Three different styles of the M League! Women's Team Competition.
The M League of the fourth match venue features three schools with very different backgrounds: the private Hakuodaiashikaga from Tochigi, the all-girls' school Koshiengakuin from Hyogo, and Kumiyama, a public high school from Kyoto Prefecture. They will play two matches each in a round-robin format, with only one school advancing to the knockout tournament. Koshiengakuin has a track record of finishing just short of the top, placing 5th in Inter-High, the National Sports Festival, and the Tamaryu Flag tournament, while Kumiyama is a public high school known for being the runner-up in the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament and now aiming to compete nationally in kendo. The school that advances will face the winner of the N League in the first round of the knockout tournament.
These three schools.
- Hakuodaiashikaga（白鷗足利）Tochigi PrefectureGirls' team.
- Koshiengakuin（甲子園学院）Hyogo Prefecture.Girls' team.
- Kumiyama（久御山）Kyoto Prefecture.Girls' team.Men's Individual
The one school that breaks through will face the winners of the N League (Miyaki(佐賀), Shukutoku Sugamo(Tokyo), Takamatsuminami(Kagawa)) in the first round of the final 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. According to the tournament regulations in the Wikipedia article “All Japan High School Kendo Tournament,” the team competition will be conducted as a league with groups of three teams, and the top team from each group – a total of 16 teams – will advance to the knockout tournament. If team points, number of wins, and points are all tied, a deciding match will determine the outcome. The team competition consists of five members: Senpo, Jiho, Chuken, Fukusho, and Taisho. If you drop even one match out of two, your summer tournament ends on the first day. The one school that advances will face the winner of the N League in the first round of the knockout tournament.
Fifth place three times Koshiengakuin
Hyogo Prefecture Nishinomiya City's private Koshiengakuin High School was founded in 1941 as the Koshien Higher Girls' School, a girls' school, and its founder was Kume Chohachi. According to the school's official website's club activities page, the kendo club has a record of "best 8 in the national tournament, 5th place in Inter-High, 5th place in the National Sports Festival, and 5th place in the Tamaryu Flag Tournament." It is a school that has experienced being one step away from the podium in three tournaments nationwide. In the combined junior and senior high school club where junior high and high school students practice together, the school's founding spirit is "Academic ability is also individuality. The best way to develop that individuality is for teachers and students to be closely involved with each other."
Soccer powerhouse Kumiyama advances to nationals in kendo.
Kyoto Prefecture Kuse District Kumiyama Town's prefectural Kumiyama High School opened in April 1980. The school motto is "Learn by yourself 'Jigaku', Discipline yourself 'Jiritsu', Train yourself 'Jitan'", and it has S course, A course, and P course (sports comprehensive major) in the general course. Nationally, it is known as the runner-up in the 89th All Japan High School Soccer Championship, but the kendo club is also designated as a "sports comprehensive designated club". This tournament sends 鵜木丈 player (3rd year, 2nd dan) and 向山太智 player (2nd year, 2nd dan) to the men's individual category in addition to the women's team category, and is the only school in the M League to have names in both men's and women's categories.
"No improvement in skill without improvement in humanity" Hakuodaiashikaga
Founded in 1915 (Taisho 4), Private White Swan University Foot利 High School in Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, has a motto of “PLUS ULTRA – Further Beyond.” The kendo club, according to the school’s official website, aims for dominance in Tochigi Prefecture and advancement to the top ranks of the National and Kanto Tournaments, believing that “technical improvement is impossible without the improvement of character.” According to the achievements page on the official website, the women’s team placed 3rd in the Kanto Tournament prefectural qualifiers and was the individual runner-up in the Reiwa 6 year. They also participated in the Kanto High School Kendo Tournament as a team and individually, placed 3rd in the Inter-High prefectural team qualifiers, and competed in the Tamaryu-ki and Kaisei-ki tournaments.
Private girls' school, public co-educational high school, private school in the Kanto region.
The three schools in M League differ greatly in their establishment type and school history. Koshiengakuin is a private girls' school founded in 1941, and its kendo club is structurally always composed of only girls. Kumiyama is a new prefectural high school founded in 1980, a public sports school with a comprehensive sports program. Hakuodaiashikaga is a private co-educational school founded in 1915, and is also a preparatory school affiliated with a university. In terms of founding year, Hakuodaiashikaga (1915), Koshiengakuin (1941), and Kumiyama (1980) have a 65-year difference, and these three schools will compete against each other in two matches each on equal footing.
