Iaido
居合道Japanese budo of drawing the sword, practised as kata against an imaginary opponent. Run by the kendo federation and the All Japan Iaido Federation, with competition by performing kata.
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JapanCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
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About Iaido
Iaido is a Japanese budo of sword drawing in which the practitioner performs kata against an imaginary opponent. The All Japan Kendo Federation states that it derives from ways of using the Japanese sword whose beginnings are placed in the Muromachi period. The Heibonsha encyclopedia writes that iai arose in the Warring States period as a technique of rapid drawing against a sudden attack. Most schools derive from Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu, whom Martial Arts of the World dates to approximately 1546–1621.
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After a decline in the early Meiji period, iai was, according to Heibonsha, revived by the Dai Nippon Butokukai, founded in 1895, and from the Showa period it was called iaido. Nakayama Hakudo (1873–1958) contributed to its spread. After the war, the All Japan Kendo Federation was founded in 1952 and the All Japan Iaido Federation in 1954. In 1956 the kendo federation set up its own iaido department, and according to the Nipponica encyclopedia tension arose between the two bodies, though both still accept their differing positions to this day. According to Martial Arts of the World, a kata consists of four parts: drawing with the first cut nukitsuke, the finishing cut kiritsuke, shaking off the blade chiburi, and returning the sword to the scabbard noto. The kendo federation created a common set for all schools. In 1969 it had seven kata, in 1980 three were added and later two more, so there are twelve. In competition, two practitioners perform side by side five kata from the federation's set and from their own school, and the winner is usually decided by three judges with flags. The kendo federation awards grades up to eighth dan, the International Kendo Federation up to tenth. The European Championships have been held since 1993.
History
Heibonsha states that iai arose in the Warring States period as a technique of rapid drawing against a sudden attack and was earlier also called saya no uchi and other names. The encyclopedias regard Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu from the province of Oshu as the founder of drawing as the main content of schools. According to the tradition Nipponica cites, after a hundred days of seclusion in a shrine in the province of Dewa he received a revelation and founded his school. Martial Arts of the World dates him to approximately 1546–1621, a 2017 study in a Japanese journal of sports anthropology to 1542?–1621. Around the Kyoho period Hasegawa Chikaranosuke Hidenobu, founder of Hasegawa Eishin-ryu, was active in Tosa, and at the end of the Edo period there were, according to Nipponica, over 200 iai schools.
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The 1876 ban on wearing swords hit the schools hard. In 1886 the Tokyo police included in their set five iai kata taken from various schools, but these did not spread. According to Nipponica, recognition of iaijutsu came around the Russo-Japanese War through the work of three masters from Kumamoto, Kochi and Tokyo, among them Nakayama Hakudo of the Omori-ryu school, who in 1920 received the title hanshi from the Dai Nippon Butokukai. In March 1941, according to Nipponica, 230 people held a title in iaijutsu. After 1945 iai suffered an almost destructive blow from the suppression of budo by the occupation administration and the ban on swords. The All Japan Kendo Federation was founded in October 1952 and the All Japan Iaido Federation in May 1954, which in October 1956 established a set of five kata from basic techniques of various schools. Around that time, according to Nipponica, the name iaido replaced the older iaijutsu. Heibonsha states that the name iaido was used from the Showa period, and Martial Arts of the World that it took hold around 1930. At its members' urging the kendo federation set up an iaido department in 1956, introduced dan grades as in kendo and criteria for titles. According to Nipponica this caused tension with the iaido federation, but both still accept their differing positions. Because there are many classical schools with different kata, only demonstrations were held at first. In 1966 the first Japan iaido championship took place, with judges determining the winner. In 1969 the kendo federation adopted a set of seven kata, in 1980 added three and later another two. For the last two, the Japanese version of the federation's page gives 2000, the English 1999, and Heibonsha places the creation of the set in 1968.
