The Star of Ehime! Men's Individual - Block 26.
The fourth match, block 26 features 竹下朱華 from Okinawa Prefecture's Konan High School, 堀越大愛 from Miyagi Prefecture's Furukawa High School, and 馬木洸虎 from Ehime Prefecture's Nitta High School (seeded). Bamaki won the team event at the Shikoku tournament. In the first round, Takashita and Horikoshi will face each other, and the winner will challenge Bamaki.
The first three players in this block.
- No.76 竹下 朱華沖縄県Konan（興南）／3Year・三Rank.
- No.77 堀越 大愛宮城県Furukawa（古川）／3Year・三Rank.
- No.78 馬木 洸虎愛媛県Seeded (advancing from the second round)Nitta（新田）／3Year・三Rank.
Round 1: No.76 竹下 朱華(Konan) vs. No.77 堀越 大愛(Furukawa)
Round 2: Winner of Round 1 vs. No. 78 馬木 洸虎(Nitta)
In the individual competition, the 96 competitors will be divided into blocks of three. One competitor from each block will receive a bye and begin competition in the second round. One competitor advancing from each match area will advance to the semi-finals.
Highlights
Okinawa's challenger, 竹下朱華
Konan High School 3rd year student 竹下朱華. Konan High School, founded in 1962, has baseball and handball clubs that are active at the national level. Details could not be confirmed with publicly available information.
Furukawa High School, 堀越大愛’s determination
Miyagi Prefecture Furukawa High School’s 堀越大愛 player. Detailed information about Furukawa High School could not be confirmed in publicly available information. However, their strength in winning through the prefectural qualifiers is genuine.
Seed of 馬木洸虎, pride of Nitta
Ehime Prefecture Nitta High School’s 馬木洸虎 player secured a seed for this tournament. Nitta High School, founded in 1938, has a school motto of “Honesty, Brightness, Respect, and Robustness.” The kendo team won the team event at the Shikoku High School Kendo Championships (72nd for men) in June 2026.
Three players advanced after winning the two qualifying spots for the prefecture.
Okinawa, Miyagi, and Ehime. These three individuals advanced through their respective prefectural qualifying tournaments and have reached the stage of Inter-High. Their intense battles, forged through rigorous training, will unfold on the fourth match field.
Live broadcast「The Star of Ehime! Men's Individual - Block 26.」
剣持 翔
堂島 厳
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咲間 ひかり
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剣持 翔
Messages of support for the participating schools and players.
竹下朱華 player, 堀越大愛 player, 馬木洸虎 player. You, representing each prefecture and standing on the Inter-High stage, are already wonderful. Your efforts, having repeated rigorous training and winning through the prefectural qualifiers, are not in vain. Standing on the match field alone may be lonely. However, the thoughts of the kendo community of Okinawa Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Ehime Prefecture, and of everyone who supports you, will surely be your strength. Do not be afraid, wield your sword, and give it your all. The result is not important. What is important is the heart that never gives up until the end, and the passion for kendo. Let your kendo lives shine on this stage!
School Information
Konan（興南）
- Official name
- 興南高等学校
- Reading
- Konan
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Private (School Corporation Konan Gakuen). It opened a junior high school in 1985 and became the first private junior and senior high school in Okinawa Prefecture.
- Location
- 1-7-1 Akashima, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture
- History
- Founded as the Konan Gakuen foundation on February 3, 1962, and Konan High School opened on April 23 of the same year. A junior high school was established on April 6, 1985.
- School motto/philosophy
- The high school’s motto is “Harmony and Master-Disciple Together” (the middle school’s is “Independent Creation”).
- Department.