Live broadcast「Three different styles of the M League! Women's Team Competition.」
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Messages of support for the participating schools and players.
Hakuodaiashikaga, Koshiengakuin, Kumiyama. Three schools with vastly different founding years and school types will face each other in the fourth match venue. Hakuodaiashikaga, which has upheld “no improvement in technique without improvement in humanity” since 1915, Koshiengakuin, which has come within one step of the national level three times as a girls' school, and Kumiyama, a prefectural school that has sent players 鵜木丈 and 向山太智 to the men's individual competition. Although the paths they have taken are different, the weight of obtaining a national qualifying spot is the same. Only one school will advance, but the time all three schools have dedicated to these two matches is genuine. Please give it your all without regrets.
To the five members from Senpo to Taisho.
"Learn by yourself, discipline yourself, train yourself"—this is the school motto of Kumiyama. In this M League, including Hakuodaiashikaga and Koshiengakuin, there isn’t a single player whose name appears among the individual female players. There are only two individual slots per prefecture, and it’s a different story from team strength. All fifteen fighters competing in Nara will stand on the floor as Senpo, Jiho, Chuken, Fukusho, and Taisho, and fight their own matches. Both Hakuodaiashikaga, which promotes “no improvement in technique without improvement in humanity,” and Koshiengakuin, who has trained with middle school students, are the same. On August 2nd, when the order is announced, the names of the fifteen will echo in the arena in order. Let us hear those names in Nara.
School Information
Hakuodaiashikaga（白鷗大足利）
- Official name
- 白鷗大学足利高等学校(白鷗大学足利中学校・高等学校)
- Reading
- Hakuodaiashikaga
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Private (coeducational). Affiliated school of 白鷗大学.
- Location
- 3-2 Isenami-cho, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture (Main Campus), 1067 多田ki-cho, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture (Tomita Campus)
- History
- Founded in 1915 (Taisho 4). Currently, it has an attached middle school with a combined junior and senior high school course.
- School motto/philosophy
- The slogan is “PLUS ULTRA — Go Beyond!”
- Department.
- General studies (including Special Advanced Placement Course, Advanced Placement Course, and Comprehensive Advanced Placement Course)
- Kendo Club
- Guided by the motto "No improvement in skill without improvement in character," we aim to dominate Tochigi Prefecture and achieve top rankings at the National and Kanto Tournaments. According to the school's official website's achievements page, in fiscal year 2024, the women's team placed third in the Kanto Tournament prefectural qualifier and was runner-up in the individual competition, and participated in the Kanto High School Kendo Tournament as a team and individually. They also placed third in the Inter-High prefectural qualifier as a team, and were runners-up in both the team and individual events at the Nanbu Branch Tournament, and competed in the Tamaryu-ki and Kaisei-ki tournaments. The men's team placed third in the prefectural qualifier for the National Selected Tournament as a team and was runner-up in the team event at the Nanbu Branch Tournament.
- Notes
- “Hakuhō” is the official way to write the name. The Wikipedia article uses “Hakuhō” as the article title.
Koshiengakuin（甲子園学院）
- Official name
- 甲子園学院高等学校(甲子園学院中学校・高等学校)
- Reading
- Koshiengakuin
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Private (all-girls school)
- Location
- 4-25 Kawara-machi, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
- History
- Founded in April 1941 with approval granted in March of the same year, 甲子園高等女学校 was established by Kume Chohachi. Following the 1948 educational reform, the school was reorganized into a middle and high school, and became a school corporation in 1951. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1991 and its 80th anniversary in 2021. A new course system for the high school was launched in April 2022.
- School motto/philosophy
- The founding spirit of the school is “Both academic ability and individuality are important. The best way to nurture that individuality is through close interaction between each teacher and each student.”
- Department.
- General academic courses (Special Advanced Placement Course and Comprehensive Advanced Placement Course). A junior high and high school integrated course is also available.