How it differs
The All Japan Kendo Federation states that iaido and kendo are two sides of the same coin. A 2017 study in a Japanese journal of sport anthropology points out that iaido practitioners usually belong to a given school, whereas in kendo the notion of school has almost vanished. The Japanese Wikipedia distinguishes iaido from kenjutsu, which begins from the mutual positioning of opponents, whereas iaido kata presuppose meeting an enemy while seated in everyday life. From battodo, which according to it concentrates on test cuts with a drawn blade from a standing position, iaido differs by emphasising kata in the air and on drawing, nukitsuke. In iaido the sets of individual associations differ. Practitioners practise the twelve-kata set of the All Japan Kendo Federation alongside the kata of their old school. The All Japan Iaido Federation established in 1956 its own set of five kata from the basic techniques of various schools.
Technique
According to Heibonsha, iai is characterized by drawing the sword from a seated position, but it also includes standing techniques and techniques for when the opponent grasps the hilt. Nipponica divides techniques into seated, standing and walking ones and sees the essence of iai in victory being decided the moment the sword tip leaves the scabbard. According to Martial Arts of the World, a kata has four parts: drawing with the first cut nukitsuke, the finishing cut kiritsuke, shaking off the blade chiburi and returning the sword to the scabbard noto. According to the same article, schools may practise with a long sword, short sword or knife. The All Japan Kendo Federation set has twelve kata. English Wikipedia, citing the federation's English handbook, states that the first three begin kneeling, the fourth from tatehiza and the rest standing. Specialist studies have also examined iaido practitioners' movement. A 2012 study in the journal of the Japanese Academy of Budo recorded the cut kirioroshi in the sixth kata, roppon-me, and found that an experienced practitioner has higher centre-of-gravity and right-hand speed and a more stable body than a beginner. A 2016 study compared motion capture with expert ratings and showed that their subjective ratings are valid and fair.
Training
Iaido is practised mostly as solo kata against an imaginary opponent. A 2016 study describes a kata as drawing the sword from the scabbard, a cut against an imaginary opponent, shaking the blood off the blade and returning the sword. Heibonsha and Nipponica both give drawing from a seated position as typical. The All Japan Kendo Federation's competition rules prescribe kendo attire or iaido attire with hakama, the latter black or white with tsutsusode sleeves. For the third kyu examination the candidate may use the wooden sword bokuto. Japanese Wikipedia states that practice is usually with a practice sword, experienced practitioners use a live blade, and many groups do not do test cutting tameshigiri at all. Heibonsha writes that with the spread of inexpensive practice swords, children and women also began to practise iaido and practitioner numbers rose rapidly.
Ranks and progression
The All Japan Kendo Federation awards iaido grades from third to first kyu, first to eighth dan, and titles renshi, kyoshi and hanshi, hanshi being the highest. First dan can be obtained from age 13 after first kyu, between the further dan grades up to seventh a wait of one to six years applies, and eighth dan requires ten years after seventh dan and an age of at least 46. Renshi presupposes sixth dan, kyoshi seventh and hanshi eighth dan and at least eight years since obtaining it.
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Third kyu requires three kata from the federation set, second kyu etiquette and three kata, first kyu etiquette and five kata. First to fifth dan are examined practically and in writing, sixth to eighth dan practically only. The kata from the federation set are assigned on the day of the examination, the kata of the old school are chosen by the candidate. From 1 April 2018 the federation examines sixth, seventh and eighth dan for now only from the federation set. Candidates are assessed by grade on proper attire and conduct, precise nukitsuke and kiritsuke, chiburi and noto, at higher dan on calm of mind, gaze, spirit and unity of spirit, sword and body, and at sixth to eighth dan also on riai and dignity. The International Kendo Federation guideline provides for grades up to tenth dan, with ninth dan from the age of 65. Candidates for first to fifth dan perform five kata from the federation set in six minutes, one of which may be from the old school, and candidates for sixth and seventh dan perform six kata in seven minutes. At the kendo federation the pass rate for sixth dan in iaido ranged between 19.2 and 37.7 percent a year from 2012 to 2025.