- General Studies (Frontier Course, Special University Preparatory Course (Standard & Advanced), Comprehensive University Preparatory Course)
- Kendo Club
- This tournament, we will participate as the Okinawa Prefecture representatives in all four categories: men's team, women's team, men's individual, and women's individual. The men's individual representative is 竹下朱華 (3rd year, 3rd dan), and the women's individual representatives are 知念美月 (3rd year, 3rd dan) and 後藤珠里 (2nd year, 2nd dan). In Let's Kendo's highlights, they are evaluated as having reached the best 8 in the Kyushu tournament. As for the school, the baseball club achieved the 6th ever and first in the 21st century summer-spring consecutive championships in Koshien in 2010, and the men's handball club has won the Inter-High six times.
- Notes
- Unrelated to high schools etc. in Aichi Prefecture. Pronunciation is "Konan".
Furukawa（古川）
- Official name
- 宮城県古川高等学校
- Reading
- Furukawa
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Public (Miyagi Prefecture)
- Location
- 2-3-17 Minamicho, Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture Furukawa
- History
- Founded in 1897 as the Shida District Branch of the Miyagi Prefecture Ordinary Middle School. After becoming the Former System Third Middle School and Furukawa Middle School, it became the new system Miyagi Prefecture Furukawa High School on April 1, 1948. It had been an all-boys school since its founding, but became coeducational in 2005.
- School motto/philosophy
- The school mottoes are "Sincerity and Fortitude," "Respect for Learning," and "Independence and Self-discipline."
- Department.
- Full-time Course, General Studies
- Kendo Club
- The official website's Kendo club page lists results from FY2018 to FY2021. In FY2021, the men's team reached the best 4 (earning a spot in the Tohoku Championship) and the women's team reached the best 8 at the prefectural general athletic meet. In FY2019, the men's team reached the best 8 and the women's team placed 2nd at the prefectural championship.
- Notes
- History, school motto, and location are to be investigated (TODO).
Nitta（新田）
- Official name
- 新田高等学校
- Reading
- Nitta
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Private (School Corporation Nitta Gakuen)
- Location
- 663 Nishiyama-cho, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture.
- History
- The Shinko Ikuei Foundation and Nitta Junior High School were authorized on June 18, 1938, and the school opened in April 1939. It was authorized as a new-system high school in 1948, and an industrial course was established in 1958. Originally a boys' school, it became coeducational in the 1986 academic year. A Super Special Advanced Course was established in 2009.
- School motto/philosophy
- The school motto is "Sincerity, Brightness, Respect and Love, Robustness."
- Department.
- General studies courses (Super Special Advancement, Special Advancement, Comprehensive Advancement Selection, and Comprehensive Advancement), Industrial studies (Industrial Technology Course)
- Kendo Club
- In the 1981 National High School Comprehensive Sports Tournament Kendo Competition, the men's team was runner-up (PL Gakuen won). They won the team event at the 72nd Shikoku High School Kendo Championships (men's) in June 2026. They qualified for Inter-High in both the men's team and men's individual events by winning the Ehime Prefecture qualifiers for the 8th year of Reiwa. The men's individual representative is 馬木洸虎 (3rd year, 3rd dan).
- Notes
- Read as "Nitta" and not "Shinden". There are examples of the surname of 馬木 洸虎 being misread by OCR of public materials, but the official notation of Ehime Prefectural High School Sports Federation is "馬木 洸虎".
・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 Konan ↗
・Notion Participating Schools Library Nitta ↗
Which fact comes from which source?
- Block formation, seeding (No. 78), first round (No. 76 vs. No. 77), and match arena (No. 4) were determined according to the combination chart in the official PDF “R8奈良総体≪男子個人戦≫” and the rule of odd-numbered blocks having the top seed/even-numbered blocks having the bottom seed.
- The names, prefectures, schools, grade levels, and ranks of three players are available in data/2026/kumiawase.json (based on the official PDF).
- School profiles for each school will reuse verified information from existing organization/individual articles (gakko_gaiyo) or be sourced from the Notion participating schools library and Wikipedia.
- The individual competition qualifying spots are two per prefecture, which determines the structure of the bracket.
- Note: The pronunciation of players' given names has not been confirmed, so only the family name is announced in the video audio.
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.