In the immediate post war period, the practice of martial arts was prohibited. In place of kendo, a new sport called shinai-kyōgi, combining kendo and western fencing was developed. The protective equipment to be used in this fencing hybrid was stipulated as:
(1) Men (mask), Dō-ate (protector), and gloves.
(2) The mask will consist of metal mesh on the front and sides.
(3) The protector will consist of thick cotton padding with durable (metal or bamboo) panels.
(4) The gloves will have long forearm protection aided with rigid panels.
One can imagine from the description of the equipment the influence of western fencing in the design.
The All Japan Kendo Federation was inaugurated in October 1952. In the Shiai Regulations published in March the following year, it stated, “the bōgu to be used in kendo will consist of men, kote, dō, and tare.” Thus, pre-war armour was officially re-introduced which was obviously different to the recently developed shinai-kyōgi gear. There was a short period of time where both styles were practiced side by side, but in March 1954, the All Japan Kendo Federation and the All Japan Shinai-Kyogi Federation were combined into yet another all-encompassing All Japan Kendo Federation, which essentially spelled the end of shinai-kyōgi.
Subsequently, such things as duralumin dō and five-fingered kote were developed, but no major changes in the style of bōgu to speak of have eventuated. Of course, carbon graphite shinai were first put on sale in 1985, and were finally permitted for use in official shiai on March 18th 1987, and are still used by many people.
Another interesting development in the bōgu world was the production of men with clear Perspex face guards, which were released onto the market in March 1997. Due to the popularity of these men, the All Japan Kendo Federation moved to recognize the use of them in official shiai as of revisions to the rules on 15th March 2000, and these revisions were enforced as of the 1st April, 2000.
Diagram 15
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