Competition
According to the All Japan Kendo Federation, in an iaido contest two competitors perform five kata from the federation set and from their own school in under six minutes. The federation's current rules from 2023 prescribe a real sword, shinken, while the federation's overview page states a real or practice sword. The kata may be assigned entirely or in part, and whoever performs an incorrect assigned kata loses. The contest area is a rectangle of 7 by 3 m. Usually a chief judge and two assistant judges with equal voting weight decide, and the competitor with more flags wins.
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Judges assess depth of training, etiquette, execution of technique (precise nukitsuke and kiritsuke, chiburi and noto), mental attitude, unity of spirit, sword and body, and the rationality of iai as budo. Martial Arts of the World compares the judging to gymnastics or figure skating. The Japanese Wikipedia states that, besides decision by flags, scoring is also used, whose author, according to it, drew inspiration from the judging of gymnastics at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. The first Japanese championship was held in 1966, and in October 2025 the federation published the programme for its sixtieth edition. The European Championships have been organised by the European Kendo Federation since 1993, when the first edition was held in Sittard in the Netherlands. The thirty-third edition was held in 2026 in Munich.
Gear
The rules of the All Japan Kendo Federation for iaido competitions prescribe a real sword, shinken, forged and sufficiently dignified. Use of a different sword means a loss. The federation's overview page states a real or practice sword for the contest. For the third kyu examination a wooden sword, bokuto, is permitted. Attire according to the rules is kendo attire or iaido attire with hakama, and iaido attire is black or white with tsutsusode sleeves. Martial Arts of the World states that schools may practise with a long sword over 60 cm, a short sword from 30 to 60 cm or a knife under 30 cm. The Heibonsha encyclopedia writes that the spread of cheap practice swords brought children and women to iaido.
Today
In Japan iaido is administered by the All Japan Kendo Federation and alongside it by the All Japan Iaido Federation, each with its own set of kata. The Japanese Wikipedia states that after the death of one of the founders of the iaido federation, the twentieth head of Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu, a succession dispute arose in 1974, three more associations split from the federation in 1975, and today they hold their own events and examinations with little mutual exchange. Internationally, iaido together with kendo and jodo is overseen by the International Kendo Federation, founded in 1970 and based in Tokyo. The European Championships have been organised by the European Kendo Federation since 1993. The kendo federation organises the Japanese championships and in October 2025 published the programme of their sixtieth edition. Martial Arts of the World states that some older iai schools never joined any large organisation, arguing that a common set of techniques dilutes the purity of each school's movements and, at the kendo federation, also that kendo movements may influence iaido. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, in 2009 women made up about 30 percent of the 1,270 people who obtained first dan in iaido at the kendo federation.
Did you know
The Daijisen dictionary states that the word iai originally stood opposed to tachiai, as the first character means sitting. Martial Arts of the World offers another interpretation, deriving the first part of the word from the expression ite, presence of mind, and the second from the verb awasu. In the Edo period, according to the Heibonsha encyclopedia, drawing became a street performance. Medicine sellers, such as the Matsui family of Toyama, used it around 1688 to 1711 to lure customers, drawing swords 1.2 to 1.5 m long. Nipponica states that from the Kyoho period (1716–1736) iai emphasised ceremonial elements and kata began from seiza.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded iaido?
According to Martial Arts of the World, most schools derive from Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu of the end of the 16th century. The All Japan Kendo Federation adopted a common set of kata for all schools in 1969, and the All Japan Iaido Federation has its own set from 1956.
Is iaido practised with a live blade?
The overview page of the All Japan Kendo Federation states a real or practice sword, and the federation's valid competition rules from 2023 prescribe a real sword. For the third kyu examination the candidate may use a wooden bokuto.
How many kata are in the All Japan Kendo Federation's iai set?
Twelve. In 1969 it had seven kata, in 1980 three were added, and the last two according to the federation's Japanese page in 2000, according to the English one in 1999.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.