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{{Short description|International kendo competition in Italy}}
{{Infobox sports competition event
| event          = World Kendo Championships
| competition    = 
| image          = 
| alt            = 
| caption        = 
| venue          = [[Forum di Milano]]
| venues         = 
| location       = [[Milan]], Italy
| date           = 
| dates          = July 4th - 7th 2024
| competitors    = 
| nations        = 
| teams          =
| win_label      = 
| win_value      = 
| gold           = 
| gold_nation    = 
| gold2          = 
| gold2_nation   = 
| gold3          = 
| gold3_nation   = 
| silver         = 
| silver_nation  = 
| silver2        = 
| silver2_nation = 
| silver3        = 
| silver3_nation = 
| bronze         = 
| bronze_nation  = 
| bronze2        = 
| bronze2_nation = 
| bronze3        = 
| bronze3_nation = 
| champion       = 
| champions      = Current Individual Champions
| men            = Keita Hoshiko {{FlagIOCteam|JPN}}
| women          = Mihiro Kondo {{FlagIOCteam|JPN}}
| previous       = 
| next           = 
}}

The '''World Kendo Championship''' is an international [[kendo]] competition contested by the member nations of the [[International Kendo Federation]] (FIK). The championships have been conducted every three years since the inception in 1970. The host of the tournament usually rotates in order through the three FIK administrative regions of Asia, the Americas and Europe (the canceled 2021 tournament and the 2024 tournament were both in Europe).

The competition is divided into four divisions: Men's Individual, Women's Individual, Men's Team, Women's Team. Team matches are individual matches between five members from each team where each member competes in 1 round.

Until 2006, Japan had never lost a championship in any of the four divisions, when the Japanese men's team lost to the USA in the semi-final, with South Korea winning in the final.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kendo-fik.org/english-page/english-page2/World-Kendo-Championships-IKF.htm|title=World Kendo Championship}}</ref> Previously other teams had come close, such as South Korea (1997, 2003) and Canada (2000). In the individual divisions, South Koreans are appearing more often in the semi-finals and final.

There is an opinion in Japan that this tournament is not of the same caliber as the [[All Japan Kendo Championship]] or the All Japan Police Kendo Championship. The argument being that there is a distinct qualitative difference in the playing level and style of nationalities where Japanese people lived or immigrated to before WW2, and countries that began practicing Kendo post-war. Another opinion is that the level of non-Japanese referees is not of high enough caliber for matches to be judged fairly. In order to offset this, mandatory international referee seminars are organized by the International Kendo Federation with high-ranking Japanese Kendo officials as lecturers.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

On 4 September 2020, FIK postponed the 18th championships (18WKC), originally scheduled for May 2021, to a later date, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. It was then cancelled on 20 February 2021<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kendo-fik.org/news/3240|title=Cancellation of the 18th World Kendo Championships (18WKC)}}</ref>

The 19th World Kendo Championships (19WKC) was held in [[Milan]], [[Italy]] from 4-7 July 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italy to host the 19th World Kendo Championships (19WKC) {{!}} FIK |url=https://www.kendo-fik.org/news/7145 |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=International Kendo Federation (FIK) |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=cik |date=2022-06-30 |title=All'Italia l'organizzazione dei Campionati del Mondo di Kendo del 2024 |url=https://confederazioneitalianakendo.it/allitalia-lorganizzazione-dei-campionati-del-mondo-di-kendo-del-2024/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=CIK - Confederazione Italiana Kendo |language=it-IT}}</ref> A Kendo practitioner from [[Taiwan]] competed for the Chinese team causing controversies regarding his qualifications and citizenship.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-12 |title=Taiwan Kendo player could lose citizenship after representing China {{!}} Taiwan News {{!}} Jul. 12, 2024 11:15 |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5900501 |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=taiwannews.com.tw |language=en}}</ref>