- Kendo Club
- The school’s official club activities page states, “The Kendo Club is highly anticipated, with results including a top 8 finish at the All-Japan High School Kendo Tournament, 5th place at Inter-High, 5th place at the National Sports Festival, and 5th place at the Tamaryu Tournament.” In the combined middle and high school practice group, where middle and high school students train together, the middle school team competed in the All-Japan Middle School Kendo Tournament in 2022.
- Notes
- As it is an all-girls school, there are no male participants.
Kumiyama（久御山）
- Official name
- 京都府立久御山高等学校
- Reading
- Kumiyama
- Division/Category of Establishment
- Kyoto Prefectural (Co-educational)
- Location
- Kyoto Prefecture Kuse District Kumiyama Town Hayashi
- History
- Founded in April 1980.
- School motto/philosophy
- The school motto is “Self-study, self-discipline, and self-improvement.”
- Department.
- General studies (S course = Standard, A course = Academy, P course = Physical & Sports Comprehensive Program)
- Kendo Club
- The kendo club is designated as a "sports comprehensive designated club" of the school. In this tournament, 鵜木丈 (3rd year, 2nd dan) and 向山太智 (2nd year, 2nd dan) will participate in addition to the women's team event, in the men's individual event. The school is nationally known for its soccer club, which was runner-up in the 89th All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, and approximately 80% of all students participate in club activities.
・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. ↗
・Wikipedia National High School Kendo Tournament ↗
・Notion Participating Schools Library Hakuodaiashikaga High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Notion Participating Schools Library Koshiengakuin High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Notion Participating School Library Kumiyama High School Kendo Club History and Achievements Summary ↗
・Wikipedia <a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%99%BD%E9%B3%B7%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%A6%E足利%E4%B8%AD%E5%AD%A6%E9%96%A2%E3%83%BB%E9%AB%98%E6%A0%A1%E6%9C%9D%E9%AE%AE">白鴎大学足利中学校・高等学校</a> ↗
・Shiraume University Attached Foot利 High School Club Activities ↗
・Shiro-tori University Ashikaga High School Club Activity Achievements ↗
・Wikipedia Koshiengakuin middle and high school ↗
・Koshiengakuin Middle and High School Club Activities ↗
・Koshiengakuin Middle and High School: Founding Spirit ↗
・Koshiengakuin Middle and High School History ↗
・Wikipedia Kyoto Prefectural Kumiyama High School ↗
・Kyoto Prefectural Kumiyama High School Official Site ↗
・Kyoto Prefectural Kumiyama High School Club Activities ↗
Which fact comes from which source?
- League formation (Hakuodaiashikaga・Koshiengakuin・Kumiyama), fourth venue, male individual participants of Kumiyama, the M vs N match in the finals tournament is in data/2026/kumiawase.json and data/2026/league_briefs.json (based on the official PDF)
- 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."
- The preliminary league consists of groups of three teams, with the top team from each group – a total of 16 teams – advancing to the knockout tournament. In the event of a tie in points, wins, and total points scored, the outcome will be decided by a deciding match, as per the tournament regulations outlined in the Wikipedia article “全国高等学校剣道大会”.
- Koshiengakuin Kendo club results (best 8 in the National Tournament, 5th place in Inter-High, 5th place in the National Sports Festival, 5th place in the Tamaryu Flag Tournament) and combined junior and senior high school practice are on the club activities page of the school's official website. The school's founding spirit is on the founding spirit page of the school's official website. The founding year and history are on the school's official website's history page and Wikipedia.
- Kumiyama’s founding year, location, departments, and soccer club’s runner-up finish are on Wikipedia. The school motto “Self-study, Self-discipline, Self-training” and a list of club activities (the kendo club is a sports comprehensive designated club) are on the same school’s official website.
- Hakuodaiashikaga’s founding year, location, slogan, and departments are on Wikipedia. The kendo club’s motto and goals, as well as the results for men and women in fiscal year 2024, are on the school’s official website’s club activities page and achievements page.
- School names are read as indicated in the Notion participating schools library’s reading column. Player names have not been confirmed, so readings 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.
- *Koshiengakuin’s 5th place in Inter-High, 5th place in the National Sports Festival, and 5th place in the Tamaryu-ki are based on the information listed on the school’s official website, and the year of achievement is not disclosed, so it is not noted.
- The Let's Kendo article regarding the Nara Inter-High pairings only contained descriptions of individual points of interest for each women’s team league, so this article does not quote from it.
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.