Kiichiro Ito spends his days creating uniforms for kendo, an ancient form of fencing.
TOKYO — When my 6-year-old son recently joined a local kendo club, I found myself at Yamato Budogu, a family shop that first specialized in equipment for the ancient Japanese martial art in the 1930s.
Kendo — the Japanese characters mean “the way of the sword” — is a form of fencing that uses bamboo swords and protective armor. And equipment for what is considered modern kendo originated in the 1700s.
My son needed a beginner’s outfit: a shinai, or bamboo sword; a dogi, the kimono-like top; and hakama, wide-leg trousers. A uniform for an older or more
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