Tadeu Kimura is a fourth-generation Japanese-Brazilian. He crosses swords in the country his great-grandfather left.
Way of Life #7, “A Place to Return”, is a portrait of Tadeu Kimura (3-dan · 4th-generation Japanese-Brazilian) at Budokan Zürich. What follows is transcribed from the subtitles of the film — Tadeu Kimura’s own words, in the order they are spoken, under the chapters of the film.
My whole family does it, and my friends. It's a good place to go — always.
Roots
My father is Brazilian — Nikkei; my great-grandfather came from Japan. My grandparents are Japanese, born and raised in Brazil.
The day it became forever
I started really young, because of my parents. They both do kendo. At first, I did it because I had to.
Then at an international tournament, I saw so many strong fighters my age. So many my age, on the same path — it was cool. That's when I thought: kendo, forever.
A place to return
Having kendo is so important to me. I can relax — set my mind free from stress. My whole family does it, and my friends. It's a good place to go — always.
Both worlds
People here respect budo — many have trained in Japan. It's refreshing to have this mentality in Europe. Europe thinks a bit differently, but — it's good to have both worlds, learning from each other.
To Japan
I've been to Japan — I really loved it. I'm definitely going back.
Let's practice hard and get strong — all together.
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.