==Men's==

===Team===
The following is a summary of medals acquired by country for the Men's Team Division.
{{Medals table
 | caption        = 
 | host           = 
 | flag_template  = flagcountry
 | event          = 
 | team           = 
 | gold_JPN = 17 | silver_JPN = 0 | bronze_JPN = 1 
 | gold_KOR = 1 | silver_KOR = 11 | bronze_KOR = 3
 | gold_USA = 0 | silver_USA = 2 | bronze_USA = 9 
 | gold_BRA = 0 | silver_BRA = 2 | bronze_BRA = 5 
 | gold_CAN = 0 | silver_CAN = 2 | bronze_CAN = 5 
 | gold_TPE = 0 | silver_TPE = 1 | bronze_TPE = 6 
 | gold_HAW = 0 | silver_HAW = 0 | bronze_HAW = 2 | name_HAW = {{flag|Hawaii}}
 | gold_HUN = 0 | silver_HUN = 0 | bronze_HUN = 2 
 | gold_ITA = 0 | silver_ITA = 0 | bronze_ITA = 1 
 | gold_OKI = 0 | silver_OKI = 0 | bronze_OKI = 1 | name_OKI = {{flag|Okinawa}} 
 | gold_FRA = 0 | silver_FRA = 0 | bronze_FRA = 1
}}

===Individual===
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!rowspan=2 width=3%|Year 
!colspan=2|Final 
!rowspan=2 colspan=2|Third Place 
!rowspan=2 colspan=4|Top Eight 
|-
!width=12%|Winner 
!width=12%|Runner-up
|-
|1970
|M. Kobayashi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Toda, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Yaniguchi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Ota, {{Flag|Japan}}
|-
|1973
|T. Sakuragi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H. Yano, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Fujita, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J.R. Rhee, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
|1976
|E. Yokoo, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Ono, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Hosoda, {{Flag|Japan}}
|C. Wu, {{Flag|Taiwan}}
|Kawase, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Arima, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Sato, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Ito, {{Flag|Japan}}
|-
|1979
|H. Yamada, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Furukawa, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H. Aikawa, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Terada, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Kim, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|S. Nakauchi, {{Flag|USA}}
|S. Suzuki, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Koh, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
|1982
|M. Makita, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Kosaka, {{Flag|Japan}}
|W. Okajima, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H. Yasugahira, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J.W. Lee, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|R. Kaneshiro, {{Flag|USA}}
|H.G. Jang, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|M. Grivas, {{Flag|USA}}
|-
|1985
|K. Koda, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H. Ogawa, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J.C. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|K.N. Kim, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|Johnson, {{Flag|Canada}}
|Komatsu, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Umeyama, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Ujiie, {{Flag|Japan}}
|-
|1988
|I. Okido, {{Flag|Japan}}
|A. Hayashi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H. Sakata, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K.N. Kim, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|J.H. Lee, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|M. Ishizuka, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J.K. Kim, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|R. Kishikawa, {{Flag|Brazil}}
|-
|1991
|S. Muto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H. Sakata, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Yamamoto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Shimizu, {{Flag|Japan}}
|E. Ohara, {{Flag|Canada}}
|C.S. Oh, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|W. Huh, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|M. Miyazaki, {{Flag|Japan}}
|-
| 1994
|H. Takahashi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Takei, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Hirano, {{Flag|Japan}}
|N. Eiga, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Y.C. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|T. Davidson, {{Flag|Canada}}
|Y. Okamoto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Nabeyama, {{Flag|Japan}}
|-
| 1997
|M. Miyazaki, {{Flag|Japan}}
|F. Miyazaki, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Ishida, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S.S. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|J.S. Yang, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|Y.Y. Liu, {{Flag|Taiwan}}
|T. Terachi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J.P. Labru, {{Flag|France}}
|-
| 2000
|N. Eiga, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Takenaka, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Someya, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S.S. Hong, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|S. Asaoka, {{Flag|Canada}}
|C. Yang, {{Flag|USA}}
|H. Hirata, {{Flag|Japan}}
|C.Y. Kim, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
| 2003
|H. Sato, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H. Iwasa, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Sato, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Lim, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|M. Salonen, {{Flag|Finland}}
|K. Ando, {{Flag|Japan}}
|C. Yang, {{Flag|USA}}
|S.S. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
| 2006
|M. Hojo, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Tanaka, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Kang, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|G. Oh, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|S. Kamata, {{Flag|Canada}}
|C. Cheng, {{Flag|Taiwan}}
|S. Harada, {{Flag|Japan}}
|G. Sicart, {{Flag|France}}
|-
| 2009
|S. Teramoto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|B. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|K. Lee, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|C. Choi, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|K. Smith, {{Flag|Australia}}
|D. Wako, {{Flag|Japan}}
|T. Furusawa, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J. Brown, {{Flag|USA}}
|-
| 2012
|S. Takanabe, {{Flag|Japan}}
|W. Kim, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|T. Kim, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|K. Furukawa, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J. Bertout, {{Flag|France}}
|T.A. Hoang, {{Flag|Canada}}
|R. Omasa, {{Flag|Brazil}}
|S. Okido, {{Flag|Japan}}
|-
| 2015
|T. Amishiro, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Y. Takenouchi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Jang, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|H. Nishimura, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J. Bertout, {{Flag|France}}
|K. Bosak, {{Flag|Poland}}
|R. Murase, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J. Jo, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
| 2018
|S. Ando, {{Flag|Japan}}
|J. Jo, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|B. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|Y. Takenouchi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Y. Katsumi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|C. Takayama, {{Flag|Brazil}}
|J. Hatakeyama, {{Flag|USA}}
|M. Jang, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
| 2024
|K. Hoshiko, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Matsuzaki, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Ohira, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Kimura, {{Flag|Japan}}
|A. Kishikawa, {{Flag|Australia}}
|K. Rukas, {{Flag|Great Britain}}
|J. Wright, {{Flag|Great Britain}}
|J. Williams, {{Flag|USA}}
|-
|}

