武德殿

About this photo

This photo shows the Butokuden in the Okazaki area of Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, with people in front of it. It appears in Kyoto Meishocho (Album of Famous Places in Kyoto), published in 1907 (Meiji 40) by the Kyoto City Council. The character for "toku" in the title is an older form.

The Butokuden was built by the Dai Nippon Butokukai, a group that promoted the martial arts. The group was founded in Kyoto in April 1895 (Meiji 28). Amid the celebrations for the 1,100th anniversary of the move of the capital to Heian-kyo, the first Butokusai festival and martial arts tournament were held that same year. The Butokuden was built of wood in 1899 as a hall for martial arts demonstrations. It was designed by Matsumuro Shigemitsu.

The group was dissolved after the war, in 1946, and the building was used by the occupation forces, then as a police academy and a university facility. It was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1996. Today it is part of the Kyoto Municipal Budo Center, and every May, during the Golden Week holidays, it hosts the All Japan Kendo Demonstration Tournament, which brings together kendo practitioners from across the country.

Glossary