winning nearby tournaments this season to qualify." The history of the kendo club and their results in national tournaments could not be confirmed with publicly available information.
- Notes
- This tournament, we only participated in the men's team event. Tokiwa University High School in Ibaraki Prefecture is a different school.
Tsuruga（敦賀）
- Official name
- 福井県立敦賀高等学校
- Reading
- Tsuruga
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Fukui Prefectural (Co-educational)
- Location
- Fukui Prefecture Tsuruga City Matsubacho 2-1
- History
- Founded in April 1948 (Showa 23) through the integration of three schools: Fukui Prefectural Tsuruga Higher Girls' School, Fukui Prefectural Tsuruga Commercial School, and Fukui Prefectural Tsuruga Junior High School. Of the predecessors, Tsuruga Commercial School was established in 1906 (Meiji 39), and Tsuruga Higher Girls' School was established in 1877 (Meiji 10). In 2017, it transitioned the part-time course to a full-time day course with incoming students each year.
- School motto/philosophy
- The school motto is "Self-reliance and Self-discipline." As a school, we promote both academic and martial arts excellence.
- Department.
- Full-time courses: General academic course, Arts and Science course, Commerce course, Information Accounting course; Part-time (daytime) course: General academic course.
- Kendo Club
- In 2026 (Reiwa 8), they won the Fukui Prefecture qualifiers and qualified for Inter-High in both the men's and women's team events. They are introduced as "[Tsuruga](Fukui), third place in the Hokushinetsu Tournament" in the Let's Kendo combination article. 出口慧 (3rd year, 3rd dan) and 山本優心 (2nd year, 3rd dan) will participate in the men's individual event, and 園田夢萌 and 岩瀬こは (both 3rd year, 2nd dan) will participate in the women's individual event. No publicly available information was found regarding the kendo club's individual national tournament results.
- Notes
- Men’s team, women’s team, men’s individual, and women’s individual – competing in all four categories. Only Tsuruga competes in all categories in H League.
Shimabara（島原）
- Official name
- 長崎県立島原高等学校
- Reading
- Shimabara
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Nagasaki Prefectural (Co-educational)
- Location
- Nagasaki Prefecture Shimabara City, Shiroyone 2-chome 1130
- History
- Opened in April 1900 (Meiji 33) as Nagasaki Prefectural Shimabara Middle School. With the 1948 school system reform, a new system high school was established, and in November of the same year, Shimabara High School, Shimabara Women's High School, and Shimabara Commercial High School were integrated to become coeducational. A science and mathematics course was established in 2003, and the school celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2010.
- School motto/philosophy
- School motto: "Harmony of literary and martial arts."
- Department.
- Full-time courses: General academic and science courses, Part-time courses: General academic courses.
- Kendo Club
- In 2022 (the 69th time・Kochi), they won the championship in the National High School Comprehensive Sports Tournament for the men's team. The women's team also won Inter-High in 2009 and 2013. In the Tamaryu Flag High School Kendo Tournament, the men's team won in 2012 and 2018, and the women's team won in 2009 and 2013. In fiscal year 2026, they won the Winter Kyushu Selection Tournament and reached the best 8 in the All-Kyushu Tournament. Let's Kendo reports that they were unable to qualify for the National High School Kendo Selection Tournament in March. In this tournament, 三木己徹 (3rd year・2nd dan) will participate in the men's individual event, and 北山愛華 (1st year・2nd dan) and 大賀幸愛 (3rd year・2nd dan) will participate in the women's individual event.
- Notes
- This tournament features competition in the men’s team, men’s individual, and women’s individual events.
