Daniel Antoni found kendo through a Studio Ghibli film, then moved to Japan to train for three years.
Way of Life #2, “Ikigai”, is a portrait of Daniel Antoni (4-dan) at BUDO XI, Paris. What follows is transcribed from the subtitles of the film — Daniel Antoni’s own words, in the order they are spoken, under the chapters of the film.
Kendo gave me everything. Work in Japan, friends, a career. Everything I have, and who I am, came from kendo.
It began with Princess Mononoke
Why did I start kendo? I loved Japan from a young age. Then I saw Ghibli's film — "Princess Mononoke".
I read about samurai, Edo, the Yamato spirit. Found kendo online — it looked so cool. So I began.
To Japan, for kendo
One year at 15 — but that doesn't count. Started at 22, aiming for the French team. Three years later, I made the squad. So I moved to Japan, for kendo — three years.
Ikigai — a reason for being
My family was happy too. Those years made my family proud. And gave me confidence to build a career.
I wouldn't call it "ikigai". But it is something truly precious — it made who I am at 40. It's simple, really.
I must give back what kendo gave me.
About this series
Way of Life is a series of short portraits of people who live the way, filmed by KAIDO Inc. in dojos across Europe and Japan. One person, one word, a few minutes.