==Women's==

===Team===
The following is a summary of medals acquired by country for the Women's Team Division. (5-person team)

{{Medals table
 | caption        = 
 | host           = 
 | flag_template  = flagcountry
 | event          = 
 | team           = 
 | gold_JPN = 7 | silver_JPN = 0 | bronze_JPN = 0
 | gold_KOR = 0 | silver_KOR = 6 | bronze_KOR = 0
 | gold_BRA = 0 | silver_BRA = 1 | bronze_BRA = 3
 | gold_CAN = 0 | silver_CAN = 0 | bronze_CAN = 4
 | gold_USA = 0 | silver_USA = 0 | bronze_USA = 3
 | gold_GER = 0 | silver_GER = 0 | bronze_GER = 2
 | gold_TPE = 0 | silver_TPE = 0 | bronze_TPE = 1
 | gold_AUS = 0 | silver_AUS = 0 | bronze_AUS = 2
}}

===Individual===
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!rowspan=2 width=3%|Year 
!colspan=2|Final 
!rowspan=2 colspan=2|Third Place 
!rowspan=2 colspan=4|Top Eight 
|-
!width=13%|Winner 
!width=13%|Runner-up
|-
|1997
|M. Kimura, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Mogi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|W. Nakano, {{Flag|Canada}}
|H.J. Cho, {{Flag|Korea}}
|S. Konishi, {{Flag|Brazil}}
|I. Benkman, {{Flag|Germany}}
|P. Sato, {{Flag|Brazil}}
|S. Kondo, {{Flag|Japan}}
|-
|2000
|T. Kawano, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Baba, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H. Yano, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Asahina, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Konishi, {{Flag|Brazil}}
|E.H. Kwon, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|M. Korogi, {{Flag|Japan}}
|H.H. Cho, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
|2003
|K. Baba, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Y. Tsubota, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Asahina, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Okada, {{Flag|Japan}}
|N. Soulas, {{Flag|France}}
|M. Onaka, {{Flag|Brazil}}
|Y.J. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|C. Shinzato, {{Flag|Japan}}
|-
|2006
|S. Sugimoto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Komuro, {{Flag|Japan}}
|E. Inagaki, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Shimokawa, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Hayashi, {{Flag|Canada}}
|A. Byeon, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|A. Sipos, {{Flag|Hungary}}
|Y. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
|2009
|Y. Takami, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Shojima, {{Flag|Japan}}
|C. Shinzato, {{Flag|Japan}}
|E. Takashina, {{Flag|Brazil}}
|M. Livolsi, {{Flag|Italy}}
|Y. Lee, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|M. Hamanaka, {{Flag|Canada}}
|M. Raitanen, {{Flag|Finland}}
|-
|2012
|S. Sakuma, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Kurokawa, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Shodai, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Kawagoe, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Park, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|S. Tamura, {{Flag|USA}}