・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 Schools Library Tokiwa High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Notion Participating School Library Tsuruga High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Notion Participating Schools Library Shimabara High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Wikipedia Nagasaki Prefectural Shimabara High School ↗
・Wikipedia National High School General Sports Tournament Kendo Competition ↗
・Wikipedia Tamaryu-ki High School Kendo Tournament 本日、<a href="https://tamaryu.jp/">玉竜旗高校剣道大会</a>の試合結果を報告します。 Today, I will report the results of the <a href="https://tamaryu.jp/">Tamaryu-ki High School Kendo Tournament</a>. <a href="https://tamaryu.jp/">玉竜旗</a>は、高校剣道界では最も権威のある大会の一つです。 The <a href="https://tamaryu.jp/">Tamaryu-ki</a> is one of the most prestigious tournaments in high school kendo. 今回の大会では、各校の先鋒、次鋒、中堅、副将、大将が激戦を繰り広げました。 In this tournament, each school’s Senpo, Jiho, Chuken, Fukusho, and Taisho fought fiercely. 試合は一本勝負で行われ、勝者数は各校の総合力を測る指標となります。 Matches were decided by ippon, and the number of wins served as an indicator of each school’s overall strength. また、取得本数も重要な要素であり、積極的な攻撃が評価されました。 The number of points taken was also an important factor, and aggressive attacks were highly valued. 特に、代表戦では、各校の代表選手がしのぎを削り、見応えのある試合が展開されました。 In particular, the deciding match featured representative players from each school competing fiercely, resulting in exciting matches. <a href="https://tamaryu.jp/">玉竜旗</a>は、Inter-Highへの出場権をかけた重要な大会でもあります。 The <a href="https://tamaryu.jp/">Tamaryu-ki</a> is also an important tournament for qualifying for Inter-High. 今回の大会の結果は、今後の高校剣道界に大きな影響を与えるでしょう。 The results of this tournament will likely have a significant impact on the future of high school kendo. ↗
・Wikipedia Fukui Prefectural Tsuruga High School ↗
・Wikipedia Tokiwa High School (Gunma Prefecture) ↗
・Nagasaki Prefectural High School Sports Federation – Results of the Reiwa 8th Year High School General Sports Tournament Kendo Individual Competition (June 8, 2026) ↗
・72nd All Japan High School Kendo Tournament (Hiroshima 2025) – Tournament Quick Report ↗
Which fact comes from which source?
- League formation (Tokiwa・Tsuruga・Shimabara), second venue, individual competition participants from each school, the H vs. G match in the knockout tournament is in data/2026/kumiawase.json and data/2026/league_briefs.json (based on the official PDF).
- Having won the winter Kyushu Selection Tournament and reached the best 8 in the all-Kyushu Tournament, Shimabara was unable to qualify for the selection tournament in March. Tsuruga placed third in the Hokushinetsu Tournament. Tokiwa, a first-time entrant from Gunma, achieved a record of winning tournaments in nearby prefectures this season to qualify and aims for their first victory, as featured in the Let's Kendo Nara Inter-High pairing article's highlights section.
- 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."
- Shimabara’s 2022 Inter-High men’s team championship, women’s team championships in 2009 and 2013, Tamuryu-ki men’s championships in 2012 and 2018, women’s championships in 2009 and 2013, founding history (1900 Shimabara Middle School), school motto “Bunbu Ryodo”, departments are on Wikipedia “Shimabara High School, Nagasaki Prefecture”. It is also confirmed in the list of past championship schools on Wikipedia “National High School General Sports Tournament Kendo Competition” that Shimabara was the 2022 (69th) men’s team championship school.
- "In 2022, Shimabara broke the winning streak of Kyushu Gakuin" is described as a fact readable from the list of past winning schools in the Wikipedia article "National High School Comprehensive Sports Festival Kendo Tournament" (Kyushu Gakuin in 2018, 2019, 2021, Shimabara in 2022, and Kyushu Gakuin in 2023 and 2024).
- Tsuruga’s founding year (1948, integration of 3 schools)・founding year of predecessor schools・school motto “Independence and Self-Governance”・departments・location are on Wikipedia “Tsuruga High School, Fukui Prefecture”.
- Tokiwa’s history (originating from Tsune-mi Saisho Transmission Institute and becoming coeducational in 1977, with the current school name)・school motto “Sincerity and Diligence”・course details・location are on Wikipedia “Tokiwa High School (Gunma Prefecture)”.
- "Only Tsuruga participates in all four divisions in H League." "Tokiwa is the only individual who does not have a representative in the individual event in H League" can be confirmed from the participation division in data/2026/league_briefs.json.
- 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. Player names have not been confirmed, so furigana are not included.
- 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.
- *The match between Shimabara and Kyushu Gakuin is a possibility if both schools advance from their respective leagues, and a match has not been decided.*
- Note: The founding year of Tokiwa has discrepancies between Japanese and Western calendars on Wikipedia, so the year is omitted and only the historical order is described.
- Regarding Tsuruga and Tokiwa, we were unable to confirm any national tournament results solely for the kendo club, so we have refrained from making any forced descriptions.
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.