|K. Jeon, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|H. Yu, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|-
|2015
|M. Matsumoto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|Y.Y. Hu, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|B.K. Won, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|Y. Takami, {{Flag|Japan}}
|S. Woude, {{Flag|Netherlands}}
|M. Kawagoe, {{Flag|Japan}}
|F. Smout, {{Flag|Netherlands}}
|H. Yamada, {{Flag|Canada}}
|-
|2018
|M. Matsumoto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Yamamoto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Senoo, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Fujimoto, {{Flag|Japan}}
|A. Akyla, {{Flag|Greece}}
|H. Lee, {{Flag|South Korea}}
|N. Chun, {{Flag|Hawaii}}
|S. Woude, {{Flag|Netherlands}}
|-
|2024
|M. Kondo, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Suenaga, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Sato, {{Flag|Japan}}
|M. Senoo, {{Flag|Japan}}
|K. Kishikawa, {{Flag|Australia}}
|B. Park, {{Flag|Canada}}
|M. Fisher {{Flag|Great Britain}}
|K. Tada, {{Flag|USA}}
|-
|}

==Hosts==
The following is a list of the host countries of the World Kendo Championships.

{| class="wikitable"
! Number
! Year
! Location
|-
| 1st
| 1970
| {{flag|Japan}}, '''Tokyo'''
|-
| 2nd
| 1973
| {{flag|United States}}, '''Los Angeles'''
|-
| 3rd
| 1976
| {{flag|United Kingdom}}, {{flag|England}}, '''Milton Keynes'''
|-
| 4th
| 1979
| {{flag|Japan}}, '''Sapporo'''
|-
| 5th
| 1982
| {{flag|Brazil}}, '''São Paulo'''
|-
| 6th
| 1985
| {{flag|France}}, '''Paris'''
|-
| 7th
| 1988
| {{flag|South Korea}}, '''Seoul'''
|-
| 8th
| 1991
| {{flag|Canada}}, '''Toronto'''
|-
| 9th
| 1994
| {{flag|France}}, '''Paris'''
|-
| 10th
| 1997
| {{flag|Japan}}, '''Kyoto'''
|-
| 11th
| 2000
| {{flag|United States}}, '''Santa Clara'''
|-
| 12th
| 2003
| {{flag|United Kingdom}}, {{flag|Scotland}}, '''Glasgow'''
|-
| 13th
| 2006
| {{flag|Taiwan}}, '''Taipei'''
|-
| 14th
| 2009
| {{flag|Brazil}}, '''São Paulo'''
|-
| 15th
| 2012
| {{flag|Italy}}, '''Novara'''
|-
| 16th
| 2015
| {{flag|Japan}}, '''Tokyo'''
|-
| 17th
| 2018
| {{flag|South Korea}}, '''Incheon'''
|-
| 18th
| 2021
| {{flag|France}}, '''Paris'''. Cancelled,  due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
|-
|19th 
|2024
| {{flag|Italy}}, '''Milan'''
|-
|20th
|2027
| {{flag|Japan}}, '''Tokyo'''
|}
==See also==
{{Portal|Martial arts|Japan}}
{{Commons|Kendo}}
*[[European Kendo Championships]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.kendo-fik.org/wkc|International Kendo Federation Official Website}}

{{main world championships}}

[[Category:Kendo]]
[[Category:World championships in combat sports|Kendo]]